Cleveland wrestlers react to teammate Joel Simpkins’ loss to Bradley County’s Aaron Hutson on Thursday night. Bradley County won the match 26-24. Cleveland High School wrestlers faced off against Bradley County High School at Walker Valley High School on Thursday.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Aaron Hutson is an undefeated senior wrestler, but he became a first-year starter for Bradley Central only after the Christmas break.
He’s no longer a mere rookie.
Hutson, who spent more than three seasons sharpening his skills as a practice dummy for more established teammates, earned a 2-1 victory in the final bout Thursday and lifted the Bears to a come-from-behind 26-24 victory over rival Cleveland in the Region 3-AAA dual championships.
Soddy-Daisy posted a 71-3 semifinal win over Walker Valley. That assured the Trojans of advancing to the state duals and the region’s top spot because of a previous agreement between Soddy-Daisy and Bradley coaches that there would be no region championship match if each won its semifinal.
Community bragging rights aside, there was a lot at stake on the other end of the gym, and it appeared more than once that Bradley coach Steve Logsdon was going to reach in his pocket for the cell phone to call and cancel the 25 rooms in Franklin that the team had reserved for next weekend’s state duals.
It was that close.
“I’m drained — more so than any match in which I have been a participant,” Logsdon said. “People walked up to me after our meet [a loss] with Soddy-Daisy and said that was the best match they’d ever seen. This one, though, was another level. There was so much adrenaline, a packed house and so much excitement.”
Cleveland, which also lost to the Bears on Monday, came more than ready Thursday and led on three occasions, including a 2-0 decision from Austin Oliver that gave the Blue Raiders a 24-23 advantage heading into the final bout. They were that close to extinguishing a 17-year string of losses to their crosstown rivals.
BRADLEY CENTRAL 26, CLEVELAND 24(Meet started at 125 pounds)103–Austin Stevison (C) pinned Dakota Bromley, 3:26; 112–Austin Oliver (C) dec. Jacob Climer, 2-0; 119–Aaron Hutson (BC) dec. Joel Simpkins, 2-1; 125–Ethan Hames (BC) major dec. Haden Hamilton, 11-3; 130–Jericho Crutcher (BC) dec. Brandon Strickland, 6-5; 135–Marvin Lopez (C) pinned Tyler Schuch, 4:54; 140–Aaron Lopez (C) dec. Tyler Pitts, 2-1; 145–John Jackson (BC) dec. Josh Hamilton, 9-2; 152–Bradley Colbaugh (BC) major dec. Chuck Norwood, 14-5; 160–Isaiah Nichols (C) dec. Jacob Bailey, 3-1; 171–A.J. Shelton (BC) dec. Juan Bobe, 4-2; 189–Jesse Jones (C) dec. Devin McCulley, 8-5; 215–Tucker Bolton (BC) major dec. Seth Snyder, 13-0; 285–Patrick Benson (BC) major dec. Jordan Hines, 19-7.Records: Bradley Central 21-1; Cleveland 17-5.SODDY-DAISY 71, WALKER VALLEY 3(Meet started at 125 pounds)103–Austin Holloway (SD) won by forfeit; 112–Jacob Stevens (SD) pinned Tyrus Hamrick, 1:24; 119–Caleb Langford (WV) dec. Brad Peckinpaugh, 9-3; 125–Garrett Alexander (SD) pinned Hunter Davis, 5:17; 130–Gage Richmond (SD) dec. Jake Blackburn, 17-10; 135–Campbell Lewis (SD) pinned Micah Langford, 3:34; 140–Jacob Adams (SD) major dec. Ryan Hager, 12-3; 145–Brannon Hunt (SD) major dec. Cole Dias, 17-9; 152–Turbo Smith (SD) pinned Boyd Reed, 4:59; 160–Kyle Odom (SD) pinned Kevin Kim, 2:45; 171–Blaike Henry (SD) pinned Chase Gregory, 0:45; 189–Matthew Ervin (SD) pinned Tristen Mills, 1:25; 215–Billy Swanson (SD) pinned Dylan Rawlston, 1:04; 285–Alex Seeley (SD) pinned Samuel Dworak, 0:43.Records: Soddy-Daisy 18-3; Walker Valley 7-15.
And it fell to Hutson, who improved to 12-0 with a 2-1 victory over Joel Simpkins.
“When I went out there I was thinking, ‘Get the job done,'” Hutson said. “We have all worked really hard to get to the state tournament, and this was such a big match for me. I’m wrestling for the win. I win and we go. I lose and we don’t. But I want to say this: [Simpkins] is a tough kid. He deserves to be ranked a lot higher than he is.”
Bradley won eight of the 14 bouts, but Cleveland had two more bonus points (six) than the Bears thanks to pins from Austin Stevison and Marvin Lopez. Bradley, which had no pins in a match for the first time in at least a decade, got major decisions from Ethan Hames, Bradley Colbaugh, Tucker Bolton and Patrick Benson.
Bradley also was penalized two points, one on Bolton for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match ended and another on the Bradley bench while Logsdon was discussing the first penalty with referee Josh Craft.
“I honestly think it was retaliation on Tucker’s part, and I wanted to make sure the ref knew it,” Logsdon said. “The other penalty [point] was on one of our coaches for stepping in front of the bench while I was talking with the referee, which you can’t do.
Because of the close loss, Cleveland won’t be going to Franklin with Soddy-Daisy and the Bears next week.
“I know how they feel. Been there and done that,” Soddy-Daisy coach Steve Henry said. “I went and watched last year, and it hurts.
“Do we really want the best in the tournament? I’ve sat through [TSSAA] Board of Control meetings and they discuss whether they want the best playing or do they want representatives from each part of the state. I think we need to come up with a system that allows the best to compete at the [duals]. It’s a shame that somebody here is sitting at home.”
Logsdon, for his part, is delighted to have gotten past Cleveland and was already thinking about the possibility of a rematch with Soddy-Daisy for the state duals title a week from Saturday.
“I knew Cleveland would bring it to us. It is really a shame that they’re not going,” he said. “It’s more than a shame. It’s an injustice because they are one of the best teams in the state.”