Nathan Davis wasn’t sure he belonged last year when he walked into the Williamson County Agricultural Expo in Franklin, Tenn.
He was, after all, from Sale Creek, a Class A school better known for its basketball and baseball, and just a third-year wrestler in a fledgling program. He was getting ready to test his mettle against a talented state-tournament field with numerous competitors who got on a mat before they could ride a bicycle.
“I was definitely nervous. It was the first time I’d been to a tournament that size with that caliber of wrestlers,” he said. “I had a guy from Bradley that first match, and I think that big-school name put some fear into my head.”
Davis went 0-1.
“He lost to the Bradley kid, and the Bradley kid then lost to [tournament runner-up] Cody Davis from Pigeon Forge,” Sale Creek coach Tom Moss recalled.