Same story, different year: Bradley Central favored to win wrestling state title

Bradley Central's T.J. Hicks lifts Cleveland's Garrett Bowers during the 113 lb bout of their prep wrestling meet at Cleveland High School on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, in Cleveland, Tenn.
Bradley Central's T.J. Hicks lifts Cleveland's Garrett Bowers during the 113 lb bout of their prep wrestling meet at Cleveland High School on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, in Cleveland, Tenn.

TSSAA WRESTLING

Schedule for state traditional tournaments at Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin (all times Eastern):TodayNoon — gates open; 2 p.m. — weigh-ins; 4 p.m. — AAA round of 32, round of 16; AAA first and second consolation rounds.Friday8 a.m. — gates open; 9 a.m. — weigh-ins; 11 a.m. — AAA quarterfinals, AAA third and fourth consolation rounds; A/AA round of 16; Division II quarterfinals; 7 p.m. — championship semifinals; consolation rounds.Saturday8 a.m. — gates open; 9 a.m. — weigh-ins; 11 a.m. — consolation semifinals, consolation finals; 6 p.m. — championship finals.

It is a recurring storyline. Bradley Central enters the Tennessee Class AAA wrestling championships as the favorite.

That, at least, is the sentiment from Bristol to Memphis heading into the state traditional tournament, which this afternoon begins a three-day run at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin, with A/AA and Division II teams beginning competition Friday.

Despite coach Ben Smith's initial protests and his desire to put his team in an underdog role, Bradley has a combination of experience and talent he hopes will be enough to hold off Cleveland, which his Bears slipped past for the Region 4 championship last week; Tennessee High, last year's runner-up; and Halls, which fell to the Bears in the opening round of the state duals two weeks ago.

"Facts are facts," Smith said, nodding with a reluctant shrug. "There are a lot of teams out there that want to beat us and there are a lot of teams out there with a lot of kids that are young, hungry and motivated. That's what we've seen all season, but as defending champions we're the favorites and that's the way it'll be until somebody beats us."

Cleveland stood to have the most AAA state qualifiers with 14, one more than Bradley and two more than Tennessee High, Science Hill and Heritage. However, the Blue Raiders will be without 106-pounder Burns Meagher, who suffered a broken leg during last week's region consolation finals.

Arlington, which has 11 qualifiers, enters with seven region champions, most in the tournament. Bradley, Science Hill and Summit have six each, while Halls, Tennessee High, Beech, Independence, William Blount and Mount Juliet have five apiece.

"We know Science Hill well - a very competitive team - and Tennessee High is a very strong team," Smith said.

"We have been very impressed with Halls. You put a passionate, knowledgeable guy (coach Shannon Sayne) in a supportive community, set up your kids' clubs and surround yourself with good assistants, you're going to have a good team. Shannon has done that, and he does things the right way. He has some kids that can get deep in the tournament. Beech has some kids that can go deep in the tournament."

Soddy-Daisy finished third in Region 4 behind Bradley and Cleveland.

"The depth of Region 4 can make a difference," Soddy-Daisy coach Jim Higgins said. "If we wrestle well, we can be in the (team championship) mix. I think Bradley will win it, and I think Cleveland will score some points, maybe more than we do. Surviving in the region we're in can make a difference. Now, when it's all said and done, the cream has eventually risen to the top."

There are seven champions returning from the 2015-2016 season, including Sody-Daisy's Landon Wheaton, Beech's Trevor Rippy, Blackman's Matthew Sells, Riverdale's Nick Boykin and Bradley seniors Knox Fuller, T.J. Hicks and Ryan McElhaney.

Fuller is seeking to join the late Matt Keller as Bradley's only four-time state champions.

"I don't believe he ever even thinks about it," Smith said. "The kid has lost four times in his high school career. He was behind going into the third period two years ago and won, and he was up by a point going into the third period last year and won. I've never seen him rattled."

There are 15 total medalists from the Chattanooga area returning to the tournament.

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

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