There is normally no such thing as dominance in Tennessee's Division II-AA wrestling division, primarily because of the balance of power.
Baylor, though, took a step in the right direction Friday. Wrestling Father Ryan and Montgomery Bell Academy as part of a double-dual at McCallie, the Red Raiders posted their second win of the season over Father Ryan and then skated past the Big Red.
McCallie, with a handful of starters sidelined, lost to both Nashville teams.
McCallie's Jay Roberts lifts Montogmery Bell Academy's D'Onshuve Coofer during their 220 pound class match Friday night at the McCallie School.Baylor defeated Father Ryan 30-25 and skated past MBA 36-18. Father Ryan, the state's second-ranked team behind Baylor, bested McCallie 48-27, and MBA downed the Blue Tornado 36-24.
"We have a lot of work to do, but that's fine because we still have two weeks till the state duals," Baylor coach Ben Nelson said. "We saw some things, so we'll have lots to work on starting Monday."
McCallie put up a good front despite missing starters Addison Cornell (120), James Westbrooks (126), Ethan Dendy (138) and Anders Hill (145).
"It's just nagging injuries that we want to get healed 100 percent before they come back," Blue Tornado coach Mike Newman said. "We don't want it to be 80 percent or 90 percent and them aggravate something again and be out for another week. The goal is the state tournament, although we hope to have them back next Friday."
The wins put Baylor in the state duals bracket opposite Father Ryan and, most likely, Christian Brothers, which has been the power on the western side of the state.
"Having Father Ryan on the other side is something we wanted to see," Nelson said. "It would be a lot more fun wrestling them in the finals, but we'll have a good opponent in the semifinals, too."
Newman, whose team will face Baylor next Friday, said the Red Raiders continue to impress.
"They have a quality team. If you look up and down the lineup, they have a quality guy at every week," he said.
Nelson made special mention of 132-pound Alex Atchley.
"He wrestled well, even though he lost one. He looked much improved from an earlier match," Nelson said.
The Baylor coach also pointed out that 138-pound Michael Murphy had a pivotal victory in the win over Ryan.
"Michael had a great night and avenged a loss to a kid earlier in the season," Nelson noted. "It was a big win for him personally and a big win in the match too -- a six-point swing, at least."
Baylor's strength all year has been in the upper weights, and that did not change Friday. The Raiders' upper-weight dual winners included 160-pound Donovan Sutherland, Cayman Seagraves (170), Cole Holloway (182), Ryan Parker (195) and Cooper Reiniche (285).
"It's been that way all year. We're very fortunate to have the lineup we do in the upper weights, and they've been performing well all season," Nelson said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.