The first day of the Division II traditional state wrestling tournament is in the books and it’s still a battle at the top for which team will earn championship honors Saturday afternoon in Nashville at Montgomery Bell Academy.
Father Ryan is currently leading the way with 201 points while Baylor is second with 181 and defending champ McCallie third with 153. Ironically, all three of those teams have 11 individuals who will earn medals with Ryan having seven in the finals, Baylor six and McCallie four.
Father Ryan and Baylor meet three times in the finals at 138, 150 and 165, so the winner of those matches will have the upper hand for winning, although we all know just how important those consolation points are.
Pat Simpson is by far the most veteran coach at this tournament as he’s been at Father Ryan since 1979. He too knows what it takes as the Purple Irish have won more than their share of state titles. He’s just thankful that his team had a great day on Friday and they can see bright lights at the end of the tunnel.
“Today couldn’t have gone much better for us,” he began.
“We won most of the ones we needed to win. That match at 190 was critical, so that was a big win for us,” he said, referring to Sawyer Rutherford’s major decision over Baylor’s Dylan Reel.
“We got some help from other teams and we’re to the point where we just need to close the deal. We meet Baylor three times in the finals and that might determine who wins, but it’s still anybody’s tournament. We just have to show up and perform. We had a really bad state duals tournament, but maybe that was the wakeup call we needed. But tomorrow should be fun,” he added.
Baylor coach Rex Kendle is cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances, but he knows that his Red Raiders have done their homework and are in a pretty good position going to Saturday’s medal rounds.
“We had some kids who did really well while we had a few others who lost close matches. We’re not eliminated and I can promise you that we’ll be ready to go on Saturday, but we knew coming in that it would be a real dogfight and it has been exactly that,” Kendle said by phone following Friday’s matches.
“We have six in the finals and five more in the medals while Father Ryan has 11 as well. We have three head-to-head matches with them that will be critical. But if we just go out and do what we’re trained to do, we’ll be okay,” he added with a confident tone.
McCallie coach Jake Yost knows that his team has a major uphill battle, but with four in the finals and seven others still alive in consolations, anything can happen.
“We brought 13 and 11 will be on the podium as medalists, so we’ve done well today,” he began.
“I was hoping that we’d get a few more in the finals. We had a pretty good day, but didn’t do anything exceptional. We’re quite a ways back right now, but we just need to come back and get the next best thing as there’s still a lot of wrestling left. We need to score as many bonus points as possible,” he said in his usual quiet tone.
Ryan’s seven finalists include Tanner Tran at 106, Aidan Hare at 113, Brody Gobbell at 132, Casen Roark at 138, Ethan Lampert at 150, Chancery Dean at 165 and Rutherford at 190. Baylor’s six include Gabe Swann at 120, Malachi Puckett at 138, Ollie Phillips at 150, George Emendorfer at 157, Titus Norman at 165 and Max Norman at 175.
McCallie’s four include Axel Ritchie at 120, Jaxon Lane at 126, Dylan Villers at 144 and Cooper Gentle at 285.
Lakeway Christian, currently fourth with 137.5 points, has five in the finals while host MBA has three. Brentwood Academy, St. George and Chattanooga Christian all have one.
Defending champ Ryder Smith is looking for his second title at 215. The Chargers are in sixth place with 108.5 and have seven others still competing for medals.
Boyd Buchanan is currently ninth with 43.5 points. The Bucs still have four wrestling for medals on Saturday.
LEGEND AND TEAM SCORES FOLLOWING FRIDAY’S MATCHES: 1. Father Ryan (FR) 201; 2. Baylor (Bay) 181; 3. McCallie (McC) 153; 4. Lakeway Christian (LC) 137.5; 5. Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) 121; 6. Chattanooga Christian (CCS) 108.5; 7. Christian Brothers (CB) 80; 8. Brentwood Academy (BA) 46.5; 9. Boyd Buchanan (BB) 43.5; 10. Battle Ground Academy (BGA) 28.5; 11. Pope John Paul (PJP) 26.5; 12. Nashville Christian (NC) 26; 13. Friendship Christian (FC) 24; 14. St. George (SG) 19; 15. Knoxville Webb (KW) 12; 16. Goodpasture (Good) 11; 17. Briarcrest (Briar) 10; 18. Evangelical Christian (ECS) 8; 19. Ensworth (Ens) 7; 20. Knoxville Grace (KG) and Memphis University School (MUS) tied with 5; 22. Notre Dame (ND) 4.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS:
106 – Tanner Tran (FR) pinned Camden Ritchie (McC), :59; Cade Riddle (LC) dec. Triston Mouton (Bay), 4-0;
113 – Aidan Hare (FR) major dec. Joseph Drewry (CB), 11-1; Cash Waymire (BA) pinned Carlton King (MBA), 3:08;
120 – Axel Ritchie (McC) dec. Braxton Eason (FR), 10-5; Gabe Swann (Bay) won by technical fall over Nolan Hardeman (BB), 4:29;
126 – Luke Kibelbek (LC) dec. Jacob Bond (Bay), 2-0; Jaxon Lane (McC) won by technical fall over Bo Dominguez (BA), 3:55;
132 – Brody Gobbell (FR) won by technical fall over Brody Connell (McC), 4:48; Cole Gumlick (LC) won by technical fall over Hudson Salvaggio (CB), 4:20;
138 – Casen Roark (FR) pinned Cainan Williams (McC), 3:27; Malachi Puckett (Bay) dec. Wilson Jamison (CB), 1-0;
144 – Cameron Helton (LC) pinned Chase Hart (Bay) 4:16; Dylan Villers (Mc) major dec. Hudson Frazier (MBA), 9-1;
150 – Ethan Lampert (FR) major dec. Braden Ryan (McC), 9-0; Ollie Phillips (Bay) won by technical fall over Andrew Connow (PJP), 4:42;
157 – George Emendorfer (Bay) dec. Findley Smout (CB), 9-6 in overtime; Griffin Davis (SG) major dec. Callen Bridgman (CCS), 10-1;
165 – Chancery Deane (FR) won by technical fall over Brody Casto (LC), 4:28; Titus Norman (Bay) major dec. Mason Butler (CB), 12-2;
175 – Claiborne Tompkins (MBA) dec. Jordan Crouch (PJP), 5-0; Max Norman (Bay) pinned John Bramlett (CB), :25;
190 – Sawyer Rutherford (FR) major dec. Dylan Reel (Bay), 13-5; Jay Eversole (LC) dec. Brody Belville (BA), 8-4;
215 – Elias Franks (MBA) dec. James Davenport (FC), 4-1; Ryder Smith (CCS) pinned Cannon Voiles (McC), 1:45;
285 – Cooper Gentle (McC) pinned Nate Fleming (BGA), 7:26; James Trainer (MBA) dec. Jon Adair (NC), 8-1.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)