Hixson, Cleveland hold state wrestling leads

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Garrick Hall sprawled in a sagging plastic folding chair, took a deep sigh and admitted with both clarity and finality, "I'm exhausted."

The Hixson High School wrestling coach had seen his team's yo-yo bounce in the state A/AA team championship race; had watched as first Region 2 rival Notre Dame and then Alcoa and pre-tournament favorite Pigeon Forge took their shots but remained behind his Wildcats.

Area state finalists

Class AAABradley Central (4): T.J. Hicks (106), Toribio Navarro (113), Knox Fuller (126), Brett Brown (182).Cleveland (5): Colton Landers (126), Chris DeBien (132), Ezra Taylor (138), Aaron Oliver (160), Koran Kennedy (285).Soddy-Daisy (2): Tucker Russo (145), Austin Williamson (170).Class A/AACentral (2): Alonso Heyward (152), Xavier Norwood (160).East Ridge (2): Hunter Owens (113), DeAngelo Johnson (170).Hixson (4): Cederick Harris (132), Landon Goforth (145), Dylan Bargerstock (195), Brody Gregory (285).Notre Dame (4): Tucker Gill (106), Luke Mullin (120), Packy Mullin (145), Noah Bankston (152).Red Bank (2): Blake Reichel (106), Devin Crawl (182).Signal Mountain (1): Cale Shelton (195).Division IIBaylor (6): Mason Reiniche (126), Michael Murphy (138), Blake Sutherland (160), Cayman Seagraves (170), Ryan Parker (195), Cooper Reiniche (285).McCallie (4): Ethan Dendy (138), Will Patton (152), Trel Phillips (195), River Henry (285).GirlsRhea County: Kristin Simmons (105)St. Andrew's-Sewanee: Abby Mainzer (185)Sequatchie County: Katie Brock (112)

Meanwhile, Cleveland created some Class AAA breathing room over Bradley Central, but the space was more gasp-like than lung-filling yawn. The Blue Raiders had 180.5 points to 167 for Bradley.

Wilson Central was a distant third with 110.5, while Soddy-Daisy (97.5) was holding a comfortable lead for fourth over Brentwood (76).

In Division II, top-ranked Baylor's battle had lost some of its nip and its tuck. It wasn't that Baylor fell short -- the Red Raiders put six in the championship finals -- but that Father Ryan wrestled as well as coach Pat Simpson could have hoped.

Hixson had a 1.5-point lead over second-place Pigeon Forge after the championship semifinals and made it 127 to 121.5 in the later-night consolation rounds. Alcoa, from whom Hixson wrested last year's title with a superb consolation showing, was in third with 107 points, two better than the upstart Irish, who tied Hixson for most A/AA finalists with four.

Red Bank, East Ridge, Central and Signal Mountain were fifth through eighth.

"There's always a race, and we know it well," Hall said. "We were behind at this time last year and came back to win it. Pigeon Forge or Alcoa or Notre Dame can do the same thing."

The four for Hixson is four times what the Wildcats had in the finals a year ago when their strong charge back through the consolations led to their back-door-style championship. It is very rare for a team to win a title without benefit of a single champion.

The four also give Hall four shots at the one title that has continued to elude him. Hixson hasn't had an individual state champion since 1990 (Todd Wheeler, 152 pounds).

Cleveland used a sensational quarterfinal round -- winning seven of eight matches and getting bonus points in those seven -- to find a little bit of daylight. Then Friday night, five Blue Raiders, led by three-time state champion Chris DeBien, charged into the finals.

Bradley Central, meanwhile, gained four finalists and Soddy-Daisy had two.

The largest lead belonged to Father Ryan, which has had a plethora of champs, and the Purple Irish are seeking to hand Simpson his 17th state championship as the school's wrestling coach. They had amassed 191 points to 163.5 for the Red Raiders, 125 for third-place Montgomery Bell Academy and 118 for fourth-place McCallie.

"We couldn't have wrestled any better," Simpson said after the championship semifinals.

When asked if the 27.5-point lead was enough, Simpson was candid enough to reply, "It's not enough, but we have everybody (14 wrestlers) alive. If we can win three or four of the finals matches and keep a little bit of a lead, maybe."

McCallie and MBA each had four finalists.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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