If anybody from the Soddy-Daisy High School wrestling team walked into McCallie’s arena Friday evening feeling overly good about himself, he likely left his ego in a trash bin as he departed.
Visiting Christian Brothers provided both a gut check and a dose of reality, clipping the previously unbeaten Trojans 31-30. That was after Soddy-Daisy stretched its win streak to 10 with a 59-19 win over the host Blue Tornado.
“I don’t like to get beat, but I can live with it,” Trojans coach Steve Henry said. “I’m a little angry right now because the team is not in sync. We’re trying to get everything established.”
The Trojans will have another opportunity to do that immediately. They’re part of a powerhouse field set to compete today in the Cleveland Duals, a team tournament that includes Father Ryan, Christian Brothers and Georgia powers Collins Hill and Parkview. Championship finals are scheduled to start at 5:30 in Cleveland’s main gym.
Perhaps Henry also can shake the vibes he carried into Friday’s dual meets.
“I had a bad feeling,” he said. “I didn’t think we wrestled well at all tonight. We were able to get away with it against McCallie because McCallie has a lot of holes [in the lineup] right now.”
Campbell Lewis, a defending state champion, was in the midst of Henry’s bad feelings and two key matches, and he lost both of them. The first against McCallie officially was a forfeit victory for Campbell at 125 pounds, but he wrestled an exhibition against Alex Ward. The Trojans junior surrendered a 5-0 lead and then lost 7-5 in the first overtime period.
His loss to Christian Brothers’ Matt Johnson at 130 pounds surprised even Purple Wave coach Chris Lewis.
“I didn’t think we’d win at 130, but on the flipside I thought we’d win at 135,” he said.
Had the Trojans won at 130, it’s probable they would have pulled out the victory.
“I don’t know what’s going on with [Campbell] right now. What I know is that he was 0-2 tonight,” Henry said. “He has some demons he needs to deal with.”
The win at 135 came from unheralded Jacob Adams, who put a major decision on the Wave’s Blake Hataway.
“He beat him and made him like it,” Lewis said.
The Trojans fell behind by 27-10 before pins from Billy Swanson (215) and Jonah Smith and a decision from Alex Seeley (285) moved them within 27-25. Jacob Stevens turned in a technical fall to give them their first lead, but it also set the stage for outstanding Christian Brothers wrestler Tate Robinson. The freshman, fifth in the nationals and currently ranked 25th nationally by USA Wrestling, posted a major decision to give the Wave their one-point win.
“Their 112-pounder [Stevens] is fantastic,” Lewis said.
In addition to the Lewis-Ward battle at 125, another anticipated match was the meeting between McCallie’s Michael Hooker and the Trojans’ Turbo Smith. Hooker took a 3-0 victory.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.