With defending champion Archer, a nationally ranked wrestling power out of Lawrenceville, Ga., taking an early exit to watch its football team compete in the state final, Tennessee’s top two teams were left to crown a new Cleveland Duals champion.
Baylor, ranked second in the latest coaches’ poll, used an early winning spree and a late pin to hold off Father Ryan, the Nashville team ranked ahead of it. The Red Raiders won 34-27.
Baylor jumped to an early lead, kick-started by 145-pounder Caleb Powell. Powell used his scrambling ability to fend off leg attacks and score takedowns in an 8-4 decision.
The Red Raiders won the next three matches before giving up a forfeit at 182 pounds, and then won the next two to go up 28-8. They then gave up another forfeit at 106.
“It was good to see our guys fight through and win,” Baylor coach Ben Nelson said. “Giving up 12 points in forfeits during a finals match isn’t ideal, but we told our guys, ‘Here is your piece of adversity — go take care of it.’ And they did.”
Ryan Parker and Cooper Reiniche secured bonus points by pinning their opponents at 195 and 285, respectively, but Baylor’s inability to get bonus points early loomed as Father Ryan mounted a comeback.
“It’s frustrating sometimes, because they’re tough to pick up bonus points against,” Nelson said. “They’re well coached and execute. There were spots where we didn’t give up bonus, too, and that was huge.”
Raymond Eason got a defensive fall for the Irish at 113, and Trey Chalifoux followed with a 13-7 decision to close the gap to 28-21.
Mason Reiniche put a halt to the Irish rally and put his team up by 13 with a big second-period pin to clinch the team victory with two bouts to go.
Father Ryan won the last two matches, which included a tight decision at 138 pounds for Eli King. He edged last year’s 113-pound state champion, Michael Murphy, 6-5.
“My biggest takeaway is my seniors didn’t win a single match tonight,” Irish coach Pat Simpson said. “If we lose matches we’re favored in, then we put ourselves behind the 8-ball, and you’re not going to win duals that way. We’ll get better.”
Host Cleveland lost a close third-place match 45-32 to Woodland (Ga.). The Blue Raiders earlier lost 40-26 to Baylor.
“This the time of year when you seek out good competition to prepare for what’s coming up later in the year,” Cleveland coach Jake Yost said. “Losing two matches today really shows us how we need to get better.”
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com