CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The matchups for the Region 4 wrestling duals were set decisively Tuesday night as host Cleveland clinched the District 7 championship by cakewalking past Walker Valley, 61-9.
The Blue Raiders' victory, which they opened with eight consecutive wins and an insurmountable 41-0 lead, pits them against host and District 8 runner-up Ooltewah at 6 p.m. Thursday, when District 8 winner and defending state champion Bradley Central will wrestle Walker Valley. The final match will follow at about 7:30.
Both finalists advance to next weekend's state duals in Franklin.
In their final home meet on a night they honored their seniors, the Blue Raiders won 12 of the 14 matches, and the seniors contributed four wins and 22 points. Dre' Moore won by major decision, Will Moreland by forfeit and Bailey Jones and Chip Norwood by pin.
Cleveland (16-4) also got wins that could be pivotal when coaches gather to seed Region 4's traditional tournament at Alcoa. Joel Simpkins (112) pulled out a 6-4 overtime win over the Mustangs' Tony Kazy, and Aaron Lopez (140) posted a 14-0 major decision over Cole Dias.
"We have held guys out of certain matches -- we have tried to make sure they didn't get worn down -- and we didn't really turn it on till Christmas," first-year Cleveland coach Eric Phillips said. "This is the first time we have had a full team and that we have gone full speed. I told the guys that we really needed to perform tonight, and some of the matches we won were against solid kids."
One anticipated match, the 103-pound bout between Austin Oliver of Cleveland and Caleb Langford, didn't take place. Langford has been sick and was unable to wrestle.
Cleveland simply dismantled the Mustangs (11-11).
"I told the guys we wanted to be ready come tournament time, and I liked the way we wrestled," Phillips said.
By the time Walker Valley coach Alan Morris got to his two team anchors, the outcome was decided. Those two came through with the Mustangs' only wins. Isaiah Simpson posted a 5-2 decision over stubborn Jesse Jones at 215, and heavyweight Dylan Mills pinned Jordan Hines after being extended to the third period.
Morris was fuming.
"They kicked our tails, and the bad part was that we did not respond," he said.
Cleveland got the first points in all but the two matches Walker Valley won.
"They came out, got in our face and we didn't like it, but we didn't do anything about it," Morris said. "I felt like we wrestled better Saturday (in a loss to Bradley). We have some soul-searching to do. We need to find out who's ready to wrestle and who's ready for a long winter break."
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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