Ooltewah’s Jay Rudwall tries for a pin East Hamilton’s Francisco Rodriquez just before time ran out in the 220-pound championship match at the Ooltewah Invitational.It wasn’t February but it was a tournament, so Ben Smith wanted to show something in his inaugural invitational showing as Bradley Central’s head wrestling coach.
Saturday evening, he left Ooltewah with a tournament championship plaque clutched in one hand and enough notes to keep the Bears busy for a week wadded in the other.
“I’ll always remember this — my first one. It’s like your first car. You don’t forget,” he said after Bradley scored 210 points to win the Keith Johnson Memorial team title by 59 1/2 points over runner-up Wilson Central.
Walker Valley was third with 126 points. Cookeville, Centennial, East Ridge and Ooltewah were fourth through seventh.
While it may not have been the dominating performance Bradley fans are used to seeing — Smith is breaking in a half-dozen replacements — the Bears had five champions among eight finalists and a fourth-place finisher. Wilson Central, Centennial and Ooltewah were the only other teams with more than one champ, and each had two.