Bradley Central's TJ Hicks, left, wrestles Cleveland's Cody Matthews in their region 4-AAA wrestling tournament bout Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, at Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, Tenn.CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- There was talk among the Bradley Central folks of going out and grabbing a steak.
There was reason to celebrate. The Bears, hosts of the Region 4-AAA wrestling tournament, ended a pair of streaks Saturday. They ended the postseason championship drought that has plagued them for the past three seasons, and they also brought to a halt the tournament domination that Cleveland has enjoyed.
They also validated coach Ben Smith's endeavor to put the Bradley program back in order, handing him his first region championship.
Team Scores
1. Bradley Central (BC) 210, 2. Cleveland (Cl) 203.5, 3. Soddy-Daisy (SD) 155.5, 4. Walker Valley (WV) 122, 5. Ooltewah (Ool) 79, 6. East Hamilton (EH) 43.5, 7. McMinn County (McCo) 14.5, 8. Rhea County (RC) 7.Medal rounds106 poundsFor 1st: T.J. Hicks (BC) dec. Cody Mathews (Cl), 10-5; For 3rd: Charles Wheaton (SD) pinned Chandler Davis, 1:45.113 poundsFor 1st: Toribio Navarro (BC) dec. Chase Payne (SD), 6-2; For 3rd: Briar Potter (EH) pinned Marcus Hall (McCo), 2:57.120 poundsFor 1st: Tristian Blansit (Cl) dec. Ryan McElhaney (BC), 10-6; For 3rd: Zane Smith (WV) major dec. Justin Taylor (SD), 12-2.126 poundsFor 1st: Knox Fuller (BC) dec. Colton Landers (Cl), 4-2; For 3rd: Matt Meeks (EH) dec. Jacob McClure, 8-5.132 poundsFor 1st: Chris DeBien (Cl) pinned Austin Houser (SD), 1:38; For 3rd: Joseph Munoz (WV) major dec. Joshua LaCoe, 12-4.138 poundsFor 1st: Ezra Taylor (Cl) dec. Emory Holcomb (SD), 7-3; For 3rd: Austin Gregory (WV) dec. Stephen Scott (BC), 3-1.145 poundsFor 1st: Tucker Russo (SD) dec. Donnie Beyer (BC), 6-3; For 3rd: Mikel Gregory (WV) dec. Jordan Massengill (Ool), 8-2.152 poundsFor 1st: Robert Hicks (Cl) dec. Joshua Stiles (SD), 5-3; For 3rd: Caleb Adkins (BC) pinned Dionte Richardson (WV), 3:54.160 poundsFor 1st: Aaron Oliver (Cl) major dec. Jordan Chafi (Ool), 9-0; For 3rd: Clay Bandy (BC) pinned Hunter Rogers (SD), 2:26.170 poundsFor 1st: John Williamson (SD) pinned Corey Gatlin, 1:23; For 3rd: Tyler Reid (Ool) dec. Jonathan Martin (Cl), 11-5.182 poundsFor 1st: Brett Brown (BC) pinned Sammy Garcia (Cl), 0:44; For 3rd: Chuck Sanders (EH) dec. Nick Lett (Ool), 6-5.195 poundsFor 1st: Jaylon Martin (WV) dec. Ed Elkins, 8-7; For 3rd: Victor Bednarski (Ool) major dec. Riley Stevison (Cl), 13-1.220 poundsFor 1st: Ric Kennett (WV) dec. John Gaither (Cl), 3-1 SV1; For 3rd: Jacob Keltch (Ool) dec. Jacob Cranfill (RC), 4-0.285 poundsFor 1st: Koran Kennedy (Cl) major dec. D.J. Adams (BC), 14-0; For 3rd: C.J. Schwark (WV) dec. Jesse McNew (SD), 3-0.
More importantly, the Bears qualified 13 for this week's Class AAA state tournament that begins Thursday evening in Franklin.
"It was an up-and-down day for me for sure, and we have to get better if we're going to win next week," Smith said. "I'm happy for my kids, happy for my program and I'm happy for my coaches that put up with me, but we have to remember, right now it's a consolation prize depending on what we do next week."
Cleveland has 12 qualifiers, Soddy-Daisy 11, Walker Valley nine, Ooltewah six, East Hamilton three and McMinn County and Rhea County one each.
The Bears scored 210 points to 203.5 for the runner-up Blue Raiders while Soddy-Daisy, much improved since its dismal region duals showing, was third with 155.5. Walker Valley was fourth with 122 and was the only other team to break the century scoring mark.
"When I talk with (Smith) I'll tell him congratulations. They did a good job," said Cleveland coach Jake Yost, whose team now turns its attention to a fourth straight traditional state championship. "We qualified 12 and every one of our guys wrestled to or finished above their seed. We came up a little short, but that's all right. We just needed to get enough guys through to get ready for next weekend."
Individual champions were Bradley's T.J. Hicks (106), Toribio Navarro (113), Knox Fuller (126) and Brett Brown; Cleveland's Tristian Blansit (120), Chris DeBien (132), Ezra Taylor (138), Robert Hicks (152), Aaron Oliver (160) and Koran Kennedy (285); Soddy-Daisy's Tucker Russo (145) and John Williamson (170); and Walker Valley's Jaylon Martin (195) and Ric Kennett (220).
The team title went down to the next-to-last match, and Kennett ended Cleveland's comeback with a victory over the Blue Raiders' John Gaither.
Bradley won the tournament with a concerted effort in the consolation semifinals and finals.
"I felt like we underperformed in the (championship) semis and that put some pressure on our guys," Smith said, "but those guys in the consolations getting bonus points were vital in us getting to a point where we could stave off any comeback attempt by (Cleveland), and they did make a comeback."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.