The Walker Valley Mustangs got their 2019-20 wrestling season off to a roaring start with a big win at Chattanooga Christian Monday afternoon.
The Mustangs won 10 of the 14 matches, including six with pins and four with forfeits. The Chargers countered with three pins and one decision among their four wins.
Perhaps the best match of the day was the final one wrestled as CCS’ Kaleb Cooper scored a 9-8 decision over Heath Tanksley.
After a scoreless opening period, Cooper went up by 7-2 in the second before Tankley rallied to tie the score with a three-point near-fall and two penalty points for stalling.
Cooper somehow found another gear to score a reversal with 40 seconds left before Tanksley escaped 13 seconds later. Cooper was able to hang on for the win without giving up any further points.
“All I know is that we have a lot of work to do, but I thought we did some good things for the first match of the season,” said Walker Valley coach Alan Morris afterward.
“We can’t afford to take shortcuts at practice because what we do there carries over to matches like this. Our conditioning wasn’t bad, but I’m hoping this win will make my guys just a little bit more hungry and more willing to work just a little harder.
“We all want to win, but we just have to be smarter. Most of our mistakes are fixable, but our goal is to continue getting better from now until the end and I’m confident that’s what we will do,” Morris added.
CCS coach Josh Craft gave his football players a week off before starting their workouts on the mat, so CCS was missing at least six or seven guys who will be in the lineup shortly. Monday was a perfect opportunity for some of the younger guys to get some experience, but the young coach was optimistic about what he witnessed.
“We have a fairly young team and we have to stop doing new-guy stuff like reaching back and keeping our heads down. I thought the effort was there and we weren’t timid as we went out and fought to the best of our ability,” Craft said shortly after the last match ended.
“We still have to be in better condition, but it’s still early and we’ll get there. We’re missing some key starters from football, but for the most part, I liked what I saw today,” he added.
A.J. Jolly gave the Chargers the early 6-0 lead with a first-minute pin at 106.
Josh Bramlett evened the score with a first-minute pin at 113 before Alex McCord received the first of four forfeits at 120.
Evan Rominger and Eli Southerland gave the home folks something to cheer about with pins at 126 and 132 for their final lead at 18-12.
Garrison McCann, Markus Rich, Jackson Davis, Michael Teasley and Caden Decker then reeled off five straight pins for a 42-18 lead and the match was decided at that point.
Walker Valley returns to action on Wednesday with dual meets against Maryville and Jefferson County at Cleveland while CCS will take part in the Vandergriff Duals at Hixson on Saturday for their next outing.
WALKER VALLEY 60, CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 21
(Match began at 106 Pounds)
106 – A.J. Jolly (CCS) pinned Brett Harris, :32;
113 – Josh Bramlett (WV) pinned Tyler Haga, :51;
120 – Alex McCord (WV) won by forfeit;
126 – Evan Rominger (CCS) pinned Fisher Heil, 1:05;
132 – Eli Southerland (CCS) pinned Andrew Miles, 2:27;
138 – Garrison McCann (WV) pinned Ryan Duble, 1:17;
145 – Markus Rich (WV) pinned Chase Martin, 5:35;
152 – Jackson Davis (WV) pinned Josh Willing, 2:28;
160 – Michael Teasley (WV) pinned Cameron Bradley, 1:03;
170 – Caden Decker (WV) pinned Evan Oettinger, 1:26;
182 – Conner Cross (WV) won by forfeit;
195 – Kaleb Cooper (CCS) dec. Heath Tanksley, 9-8;
220 – Kallum Lowe (WV) won by forfeit;
285 – Jacob Anderson (WV) won by forfeit.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)