WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsSoddy-Daisy, Cleveland cruising to region wrestling titles

Soddy-Daisy cruising to Region 4 title
SODDY-DAISY, Tenn. (WRCB) -- Fresh off a TSSAA state duals championship, Soddy-Daisy wrestling wasted no time adding another piece of hardware to its already overcrowded trophy case on Friday night.

The host Trojans sent ten wrestlers through to the finals while racking up 227 points on the first day of the Region 4 Traditional Wrestling Tournament, all but sewing up the region title entering Saturday's championship bouts.

Soddy-Daisy's Alex Seeley, Billy Swanson, Brett Ervin and Jacob Stevens all swept their matches with pins. Blaike Henry and Gage Richmond split their bouts between pins and technical falls.

Central, who also won a state duals title in A/AA last week in Franklin, is second in the team standings. The Purple Pounders, who have four finalists, sit 110.5 points behind the Trojans at 116.5.

Notre Dame (107.5), Hixson (92) and East Ridge (84) rounding out the top five. The Fighting Irish have four wrestlers in championship bouts, while Hixson and East Ridge each have two.

Red Bank's Sharp brothers, Logan and Zac, also advanced to the finals.

Tyner's DeAngelo Williams kept his quest for an undefeated season alive with a pair of wins at 113 pounds.

Williams, whose record now stands at 35-0, entered the tournament as one of just three unbeaten wrestlers in the state of Tennessee. His record remained unblemished after pinning Red Bank's Devonte Clark and Hixson's Grayson Layne. James will wrestle East Ridge's Brandon Whitley for the region title on Saturday.

Sale Creek's Nathan Davis entered with the area's second-best record behind James at 34-1 overall, but dropped a 7-6 overtime decision to Ooltewah's Matthew Sealor in the 170-pound semifinals. He opened with a pin of Hixson's John Hayes, moving his record to 35-2 on the season.

One of the biggest upsets of the tournament came in the second round of the 220-pound bracket when Red Bank's Paul Horne managed a first-period pin of Ooltewah's Jay Rudwall. Rudwall, the bracket's top seed, entered the night with Chattanooga area's third-best mark at 27-1 on the year.

Horne later dropped to the consolatoin bracket after being pinned by Hixson's Christian Varner in the quarterfinals.

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to next week's state tournament in Franklin.

Cleveland opens commanding lead in Region 3
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WRCB) -- With a loss in the state duals finals still fresh in its mind, Cleveland started the road to a traditional team title in dominating fashion on Friday night.

The Blue Raiders sent 12 grapplers to Saturday's championship finals for a whopping 220 team points on day one of the Region 3 Traditional Wrestling Tournament at Bradley Central High School.

Cleveland owns a 76.5-point advantage over arch rival Bradley Central. The host Bears have seven finalists and 114.5 points. Walker Valley (75.5) is third and has two finalists. Heritage (69) and Maryville (57.5) round out the top five in the 13-team field.

All nine of the Blue Raiders' No. 1 seeds advanced to the finals, while second seeds Jordan Hines, Oleg Stukanov and J.C. Bobe also advanced. The only two weight classes Cleveland won't have a shot at winning are 152 and 160 pounds.

Bradley Central's two top seeds, Patrick Benson (285) and Jacob Bailey (160), also won all three of their matches Friday. Bailey and Cleveland's Jordan Hines (285) were the only two wrestlers to sweep all three of their matches by pin.

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to next week's state tournament in Franklin.