Noah Bankston of Notre Dame High School lifts Jalyn Allen of East Ridge during their 152-pound match Thursday at East Ridge.ATHENS, Tenn. -- Paybacks, when they finally come, are sweet.
Cleveland's Blue Raiders got theirs Thursday night, avenging a regular-season loss to Bradley Central in winning the Region 4-AAA duals wrestling championship.
But is there another payback coming? Both defending champion Cleveland and Bradley secured spots in next weekend's state duals at the Williamson County Agricultural Expo in Franklin, and there's a good chance there will be yet another storied Bradley-Cleveland match in 2015.
Bradley secured its spot in the state duals with a 48-24 semifinal victory over Walker Valley, while Cleveland handled Soddy-Daisy 44-23. Both forfeited out after securing their wins.
However, the region-finals matchup between the two powerhouses in Bradley County will be talked about for years to come. Cleveland rallied from a 16-point deficit to take a 37-31 pin as Aaron Oliver, moving up a class to 170 pounds, secured the victory with a pin of Corey Gatlin, who more than once has been a Bears hero.
"He likes it. Some people don't like being in that situation, but he loves it," Cleveland coach Jake Yost said of Oliver. "I was comfortable with him being in that situation, because I knew he would thrive in it rather than let it eat him up. It was fun for him and fun for us to watch."
The teams split the seven matches.
"They got a few more bonus points than us," Bradley coach Ben Smith said. "What I learned is that they can throw the kitchen sink at us and we can go with them. Our main goal was getting back to the duals. That was a goal -- to give ourselves a chance to win a state championship."
It's been three years since Bradley has gone to the state duals, and the Bears thought they might go as region champions when Donnie Beyer upset the Raiders' Ezra Taylor with three matches to go, extending the Bradley lead to 31-22.
It didn't happen. Cleveland won the next three -- by Jack Hicks (152), Jonathan Martin (160) and Oliver -- to complete the comeback win.
"After the loss at 145, I thought (a comeback) would be difficult," Yost said.
The key was Hicks avenging a loss earlier this season and doing it with a second-period pin. Martin took a 3-0 decision to tie the match and set the stage for Oliver.
Other Cleveland winners were Colton Landers (132), Chris DeBien (138), John Gaither (220) and Koran Kennedy (285). Landers got a major decision and DeBien, Gaither and Kennedy pinned.
Bradley's winners were T.J. Hicks (106), Toribio Navarro (113), Ryan McElhaney (120), Knox Fuller (126), James Elkins (182) and Brett Brown (195). Hicks, Navarro and Brown earned pins, and Fuller posted a major decision.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.