McCallie's Ethan Dendy, right, takes Baylor's Connor Duffy to the mat during their prep wrestling meet at Baylor School on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Perfection and close to perfection
51-0 Knox Fuller, Bradley Central 145; 26-0 Ethan Dendy, McCallie, 152.47-1 Grant Lundy, East Hamilton 132; 45-1 T.J. Hicks, Bradley Central 113; 35-1 Colton Landers, Cleveland 132; 33-1 Khamari Whimper, Baylor 195; 27-1 Landon Wheaton, Soddy-Daisy 126; 26-1 Judah Duhm, McCallie 170; 19-1 Darian Smith, East Ridge 182; 14-1 Jay Graham, Rhea County 152; 10-1 Garrett Smith, Rhea County 220; 8-1 Scott Weaver, Boyd-Buchanan 113.35-2 Mason Reiniche, Baylor 160; 31-2 Jeremy Holloway, Notre Dame 106; 30-2 River Henry, McCallie 285; 28-2 Ty Boeck, Soddy-Daisy 220; 28-2 Mikel Gregory, Walker Valley 160; 24-2 Alex Whitworth, McCallie 113; 23-2 Riley Westlake, Baylor 182; 21-2 Chandler Davis, Walker Valley 106; 19-2 Kashawn Cosey, East Ridge 126; 9-2 Jacob Newman, Hixson 120.
As Tennessee's high school traditional wrestling postseason begins, there are only two undefeated wrestlers from the Chattanooga area.
Bradley Central senior Knox Fuller is 51-0 and McCallie senior Ethan Dendy is 26-0. Fuller, by the way, will be going for his fourth state title in Franklin when the Class AAA state begins next Thursday.
Putting together an unbeaten season entails numerous championships, including the one most coveted, that of a state gold medalist.
"If wrestlers are in competitive programs with competitive kids, then, yeah, an undefeated season is one of their goals," Soddy-Daisy coach Jim Higgins said.
Yet in the same breath, Higgins recalled the words of his mentor, Steve Henry.
"He always said that if they were undefeated heading into the postseason, then he didn't do his job as a coach," he recalled.
His point was along the lines of facing the best opposition in trying to be the best.
Yet having an undefeated season entails so much in the way of preparation, Bradley Central coach Ben Smith pointed out.
"You have to be hitting on all cylinders all the time. There's some luck involved," he said. "You have to pay attention to detail in everything from practice habits and hydration to nutrition and weight management. You have to be at 100 percent or near it all the time.
"You can never allow yourself to be sorry, and you always have to be up for the next challenge. To put all those together is very rare and a true sign of a champion."
A year ago Soddy-Daisy's Tucker Russo ended the season without having surrendered a single offensive point. Yet he finished third in the state. His luck ran out on a questionable slam call, and his only loss as a senior was on a disqualification.
"Tucker had God-given ability but he had a ton of experience - a high level of competition when he was young - and he was confident and extremely driven," Higgins recalled. "When they finally get to where they don't pay attention to who else is in the weight class or their bracket, there is a significant change. You see them wrestling people rather than getting wrestled."