Ashton Davis is thankful for every day on the mat.
That would be true even if the Cleveland High School senior wasn’t one of Tennessee’s top high school wrestlers.
Davis hasn’t been defeated by an opponent from the Volunteer State since the end of his freshman season, when he dropped two matches in the 170-pound bracket at the TSSAA Class AAA traditional tournament and failed to medal, but there’s a much bigger reason the two-time state champion doesn’t take for granted his opportunities to enjoy the sport he so dearly loves.
In August 2020, Davis nearly lost his life.
On a hike to Benton Falls, a waterfall in the Cherokee National Forest in Polk County, he slipped on a wet rock and tumbled 50 feet to the ground. The fall resulted in a punctured lung, broken ribs, head trauma and a severe leg injury that required surgery. Remarkably, he was the first known survivor of a fall in that specific location.