CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The wrestling Mustangs stampeded out of the gate and finished strong to top the visiting Owls Tuesday night.
Walker Valley won six of the first seven bouts on the way to a 39-23 win over Ooltewah. Cameron Dwyer started the scoring at 120 pounds with a comeback win in sudden victory. Zane Smith, Joe Muñoz and Striker Clark followed with pins to build a 21-0 lead before Jordan Massengill put Ooltewah on the board with an 8-6 decision at 145.
Staff photo by Tim Barber Walker Valley's Zeth Haynie is on his head as he rolls Ooltewah's Scoot Miles to gain position for a pin Tuesday night in Charleston for the win in the 152-pound weight class."I think we looked good," Mustangs coach Alan Morris said. "Our conditioning was good, and our technique is looking better. That's a well-coached team, and I think we outfought them in some spots."
Zeth Haynie's pin and Mikel Gregory's decision extended Walker Valley's lead to 30-3. Haynie fought off his back to flip the script and get the fall.
Ooltewah then went on a run of its own. Blake Wright used a flurry of takedowns to earn a technical fall at 170 ahead of pins from Nick Lett and Tyler Reid.
"The top is our stronger part of the lineup," said Owls coach Bryant Blackmon. "We just have some young guys down low that have to grow a little bit. They work hard.
"We'll show continuous effort and keep putting pressure on people. At the end of the day, wrestling is wrestling. There is technique to it, but sometimes it's about who wants to win the fight more."
Following a double forfeit at 220, Ooltewah's Victor Bednarski cut the margin to 30-27 with two matches to go with a win at heavyweight.
"I was proud of Victor bumping up," Blackmon said. "He wrestled a tough heavyweight and came out with a win."
Walker Valley put the match out of reach at 106 with Chandler Davis' pin with less than a minute to go in the second period. James Jur wrapped up the match with a 13-7 decision.
"We wrestled Ooltewah's 106 earlier and got a win, so we felt comfortable there," Morris said. "And James at 113 is just a tank. He keeps going and going and going."
Walker Valley won eight of the 13 contested bouts with five pins. Ooltewah took five bouts, earning bonus points with a tech fall and two pins.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.