CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Bradley Central hit the half-century mark Thursday, and the Bears' wrestling fans could think of no more suitable opponent for such a victory.
Bradley rolled past local rival Cleveland 51-13, winning 11 of 14 matches and moving within a win of securing the top seed for the region duals Jan. 28 at Ooltewah. The Bears, who have a 50-match win streak and a string of 128 home wins, must make up a postponed region meet at Walker Valley on Jan. 23.
Their performance against Cleveland was vintage Bradley, something coach Steve Logsdon was happy to see after what he considered a lackluster performance last weekend in winning the Soddy-Daisy Invitational.
Since that showing, the Bears have won twice by a combined 119-16.
"That's as close to the Bradley style of wrestling as I have seen this season," Logsdon said. "I was proud of them. We took charge of matches early, wrestled well."
The Bears scored the first points in 12 of the 13 bouts.
Bradley accumulated three pins, a technical fall and four major decisions. The pins came from Bradley Colbaugh, the state's top-ranked 140-pounder, Matt Roderick (171) and heavyweight Patrick Benson. Tyler Schuch (130) got a second-period technical fall, and major decisions went to Ethan Hames (125), Trevor Herron (135), Vince Aguilar (145) and Tucker Bolton (215). Ranked No. 1 at 152, Chris Aguilar received a forfeit.
Cleveland wins came from 103-pound Austin Oliver, who gave the Blue Raiders a short-lived lead with a 4-2 decision; Bailey Jones (160), who got his team's only pin; and 189-pound Chip Norwood, who posted a 16-2 major decision. Oliver is ranked No. 1 in the state, Jones No. 6 and Norwood No. 3.
The Blue Raiders were without two starters: top-ranked Marvin Lopez (130) and Isaiah Nichols (152).
"We had the best 13 wrestlers we could put on the mat, and they beat us," Cleveland coach Eric Phillips said. "I'm proud of my guys. I told them before the meet that they were getting to wrestle in one of the most exciting environments in front of possibly the biggest crowd they'll see all year, including the state tournament. I wanted them to savor and enjoy it."
That said, Phillips was concerned about how a very young team would handle the experience.
"Our young guys fought them," he said.
He wasn't about to excuse the Blue Raiders' performance because of their youthfulness.
"Being young is no excuse. Bradley is really good. They have a phenomenal program with phenomenal coaches and phenomenal athletes," Phillips said of his former college workout partner's program. "Bradley is great. We have a good team with the makings of being a great team."
Said Logsdon: "They are a young team, but they also are a real threat. We had no illusion of them not being ready to wrestle. They're a tough team and they're maturing with every match. This is probably the first of several meetings we'll have with those guys, and we'll go back to work tomorrow."
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
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