CLEVELAND, Tenn. — For the first time in three seasons a Chattanooga area team wrestled its way into the Cleveland duals championship, and for the sixth straight time Georgia power Collins Hill left with the championship trophy.
Collins Hill, winner of three straight Georgia duals championships, bested Soddy-Daisy 42-24 Saturday.
“A shift in a couple of places and we probably go into the final match tied at 25 against a team that’s nationally ranked,” said Trojans coach Steve Henry, whose team rebounded from a Friday night loss to Christian Brothers by winning its pool and then besting Cleveland in the semifinals to reach the championship.
Soddy-Daisy dropped close matches at 189 and 215 — Brett Ervin losing 4-3 and Billy Swanson 2-0 — and the Trojans also wrestled without defending state champ Campbell Lewis, who is trying to get well from a handful of nagging injuries.
“I’m not disappointed. Getting to the finals is something to be happy about, especially after suffering a one-point loss last night,” said Henry, whose team went 3-0 against Hoover, Ala., Science Hill and Father Ryan.
The Trojans might not have won against Father Ryan if not for the willingness of Purple Irish coach Pat Simpson to change the start time of their meet from Saturday morning to Saturday afternoon.
“He knew we had two kids missing this morning and he could have taken advantage and probably gotten the win but he agreed to move the match, which was a very classy move,” Henry said.
Soddy-Daisy got its second win in as many weekends over Cleveland. The Trojans bested the Blue Raiders in a close meet for the duals at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and then won 40-25.
“You don’t like wrestling those guys again and again. We still have a regular season meet with them and we’ll likely see them at some point in the [duals] postseason,” he said.
“Soddy-Daisy’s a good team, a solid team but I love my team,” Blue Raiders coach Eric Phillips said. “We’re getting better and [wrestling Soddy-Daisy] is a fun match. We jaw at each other and each wants to beat the other, but it’s a healthy, competitive situation.”
This weekend was all about competition. The 16-team field included McCallie, Parkview, Ga., Sonoraville, Ga., Christian Brothers, Franklin, Rome, Ga., and Walker Valley.
“It will be interesting to see what this week’s [Tennessee] poll looks like,” Phillips said.
CBHS bested Soddy-Daisy Friday but then lost to Cleveland on Saturday before besting Father Ryan. McCallie went 3-0 to win its pool but then lost to Collins Hill in the other semifinal.
“I think the only way this could get any tougher is if we brought in the [Iowa] Hawkeyes and UT-Chattanooga,” Phillips said. “Adding Bradley [Central] would really make this tournament complete. But that’s the whole purpose of this tournament. I’m going to need a computer for all the notes we took. You find weaknesses, things you need to work on.”
Only one team left completely happy, but Phillips believes the others made strides toward improvement.
“The rest of us have to be feeling like we learned a lot. We had some great wrestling directed by some great coaches. It’s just a great atmosphere.”