FRANKLIN, Tenn. - That black bear paw pennant is back atop the flagstaff.
Returning to Tennessee's wrestling duals winner's circle for the first time since 2011, Bradley Central topped Region 4 rival Soddy-Daisy in the TSSAA Class AAA finals Saturday night.
And Red Bank overcame all odds to secure its first duals title with a 30-28 Class A/AA victory over defending champion Pigeon Forge. Baylor, meanwhile, fell 36-21 to Father Ryan in the Division II bracket.
Red Bank hadn't been to the duals in 16 seasons and the Lions' best previous finish was second place in 1995 - to Bradley Central when there were only two divisions, Large and Small.
Appearing in their 18th duals championship, the Bears secured their 11th duals crown by beating the Trojans 52-21. It was the eighth time Bradley has met a region opponent and the sixth time it has wrestled Soddy-Daisy for the AAA championship. Bradley now leads that particular series 4-2.
"If we continued to do the job like we have and based on the way we trained, I felt the chips would fall in place," said Bears coach Ben Smith, who secured his first state title since taking over for Bradley legend Steve Logsdon.
"I can finally look Coach Logsdon in the eye," Smith said.
Shane Turner, meanwhile, has accomplished in four years what never had been done at Red Bank.
"People may like us or hate us, but either way one thing they have to say is that Red Bank is a state champion," Turner said. 'This is something that can never be taken away. These guys will always be state champions. It's a surreal feeling."
The match hinged on the performance of one of Turner's seniors, Devin Crawl, and Turner couldn't have been happier.
"Devin deserved that," the coach said of his 195-pounder. "He's done everything I have asked and he had every opportunity to take a bad turn and he stayed the course."
Crawl came through with a pin that lifted the Lions from a 28-24 deficit to their victory.
Baylor never had a chance.
With the meet starting at 220 pounds, Father Ryan went on a near-unbelievable roll and forged a 36-0 lead before Baylor 145-pound Michael Murphy ended the streak with a major decision. Although the Red Raiders would score 17 more points, it was too little too late.
Soddy-Daisy may have emptied its tank earlier in the day Saturday in just getting to the championship match. The Trojans offered up a payback to Wilson Central, beating the three-time AAA runner-up 35-29.
"This team has improved tremendously since the first day of the season, and this match was about fighting and being resilient," an elated Trojans coach Jim Higgins observed.
There were a handful of key bumps in the semifinal match. Soddy-Daisy bumped Tucker Russo, unbeaten at 160, to 170 pounds and Wilson Central promptly served up a forfeit. Then Wilson received a forfeit at 182 with Higgins opting to bump sophomore Ty Boeck to 195.
The match was tied at 29 but Boeck, despite wrestling up a weight, delivered the win in outstanding fashion, pinning his opponent 36 seconds into the second period.
"The kid's a wrestler. He has great heart and a great wrestling mind," Higgins said.
McCallie finished fourth in the Division II bracket while wrestling without 145-pound Ethan Dendy, who suffered a severe ankle sprain on Friday. The Blue Tornado fell 33-30 to Christian Brothers.
Notre Dame, which was forced to open the tournament against Chattanooga neighbor Red Bank, suffered a Saturday morning loss, thus finishing its tournament showing.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com