FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Two weeks after earning the TSSAA state duals championship at the Williamson County Agricultural Expo, the Cleveland High School wrestling team finished the first day of the TSSAA traditional state meet in first place in the same building.
With 149 points after Friday's competition, the Blue Raiders lead Class AAA with Science Hill second at 136 and Wilson Central third at 125.5 and third-placed Wilson Central (125.5). Soddy Daisy is currently in 13th (55), while East Hamilton is in 19th place (43.5).
Leading the Blue Raiders with championship semifinal wins were Trae McDaniel at 106 pounds and Austin Sweeney at 152 pounds.
Defending champion Bradley Central is in seventh place after what Bears coach Ben Smith called a "tough day all around."
"Seeing the careers of the seniors end is probably the hardest part about days like today, but we can't let wins and losses affect our mood moving forward," Smith said. "We represented our area well. I think the Chattanooga-Cleveland area is the hotbed of wrestling in the state of Tennessee. There's a lot of coaches and programs that'd like to be where our area is at right now."
Soddy-Daisy ended the day in 13th place with 55 points and Ty Boeck a finalist at 220 pounds. East Hamilton is 19th at 43.5.
Also Friday, McCallie and Baylor wrestled themselves into second and third place in Division II entering the final day. Christian Brothers from Memphis is in first place with 173 points, while McCallie has 159 and Baylor 134.5.
Finalists for McCallie are Christian Morris at 106 pounds, Emory Taylor at 113, Cody Chittum at 120, Alex Whitworth at 126, Zach Ward at 132, Thomas Sell at 170 and Walker Robinson at 195. Baylor finalists are Andrew Pace at 138 pounds, Austin Atchley at 145, Mason Reiniche at 160, Connor Duffy at 170 and Riley Westlake at 182.
Notre Dame sits in seventh (36), while Chattanooga Christian (16) and Boyd-Buchanan (7) are tied for 11th and 16th, respectively.
Despite graduating nine seniors - including two state champions- from last year's team, Hixson finished the day in third place in Class A/AA with 98 points. Leading the Wildcats with semifinal wins Friday were Trevor Lewis at 113 pounds, Charles Burton at 120 and Jordan Lewis at 138.
"Nobody gave us much of a chance this year because we're so young," Hixson coach Garrick Hall said. "The crazy thing about today is that a lot of the kids for us out here today weren't even around those guys (last year) because they're freshmen. Coming out tomorrow and taking care of business tomorrow can hopefully keep us rolling into next year. These kinds of things build programs."
Also in A/AA, Signal Mountain is in fifth place (83) with Daniel Uhorchuk a finalist at 106, Red Bank in 12th (47), East Ridge in 15th (39.5), Sequatchie County in 19th (30) and Central in 23rd (14).
The Celebration of Finalists at the Williamson County Expo is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. EST today with the final round starting at 6.
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com.