CLEVELAND – There have been a lot of positive and memorable experiences for the Cleveland Blue Raider wrestling team in recent years, but they’ll have a tough time topping the one they had in their own gym Saturday.
Hosting the annual Cleveland Duals and certainly a team considered one of the pre-tournament favorites, the Blue Raiders beat three of the top four teams in the state, including the top-ranked and defending state champion Bradley Bears in the championship.
Cleveland had easy wins over Southeast Whitfield and Hewitt-Trussville earlier in the day before whipping Baylor by a 53-15 in their final pool match.
Then in the one semifinal where they were facing D-II defending state champ Father Ryan, the Blue Raiders again posted an impressive victory as they raced to a 37-6 lead before winning by a 41-15 score.
Beating the top two private schools was a big deal, but coming back to nip the cross-town rival Bears in the championship was another as Dylan Jones and Robert Hicks both recorded first-period pins as the Blue Raiders overcame an 11-point deficit late to win, 34-33.
Granted, there have been some great matches in the past between Bradley and Cleveland. Some have been closer than others, but the one on Saturday has to rank as one of the best in the long-running rivalry. Almost like a Hatfield-McCoy rivalry where there is no lost love, this one was a great way to break in the sparkling new Raider Arena as it was the first official wrestling event held in this spacious facility.
“We wrestled hard all day long, but this last one just hasn’t sunk in yet,” said first-year Cleveland coach Josh Boskin after his team had won for the 12th time without a loss this season.
“Every match against Bradley mattered, but everyone on the team stepped up. I wasn’t as concerned about winning the whole thing as I was being proud of the effort we put forth and putting ourselves in that position.
“This is certainly a special win and we’ll celebrate it today, but we’ll have to go back to work on Monday. I just wanted to see how tough we could be today and that’s why I put us on the same side of the bracket as Baylor and Father Ryan. These guys do a good job of making me look like somebody special, but it was all them and the work they’ve done to make this moment possible,” Boskin added.
Each team won seven matches.
Cleveland had four pins, two regular decisions and one major while Bradley countered with three pins, three majors and one regular decision.
Ed Elkins gave Bradley a 6-0 lead in the first match with a pin at 195 before Seth Garcia evened the score with a pin at 220. An 11-4 decision by heavyweight Titus Swafford gave Cleveland its first lead at 9-6 before Wesley Devaney put the Bears ahead with a major decision at 106.
Garret Bowers gave two-time defending state champ T.J. Hicks all he wanted before dropping a 7-6 decision at 113 before teammate Bryce Pond got Cleveland within 13-12 with a 4-3 decision at 120.
Ethan Anderson’s pin at 126 extended Bradley’s lead to 19-12 before Colton Landers posted a 14-5 major over defending state champ Ryan McElhaney at 132 and Cody Mathews had a second-period pin at 138 to give Cleveland the edge at 22-19.
Knox Fuller and Austin Mathews had back-to-back majors before Caleb Adkins scored a second-period pin and things were looking good for the Bears as their lead was 33-22 with two matches remaining.
The Cleveland faithful went crazy when Jones got a pin with 45 seconds left in the first period after trailing 5-0 at that point and the place went completely bonkers after Hicks got the pin call with 51 seconds left in the first period of his match.
Landers was voted the Outstanding Wrestler for his effort and he was just glad to have a chance to help his team.
“My getting bonus points was big. I had wrestled Ryan twice when we were freshmen and he beat me both times, so I had to prove to him that I was the better wrestler today. Us winning the team championship is huge and for us to win this tournament for the first time in a long time is really crazy,” he added.
Bradley coach Ben Smith was somewhat speechless when the match ended, but he was much more subdued and relaxed after a long talk with his team.
“Anybody can win a big match like that, but it takes a man to lose with dignity and grace. Obviously this wasn’t on our list of goals for the season, but I just challenged them to be mature young men over how they handle a tough loss like this one. This is just one of life’s tough lessons,” he said after most of the fans had exited the building.
“Cleveland has a really good team and they’re the hottest team in the state right now. They’re young, but they’re hungry, talented and really motivated. I thought we lost our composure in that match as we were more concerned about chest bumping than wrestling. When that happened, that took us out of our game.
“Colton Landers is a great kid and outstanding wrestler. He’s an exceptional stud in their lineup, but I thought our loss at 170 may have been the turning point. To be ahead 5-0 and on the verge of getting more, it hurts when you get pinned in a situation like that.
“I guess this just helps build the hype for our regular-season dual meet, which will be right here on January 12,” Smith concluded.
Cleveland’s win over Baylor was impressive. The lopsided victory over Father Ryan may have been sweeter after what happened last year.
The Purple Irish wrestled Cleveland on the Friday night before the Duals last year and posted a convincing win as the Blue Raiders only won two matches that night. Father Ryan went on to beat Baylor in both the State Duals and Traditional tournament, but it’s a whole different team for the guys from Nashville this time around.
“We just aren’t very tough right now,” explained long-time Father Ryan coach Pat Simpson after the loss to Cleveland.
“Wrestling is often like a good street fight, but we got punched in the mouth a few times today and just didn’t punch back. We weren’t very good,” he added after his team had fallen to 10-2 on the young season.
The Soddy Daisy Trojans won their pool and were supposed to wrestle Bradley in the other semifinal match, but the Trojans conceded that match and it never took place.
Father Ryan was the defending champion in this event after beating Baylor in the finals a year ago.
CLEVELAND 34, BRADLEY 33
(Match began at 195 Pounds)
106 – Wesley Devaney (Brad) major dec. Garrett Stevenson, 12-0;
113 – T.J. Hicks (Brad) dec. Garret Bowers, 7-6;
120 – Bryce Pond (Clev) dec. Trey Hicks, 4-3;
126 – Ethan Anderson (Brad) pinned Jayce Mullin, 4:56;
132 – Colton Landers (Clev) major dec. Ryan McElhaney, 14-5;
138 – Cody Mathews (Clev) pinned Andy Robinson, 3:50;
145 – Knox Fuller (Brad) major dec. Michael Whiteside, 11-0;
152 – Austin Mathews (Brad) major dec. Caleb Eachus, 10-0;
160 – Caleb Adkins (Brad) pinned Zach Brezna, 3:02;
170 – Dylan Jones (Clev) pinned Henley Headrick, 1:15;
182 – Robert Hicks (Clev) pinned Trey Johnson, 1:09;
195 – Ed Elkins (Brad) pinned Logan Strickland, 2:21;
220 – Seth Garcia (Clev) pinned Kevin Gentry, 2:50;
285 – Titus Swafford (Clev) dec. D.J. Gibson, 11-4.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)