FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Emotions poured out on the wrestling mat at the Williamson Ag Expo Center on Saturday night, where 18 Chattanooga-area wrestlers became TSSAA state individual champions.
Soddy-Daisy seniors Andrew Lewis and Elijah Turner earned individual titles — two of four the team won Saturday — in helping the Trojans set a new program record with 246 points as they blew past the field to the Class A state traditional team championship.
Turner fought through adversity to win his title. The 157-pound state champion broke his hand in late December and also battled through a foot injury. With nearly 30 seconds left in the third period of his finals match against Sycamore’s Dylan Davenport, Turner secured a 3-2 decision with a move he had been preparing for.
“I had been game-planning for two weeks with coach George Carpenter,” said Turner, whose 157-pound bout was named the tournament’s best match. “We had planned that when he hits that slide-by I need to release and go for the legs and score. It worked.
“I have been working for this moment my whole life. I put on a Soddy-Daisy singlet when I was 3 years old. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to this moment. I couldn’t wrestle all of January or in the state duals, but you would have had to saw my arm off to stop me from wrestling in this state tournament. Today is the greatest moment of my career.”