After several down years for a storied high school wrestling program with dozens of individual state champions in its history, Soddy-Daisy appears close to returning to the success of its glory days.
For the first time since 2018, the Trojans will compete in the TSSAA state duals, where they'll be one of eight Class A title contenders Saturday at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin.
Soddy-Daisy (31-5) faces Fairview (39-5) at 10 a.m. Eastern in the quarterfinals. The event has a double-elimination format, but once a team drops into the consolation bracket, it can finish no better than third place.
A championship is the goal for every qualifier, of course, and that's no less true for the Trojans as they seek the program's fifth state duals title after winning in 1989, 2002, 2007 and 2012. They also won the state traditional tournament in 2006, 2007 and 2012.
Now they're ready for more.
"We've had a huge turnaround," Soddy-Daisy head coach Ulrich Winesburgh said. "Everyone has bought in, from the wrestling club to the middle school and all the way up. We are motivated to get back to where we are one of the best teams in the state year after year."
The program has been helped by the return of assistant coach Shane Turner, who spent the past several seasons with Baylor, a nationally renowned program seeking its fifth straight state duals title as it competes in Division II-AAA this weekend. This is the 18th season overall with the Trojans for Turner, who celebrated matside with Winesburgh after he won the 135-pound title in 2007.
Junior Elijah Turner, Shane's son, has also been a major addition to the program, adding experience to a lineup that heavily features underclassmen. Elijah has fought back through an ankle injury and is 10-1 at 160 pounds.
Soddy-Daisy's most experienced wrestler, third-year starter Drew Lewis (126), is excited about how far the program has come since his freshman season two years ago. Individually, he is nearing 100 career wins and has been exceptional with a 43-3 record this season.
"For us to get back to the state tournament is really important to our team, the Soddy-Daisy wrestling club and our community," said Lewis, who finished third individually at last year's state traditional tourney. "We have had a lot of fall-off years since COVID and unfortunate luck. To bounce back now and win a state sectional over one of the best teams around in Pigeon Forge shows just how far we have come."
After losing its region final to Signal Mountain, 40-33, Soddy-Daisy clinched its spot at state duals by shocking Pigeon Forge with a 36-34 road victory in the sectional round. Freshman 152-pounder Logan Rawlinson's pin in the final bout sealed the dual win, which kept Pigeon Forge out of the state duals for just the second time in 14 years — a stretch in which the Tigers have five state duals titles.
Soddy-Daisy could potentially meet 2022 state duals champion Signal Mountain (19-2) in the finals, which begin at 8 p.m. The Eagles will face Gibbs (33-6) in the quarterfinals, with the winner meeting either Sycamore (24-19) or Tullahoma (20-8).
The winner between Fairview and Soddy-Daisy takes on either Knoxville Halls (27-4) or Page (32-8).
Only two of 14 starters for the Trojans are seniors — Knox Whalen (132) and Cleveland transfer Cole Dyer (106) — and while that bodes well for the future, the team of the present doesn't want to wait to prove itself. Other standouts for the Trojans include junior Zander Duncan (120), sophomore Gage Welch (145), and freshmen Tyson Flavin (113), Braylan Cooper (138) and Louden Laxton (195).
"We are relying on freshmen, sophomores and juniors to lead this team," Winesburgh said. "That just shows we can be stout for a while. We are going to keep getting better. It starts with these young kids we have leading the team right now.
"We have come a long way with the facilities and our performance since I first got here. The alumni are coming around more, and everyone is excited."
Drive for five
The Chattanooga area's already strong reputation for prep wrestling could be enhanced even more Saturday, when a sweep of all five TSSAA duals titles is possible.
In addition to being represented by Signal Mountain and Soddy-Daisy in Class A, the area boasts DII-AAA's Baylor Red Raiders (10-1) and Class AA's Cleveland Blue Raiders (22-0), the state's two top-rated teams. With the state fields for D-II already whittled to four teams, the Red Raiders are just two dual wins away from the title.
The Blue Raiders are seeking their sixth consecutive state duals title, and their eight-team bracket includes Bradley Central (17-5) on the opposite end, setting up the possibility of a championship final between the intracounty rivals.
In DII-A/AA, Boyd Buchanan's first state duals trip in program history will begin with a semifinal against Battle Ground Academy (14-15).
And in the second season of a girls' classification at state duals, Cleveland (9-0) has qualified again and will try to become the area's first such state champion.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.