Soddy-Daisy Showdown has 15 wrestling teams

Wrestlers compete in Southern Scuffle wrestling championship round of 16 matches Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.
Wrestlers compete in Southern Scuffle wrestling championship round of 16 matches Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.

The annual Soddy-Daisy Showdown, a 15-team double-elimination wrestling tournament, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 Saturday morning.

Five of the teams are ranked among the top 12 in the latest Tennessee coaches' poll: No. 4 Cleveland, No. 6 Wilson Central, the host Trojans at No. 8, No. 11 Tullahoma and No. 12 Cookeville. Pigeon Forge, one of the top A/AA squads in the state, is among the other teams receiving votes.

photo Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer, top, reigning NCAA champ, wrestle's Penn State's Garett Hammond during their Southern Scuffle wrestling 165 lb class championship round of 16 match Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.

"I think it will be one of the premier tournaments of the year, even though it's smaller than usual. However, the talent is there and we're expecting to see good matches from the outset," Soddy-Daisy coach Jim Higgins said.

Rounding out the field are Centennial, Dobyns-Bennett, Gibbs, Independence, Oakland, Signal Mountain and Walker Valley from Tennessee and Huntsville Grissom and Hewitt-Trussville from Alabama.

photo UTC's Sean Boyle, right, wrestles Virginia's Will Mason in their Southern Scuffle 125 lb class wrestling championship round of 16 match Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.

"Right off hand with no two ways about it, I would think that Cleveland and Wilson Central will be the favorites even though Wilson Central is not bringing a full lineup," Higgins said. "I think for the most part Cleveland will have their guys at the weights where they'll be for the state, including Chris Debien."

A three-time state champion coming off knee surgery, Debien is expected to be at 132 pounds.

With weigh-ins at 8, the round of 16 starting at 9:30 and wrestling taking place on four mats, tournament officials expect the championship and consolation finals to begin around 3:30 Saturday afternoon. There will be "best wrestler" and "best match" awards for the 106-145 and 152-285 weight classes.

There will be no junior varsity tournament this year, but there are four dual meets tonight featuring the host Trojans, Suwannee, Fla., Dobyns-Bennett and Oakland.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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