After a championship win, Bradley Central wrestlers have come to expect a light smack on the cheek alongside their headgear and a high-five slap from their coaches.
There weren’t enough of those moments to suit their coaches at the Soddy-Daisy Invitational on Saturday.
“I’m a wrestling coach. It’s my job not to be satisfied,” Bears coach Steve Logsdon said. “If we had 14 varsity and 14 junior varsity championships, then I’d be satisfied. Until then, somewhere along the line our staff isn’t doing a good enough job.”
The Bears scored 258 points to 147 for Hewitt from Trussville, Ala., 132 for Ooltewah, 120 for Greenback and 112 for Soddy-Daisy. Tullahoma was sixth with 105.6, followed by Cordova with 92.5, Walker Valley with 60, Notre Dame with 53 and Cookeville with 21.
Several teams, including Science Hill from Johnson City and Blackman and Siegel from Murfreesboro, dropped out of the tournament because of the effects of this week’s icy weather. Cookeville, which is expected to be among the traditional state tournament contenders, entered just one wrestler. The Cavaliers’ John Birwell finished second to Bradley’s Bradley Colbaugh at 140 pounds.
Bradley, which had five champions, placed nine in the finals and had the team championship wrapped up following the championship semifinals. The Bears wound up with 13 medalists.
“We wrestled better here than we did in our tournament,” said Logsdon, whose team won its own pre-Christmas tournament and the Southern Slam in Greenville, S.C.
The Bears’ other champions were Tyler Schuch (130), Trevor Herron (135), Chris Aguilar (152) and Patrick Benson (285).
Other champions were Tullahoma’s Brandon Bruner (103), Soddy-Daisy’s Jacob Stevens (112), Notre Dame’s Jack Boone (119), Cordova’s Cullen King (125), Greenback’s Jeremy Miller (145), Ooltewah’s Goose Manning (160), Hewitt’s Matt Elkins (171) and Taylor Stevens (189) and Walker Valley’s Isaiah Simpson (215).
Simpson beat Ooltewah’s Tyler Toon, who defeated Bradley’s Tucker Bolton in the semifinals.
“I see them filling a few holes they had,” Ooltewah coach Wendell Weathers said. “Their 160-pounder (Jacob Bailey) looked good. They’re concentrating on the areas they need to get ready for the postseason.”
Bradley is the defending champion in both the dual and the traditional tournaments.
“They’re really tough,” said Walker Valley coach Alan Morris, whose Mustangs will host the Bears at 5 p.m. on Jan. 23. “They’re the favorite. In the duals, Johnson City (Science Hill) will be a team to watch because they’re solid from top to bottom. In the traditional, they’re the favorite but it could be wide open. There are several teams with three or four really good wrestlers.”
Weathers has felt all along that Bradley would be the favorite.
“Oh, sure. I never thought any differently,” he said. “From top to bottom, their guys wrestle with a purpose. Each of their guys puts it on himself to do what he needs to do for the team. They’re a fun bunch to watch.”
Logsdon said medals and trophies are fun, but he’s looking further down the road.
“We want to see all of the kids reach their potential. We’re not doing that yet, but that’s our goal,” he said. “We want to teach them traits that will create success in situations later in their lives.”