Saturday’s Cleveland Duals, celebrating its 32nd straight season, continues to be a powerhouse wrestling event and likely surpasses the state duals tournament as the strongest such event in Tennessee.
“I wouldn’t say there are any weak teams. It’s a pretty stout lineup,” Cleveland coach Jake Yost said.
The same might be said for upcoming tournaments. The annual Bradley Central and McCallie two-day invitationals start a week from today along with Chattanooga Christian’s A/AA tournament. Soddy-Daisy’s Trojan Invitational is Jan. 7, the same day as the Central Invitational.
Those high school tournaments sandwich the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Southern Scuffle, the premier college invitational, which is Jan. 1-2. Too, some area teams will compete in the G.P. West Invitational at Brentwood and the Father Ryan Invitational in Nashville.
Cleveland’s one-day pool event starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with semifinals scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the championship meet for 4. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children.
When asked about a favorite, Yost hedged his bets.
“I will say the top four from last year – Baylor, Father Ryan, Woodland and Cleveland – are returning,” he said.
Baylor edged Father Ryan by two points for the 2015 Division II-AA state duals championship, and Ryan won the traditional title by 8.5 points over the Red Raiders. Cleveland won the AAA dual and traditional titles again. Woodward Academy is a perennial state championship contender in Georgia.
“Soddy-Daisy is always good. Gilmer is a defending Georgia state champion, and Pope from Marietta is always a strong, competitive team along with McCallie,” Yost said.
The field is even stronger, though, because of the return to the 16-team field of Bradley Central, Cleveland’s longtime rival and another perennial state power. The Bears last competed in the Blue Raiders’ tournament in the 2008-09 season.
“We wanted the competition, which was a very tempting reason to stay at home,” Bears coach Ben Smith said. “Why travel when you have that type of competition in your own back yard? Plus we’re able to save some money.”
He was able to eliminate a two-night stay at a tournament in Georgia as well as one night and gas and food money for the Tullahoma Duals, which is where he had been taking the team in recent years.
The Bears’ annual budget for travel is close to $12,000, and Smith is trying to save or raise enough money to have two mats reconditioned (at about $9,000 each). He’s hoping to have the necessary funds to purchase a new competition mat by the end of the 2016-17 season.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.