Region tourneys test fine records
There are three unbeaten wrestlers in Tennessee according to National Wrestling Coaches Association statistics — Father Ryan’s Michael Hooker (160 pounds), Brentwood Academy’s Amos Mason ( 220) and Tyner’s Deangelo James (113) — going into this weekend’s regional tournaments.
Hooker won a state title last year while wrestling for Mccallie, and Mason also won a Division II state title. James entered the 2011 Region 4 tournament and extended a win streak to 40- 0 before he l ost in the finals to Soddy- Daisy’s Jacob Stevens. A senior, James has a better feel now for the target painted by his name.
“He didn’t place [ in the state] last year, but he came back after that loss and wrestled well,” Tyner coach Wayne Turner said.
“After I lost at the state it was hard to focus,” James said earlier this season. “I wanted to be No. 1, and if I couldn’t I lost some of the intensity.”
James is aware of his record — 78-3 thus the last two years — “but he doesn’t dwell on it. He doesn’t really care one way or the other,” Turner said.
While there is a certain amount of pride in one’s record, most wrestlers remember most the matches they lost.
Ooltewah’s 220-pound Jay Rudwall enters the postseason with a 27-1 record. While the rally that led to a win over Soddy- Daisy’s Billy Swanson was sweet for him and gave the senior a top seed in his region, it is a loss to William Blount’s T.J. Satterfield he most remembers.
“I think I’m 27-1,” he said. “I didn’t keep up with it early in the season. Obviously when I was unbeaten it was easy to say I hadn’t lost, and while [the record] isn’t a big deal it gained a little more importance once I lost one. That loss to Satterfield sticks out. It was the first time all season that I didn’t get where I wanted to be or what I needed to do in order to win. It’s something I wanted to learn from and not repeat.”
Of course, a win streak started now or continued is more important than at any point in the season. The top four wrestlers in each weight class in the Region 3 tournament at Bradley Central and the Region 4 event at Soddy- Daisy advance to the state tournament next Thursday through Saturday in Franklin.
Winning a region title means an easier road — facing a No. 4 from another region in the state open — while a runner-up would face another region’s No. 3.
Soddy-daisy coach Steve Henry doesn’t address wins, win streaks or won- lost records.
“The kids don’t get hung up on it, but then it has never been a priority with us,” Henry said. “The priority has been whatever meet or match we had at the time.”
In his coaching career, which covers the better part of three decades, Henry has had one wrestler go undefeated to a state title. It was Jim Higgins, his current assistant coach.
“I remember I had another, Josh Pugh, who went in undefeated and wound up finishing third,” Henry said. “I hate having people going i nto t he state unbeat e n . Their minds et s hift s f rom winning to not losing.”
Often it falls on coaches and how they schedule, according to Ooltewah coach Wendell Weathers.
“If we have a perfect record as a team, then the schedule wasn’t hard enough, and that goes down to individuals,” Weathers said. “We travel to find the best competition, and I think we’ve done that.”
While an outstanding record might help, quality of competition is what really counts.
“Records are wha t t hey are,” Bradley Cent ral coach Ben Smith said. “It ’ s the quality within that record where it really pans out.”
Eric Phillips, coach of defending state champion Cleveland, agreed with his friend and rival.
“You know at Bradley, Soddy- Daisy, Walker Valley and Cleveland that if a kid is 25- 8 then he’s probably a stud. A 25-8 at Baylor or Mccallie — yeah, you’re good,” he said of those school’s competitive schedules.
“The Cleveland guys have some losses but that’s from a tough schedule, and some teams don’t have as tough a schedule as others,” Walker Valley coach Alan Morris said. “Yeah, some records are somewhat inflated. I thought we wrestled a pretty tough schedule with 30 matches, but a guy getting 50 wins? That’s a lot.”
Today is the beginning of the end for inflation.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@ timesfreepress. com or 423-886-4765.