Baylor wrestlers and coaches celebrate after winning the TSSAA Division II state duals championship Saturday night in Franklin by beating rival McCallie 36-32.
Bradley Central’s D.J. Gibson closes in on a first-period pin of Science Hill’s Karter Richmond in their 195-pound match in the TSSAA Class AAA state duals semifinals Saturday night in Franklin. The Bears won 33-32 to advance to the final against intracounty rival Cleveland.
Cleveland 152-pounder Austin Sweeney stacks up Blackman’s Jalen Brown for a third-period pin in their teams’ semifinal match at the TSSAA Class AAA state duals Saturday in Franklin.FRANKLIN, Tenn. – While there are 79 wrestling team state titles among Baylor, Bradley Central, Cleveland and McCallie, Saturday marked the first time in TSSAA history the four all wrestled in duals finals the same day.
Both top-ranked Raiders experienced the ultimate triumph, Cleveland’s Blue Raiders by a huge margin in Class AAA, but the Division II championship matchup was decided by the final weight class.
A perfect duals season record for Baylor’s Red Raiders was finalized as 220-pound freshman standout David Harper landed a second-round pin for a 36-32 victory over McCallie’s Blue Tornado to close the action in the Williamson Ag Expo Park on Saturday night.
Baylor (19-0) missed the presence of two state champions in its lineup but arched its back to capture the program’s 24th state championship plaque.
“There was no stopping us, not this year,” said Cornell signee and undefeated 170-pounder Mason Reiniche, who landed three pins in a combined 1:22 of mat time Friday and Saturday. “David really put us on his shoulders, along with a lot of other young guys this weekend. David has four titles written all over him, and his ceiling is as high as it gets.”
The Red Raiders trailed 21-8 after McCallie (10-5) received a pin from Christian Morris at 126 pounds and a technical fall from Nate Wysong at 132.
After losing by four points to Christian Brothers in the state final last year, the Red Raiders would not be denied as they fought in honor of the late Jim Morgan, the former Baylor wrestling coach who died last month. Topping their archrivals in the final made the Red Raiders’ newest title even sweeter.
“Everyone played their part in this state championship,” Baylor coach Ben Nelson said. “We really battled for one another. We knew we had David for the final match and were very confident he would win it. These have been a long couple of weeks, and our guys have done a great job.”
Meanwhile, there was no team more dominant on the mats in Franklin than Cleveland, which took down Bradley Central 56-9 to win its classification.
Blue Raiders sophomore 106-pounder Trae McDaniel continued his undefeated season with a pin over Bradley’s Ethan Wilson to start the title dual.
Leading 17-9 after six matches, Cleveland (37-1) put the nail in the coffin with hammers in the 145- and 152-pound classes as seniors Grant Lundy and Austin Sweeney were relentless in first-round pins.
“This group is special because our seniors started with our Higher Calling head coach Josh Bosken when they were in third grade,” second-year Cleveland head coach Joey Knox said. “Josh preached to them way back then about breaking into the national rankings, winning state and leaving a legacy. They have all achieved that this year.”
Blue Raiders 138-pounder Logan Whiteside was a perfect 4-for-4 on pins throughout the weekend along with Lundy and Sweeney. Whiteside believes Cleveland could potentially have six individual champions in a couple of weeks at the state traditional tournament.
“I started wrestling for Higher Calling when I was 4 years old,” Whiteside said. “It’s unbelievable. We have come so far and are all brothers. It brings tears to my eyes. We grew up together. We have cried together and done it all together. It’s all coming to an end, but this is the best possible ending.”
Bradley Central (26-7) was impressive in advancing to its 17th state final in the past 22 years.
With the Bears trailing 32-30 in their semifinal against Science Hill, 220-pounder Gavin Sewell rolled his opponent onto his back for near-fall points in the final seven seconds of the third period to land a 7-4 decision that sent Bradley on to the Class AAA championship match.
“Gavin was our heavyweight last year and only weighed 225 pounds,” Bears coach Ben Smith said, meaning Sewell could have given up as many as 60 pounds. “He rose to the occasion along with Glen O’Daniel, Daniel Mroz and D.J. Gibson to win the semifinals match. Gavin gave us a memory we will never forget.”
After Hixson lost in the quarterfinals Friday, the Wildcats fought their way into the Class A/AA third-place match, where they fell 36-34 to Greeneville. Hixson topped Signal Mountain 32-27 in the consolation semifinals.
Chattanooga Christian also put forth a valiant effort as it fell 42-41 to Memphis University School in a Division II consolation match in which the Chargers put together five straight pins for a late run.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.