Coach Ben Smith admitted that his team didn’t have its best practice on Friday following a 49-15 loss to top-ranked Baylor, but his Bradley Bears bounced back like champions at the Garner-Dyer Invitational at Tullahoma on Saturday.
The Bears claimed five individual titles and five others who were runners-up and yet another who finished third as they claimed the first-place team trophy with 265 points.
Montgomery Bell Academy was a distant second with 175.5 while Oakland (156), Grissom (118.5) and Walker Valley (115.5) completed the top five teams. East Hamilton was sixth with 113 while Red Bank and Sequatchie County finished 23rd and 24th, respectively.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Smith said by cell phone while driving the bus back to Cleveland Saturday evening.
“I’m pleased with what I saw today. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as our practice on Friday wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, but we came in here this morning with our heads held high and wrestled more like the Bradley Bears of old.
“We gained some confidence as our effort was good. We’re getting better on the mat and I really enjoyed watching my kids compete today. It was a good day for the Bears,” Smith added.
Ethan Wilson claimed the first individual title for Bradley at 106 while teammates Luke Belcher (120), Taron Patterson (126), Gavin Hughes (132) and Seth Gregory (138) also followed with championship wins.
Easton Lipsey (113), Carson Palmer (145), Ben Stansberry (160), Tyrone McDonald (170) and Gavin Sewell (220) all finished second while Austin McClure was third at 285.
East Hamilton had a pair of champs with 113-pound winner TeNario Thomas also capturing MVP honors for the day. Teammate Jason Brumlow was the winner at 195. Walker Valley’s Jadon Langford was the winner at 285.
Heath Tanksley was third at 182 for Walker Valley while Michael Teasley was fourth for the Mustangs at 160.
While Bradley was winning in Tullahoma, the McCallie Blue Tornado came in second in their invitational.
Woodland was the winner with 307 points while McCallie was second with 225. Northwest Whitfield scored 158.5 points for fifth while Dalton’s 96 points were good enough for 10th.
McCallie’s three champs included Jack Braman at 120, Emory Taylor at 126 and James Howard at 285.
Alex Whitworth (160), Gavin Cagle (170) and Chase Looper (182) were all second for the Blue Tornado while Ellis Haney (106) and Rand Holtzclaw (152) were both third.
Dalton’s Cole Hunt was the champion at 113 pounds.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)