You can always expect the unexpected when McCallie and Baylor battle in a sports event, especially when it’s on the wrestling mat.
Such was the case at Baylor’s Jimmy Duke Arena Friday night when two of the top teams in the state squared off.
These two teams have been wrestling each other forever, but chances are good that a match has never been determined by a forfeit. That’s exactly what happened as Baylor’s Gabe Swann got six team points the easy way at 120 pounds in the final bout of the day with a forfeit when the Blue Tornado simply didn’t have anyone to put in that spot.
That forfeit was the difference in a match where McCallie won eight of the individual matches and Baylor six, the Red Raiders getting bonus points in five of those six matches.
“That was just an incredible team effort where every point mattered, but all 14 of our kids did their job,” said Baylor coach Rex Kendle shortly after the emotional match ended.
“I feel like we lost all of the toss-up matches, but still found a way to win as these kids made sacrifices all across the board. Sophomore Ryleigh Sturgill took one for the team when she wrestled at 113 pounds for us, sacrificing her chance at being a four-time state champ.
“And what about Chase Hart, who battled for his life to avoid giving up another point that would have resulted in a major decision. And then there’s Bradley Llunga, who lost a 4-0 decision, but who has only been out for two weeks.
“We shaved points where we had to, but again, I just couldn’t be more proud of these kids as this was a really big win for our team,” Kendle said after his team’s record had improved to 7-0.
McCallie coach Jake Yost knows that his kids battle for all they were worth too, but simply came up a little bit short.
“We had four eighth graders out there tonight and they all did a great job. I thought we fought hard and won some of the close ones I wasn’t sure we’d win, but we just didn’t have anyone to put in that last match,” he said matter of factly.
“Hats off to Baylor as they did a good job. We just have to be a little bit better next time. We needed to score more bonus points and that was probably the difference in the match,” he said after the Blue Tornado record dropped to 6-2.
The match began at 126 pounds where Axel Ritchie gave the Blue Tornado an early lead with a 2-1 decision in a match where both of his points came as a result of false starts.
Jacob Bond cut the difference in half with just over a minute left, but couldn’t get the takedown for the win.
Jaxon Lane made it 8-0 with a technical fall at 132 before McCallie added decisions from Cainan Williams at 138 and Dylan Villers at 144 to lead 14-0.
Ollie Phillips got Baylor on the board with a 7-2 decision at 150 before George Emendorfer posted a 13-1 major decision at 157.
Three straight pins from Titus Norman, Max Norman and Dylan Reel gave Baylor the lead at 24-14, the Red Raiders losing a team point for an unsportsmanlike charge following the win at 165.
Four straight wins by Cannon Voiles at 215, Cooper Gentle at 285, Knox Ritchie at 106 and Levi Scott at 113 put McCallie up 29-24 with one match remaining, but it all ended when Swann got the ever-important forfeit at the end for the difference in the match.
Scott was another eighth grader who had a real battle with Sturgill, a state champ last year as a freshman.
Sturgill had a 3-1 lead after the first period before Scott got the upper hand to lead 8-6 after the second. An escape to Sturgill made it 8-7 before Scott the decisive takedown with just over a minute left for an 11-7 lead. Sturgill managed another escape late, but was unable to do any further scoring.
Baylor has the upper hand right now, but you can bet your last dollar they will probably meet again next Saturday in Franklin at the state duals, which McCallie won last year.
BAYLOR 30, McCALLIE 29
(Match began at 126 pounds)
106 -- Knox Ritchie (M) dec. Triston Mouton;
113 -- Levi Scott (M) dec. Ryleigh Sturgill, 11-8;
120 -- Gabe Swann (B) won by forfeit;
126 -- Axel Ritchie (M) dec. Jacob Bond, 2-1;
132 -- Jaxon Lane (M) won by technical fall over Ny Cofer, 2:23;
138 -- Cainan Williams (M) dec. Malachi Puckett, 9-6 in overtime;
144 -- Dylan Villers (M) dec. Chase Hart, 9-2;
150 -- Ollie Phillips (B) dec. Braden Ryan, 7-2;
157 -- George Emendorfer (B) major dec. Cooper Ledbetter, 13-1;
165 -- Titus Norman (B) pinned Zayden Morgan, 2:28;
175 -- Max Norman (B) pinned Myles Selva, 1:55;
190 -- Dylan Reel (B) pinned Fisher French, 1:41;
215 -- Cannon Voiles (M) de. Bradley Llunga, 4-0;
285 -- Cooper Gentle (M) pinned Maddox McCllure, 1:0
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)