Cleveland Three-Peats In AAA State Duals

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Saturday was a perfect day for high school wrestling teams from Bradley County.

Battling here at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Center on the final day of the TSSAA State Duals tournament, the Cleveland Blue Raiders won two matches and nabbed their third straight state duals title while the Bradley Bears came through the consolation bracket to win four matches and claim third place.

Cleveland beat Wilson Central in the final by a not-so-close 43-18 final after whipping Dobyns-Bennett in the championship semis by a 40-30 final.

It's Cleveland's ninth state duals title and sixth in the past eight years.  Saturday marked the fourth time that Wilson Central has finished as the runner-up, every time to Cleveland.

Bradley beat the Blackman Blaze by a 42-24 final after beating teams from Clarksville (46-25), Oakland (44-24) and Dobyns-Bennett (35-34) in early matches.

“I was getting a little nervous as we didn’t get as many pins as I would have liked, but I’m very pleased with our effort tonight,” said Cleveland coach Joey Knox, who has won five state titles in this third year as the Blue Raider leader.

“I thought we wrestled with a lot of heart and passion, but our kids just went out and did their job the way they were supposed to.  Our main goal was to not get pinned, but I really liked how we fought for each other,” Knox added.

Cleveland’s biggest lead came at 30-9 following a second-period pin from Trae McDaniel at 126 pounds.  Blackman then won the next three with regular decisions and were getting closer at 30-18 with three matches remaining.  That’s when Cael Laxton scored a 3-1 decision over Levi Stone at 152 to clinch the win for Cleveland.

The score was tied at 1-1 for a long time before Laxton scored a key takedown in the final minute.  Stone was within inches of getting his head free for a reversal at the end, but the match ended before the score changed.

“That was a great match and a possible state final preview, but I was so happy for Cael for pulling it out.  But this match went about the way we thought it would for the most part,” Knox concluded.

Riley Harris claimed Cleveland’s first pin while the other two came from Ashton Davis at 220 and McDaniel at 126, Davis having the fastest in just 21 seconds.

While Cleveland only had to wrestle and win twice on the final day, Bradley had to wrestle twice as many, but the Bears came out ahead all four times and that’s all that mattered to Bradley coach Ben Smith.

“Today has been a stressful day for all of us,” Smith said after addressing his team following a win that improved their season record to 21-6.

“You just never know how a team will respond after a tough loss as we’ve had trouble with that earlier in the season, but this could be a turning point for us.  I think we got better as the day progressed.  Character is defined by how you respond to adversity and I think ours grew a little bit today.

“I think we grew up some today.  We might not have been the best team here, but we were the most stubborn as we just refused to break.  We bent a little bit, but we never broke.  Now I’m headed home to see my baby,” he said in reference to his daughter Dottie, who was born on Jan. 29.

Bradley got four pins in the final match from Luke Belcher, Gavin Hughes, Ben Stansberry and Anthony Lynn.

Bradley and Cleveland both shift gears as they get ready for next Saturday’s Region 3-AAA tournament, which will be at Rhea County.  The top four individuals in each weight class will qualify for the traditional state tournament, which will be held here on Feb. 20-22.

AAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

CLEVELAND 43, WILSON CENTRAL 18

(Match Began At 182 Pounds)

106 – Bentley Ellison (Clev) major dec. Nicholas Mercante, 14-5;

113 – Thomas Borders (WC) dec. Arlo Laxton, 9-2;

120 – Jackson Bradford (Clev) won by technical fall over Grant Fetters, 5:59;

126 – Trae McDaniel (Clev) pinned Avery Warnock, 2:21;

132 – Riley Fort (WC) dec. Blake Randall, 9-3;

138 – Alan Fort (WC) dec. Burns Meagher, 5-0;

145 – Steven Fisak (WC) dec. Garrett Stevenson, 5-2;

152 – Cael Laxton (Clev) dec. Levi Stone, 3-1;

160 – Nate Schilling (Clev) major dec. Anthony Pyron, 10-2;

170 – Zach Brezna (Clev) won by forfeit;

182 – Tetoe Boyd (Clev) dec. Matthew Hills, 10-4;

195 – Riley Harris (Clev) pinned Connor Staggs, 2:56;

220 – Ashton Davis (Clev) pinned Byron Mabry, :23;

285 – Jesse Richardson (WC) pinned Nick Nicodemis, :59.

AAA CONSOLATION FINAL FOR THIRD PLACE

BRADLEY 42, BLACKMAN 24

(Match Began At 285 Pounds)

106 – Ethan Wilson (Brad) major dec. Grant Myers, 10-2;

113 – Justin Bradford (Black) dec. Easton Lipsey, 8-4;

120 – Luke Belcher (Brad) pinned Alex Rose, 4:45;

126 – Mason Sells (Black) dec. Taron Patterson, 7-6;

132 – Gavin Hughes (Brad) pinned Adin Heathcott, 5:10;

138 – Seth Gregory (Brad) dec. Justin Brown, 8-5;

145 – Ben Stansberry (Brad) pinned Joshua Chew, 1:15;

152 – Anthony Lynn (Brad) pinned Cole Hays, 2:50;

160 – Caleb Jeffers (Brad) won by technical fall over David Wilkinson, 20-5;

170 – Anthony Gomez (Black) pinned Knox Watson, 2:37;

182 – Brooks Sacharczyk (Black) dec. Tyrone McDonald, 8-1;

195 – Jaylan Hughes (Black) won by forfeit;

220 – Gavin Sewell (Brad) won by forfeit;

285 – Bowdy Boyce (Black) dec. Austin McClure, 4-2.