Baylor far ahead; Tornado 2nd

FRANKLIN, Tenn.-Because of its history and tradition, it's hard to set records or break new ground at Baylor.

The 2010-11 Red Raiders found a way to do it Friday, putting 12 in the championship semifinals and getting 10 of those into the championship finals. If they didn't have the team title locked up, they were close enough to draw interest on a hefty bank deposit.

"Nobody's going to catch Baylor, but if anybody can it's McCallie. We're pretty much out of it," Christian Brothers coach Chris Lewis said.

McCallie had a score to settle with Christian Brothers that carried over from the state duals.

"They were hungry and they reversed the outcomes of several matches from the duals," Lewis said.

It would take a miracle or more for anybody to catch the Red Raiders, who had rolled up 270 points. McCallie scrambled into second place but was 75 points behind. Christian Brothers had dropped to third with 192 and Father Ryan had passed Montgomery Bell Academy and moved into fourth with 160.5 points.

Baylor finalistas are Cole Holloway (103), Brandon Brunner (119), Zach Watson (125), Alex Manley (130), Bennett Reece (135), Stuart Doster (140), Matthew Cate (152), Spencer craig (160), John Mackey (215) and Barrett Gouger (285).

McCallie has six finalists: Adam Connell (103), Alex Elsea (112), Alex Ward (125), Michael Hooker (145), T.J. Duncan (160) and Chase Martino (171).

"We have never had 10 finalists. What an incredible performance," Baylor coach Ben Nelson said. "We couldn't have wrestled any better. Even the kids that lost did what we asked to do and what they had trained for all year."

Nelson, who assumed the head coaching reins from Jim Morgan this year and took Baylor to the state duals championship with a close finals win over CBHS, could not have been more pleased.

"In my three years on the staff, this was the guys' most impressive performance," Nelson said. "Top to bottom it was a great day of wrestling. We have a bunch of kids that work hard."

The tournament resumes at 11 a.m. with consolation semifinals and third- and fifth-place medal matches. Championship finals begin at 7 p.m.

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