CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Bradley Central’s wrestling coaches tried not to show it, but they were on pins and needles before their invitational tournament Friday and Saturday.
They’d seen improvement from a season-opening championship at the Ooltewah Invitational, but they didn’t know what to expect after a one-point dual meet win over Chattanooga Central a couple of weeks back.
After his team scored a 30.5-point victory in its own tournament Saturday, first-year head coach Ben Smith decided to pocket his “Thank goodness it isn’t February” speech.
“We’re showing more maturity. The less experienced guys are performing more to expectations, and the more experienced guys are wrestling more to the expectations of Bradley wrestling,” the coach said after his team scored 211.5 points to easily outdistance runner-up the 181 second-place points for Hoover (Ala.) High.
Hixson, which has been coming to the tournament for years, earned its first Bradley Invitational plaque with a third-place finish on a 143-point showing. Scottsboro (Ala.) was fourth (135) and Central was fifth at 129.