Signal Mountain hungry for more wrestling success
For those hoping Signal Mountain might slack off on the wrestling mats after breaking through to win its first team state championship this past February, bad news awaits.
The Eagles return 11 of 14 starters from the lineup that won the TSSAA Class A state duals title, including all three Uhorchuk brothers: Caleb (senior), Ethan (sophomore) and JoJo (freshman). The influential trio combined for 127 wins and just three losses in a memorable 2021-22 season, and they are hungry for even greater success.
“It’s challenging to get to the top, but it’s even harder to stay there,” Ethan said. “We have worked all summer because we didn’t win the state traditional tournament. We really want to accomplish that. The energy is high in our wrestling room, and we continue to push ourselves because we want to win it all.”
Caleb, who has committed to wrestle in college for Army, led the Eagles with 45 wins last season on his way to winning a third straight individual state championship. He pinned all four opponents on the way to the 120-pound weight class title after winning at 113 as a sophomore and 106 as a freshman.
Ethan pummeled his opponents to earn 59 points in his final three matches at state that ended with technical falls in the 113-pound bracket. JoJo lost 3-1 in the 106-pound final to Greeneville’s Carson Dupill for his only defeat of the season despite wrestling as an eighth grader against varsity competition.
Over the summer, JoJo won a middle school national championship, Caleb became a two-time All-American with a third-place finish at high school nationals in Virginia Beach, and Ethan placed at the Grappler Fall Classic in Michigan.
“The Uhorchuk brothers don’t know what an off day is,” Signal Mountain coach Houston Clements said. “We will come in and lift and then practice. After we are done, they go downtown to the Minion training center for a whole new practice. They are such a great influence on the other guys. They set the tone for this team with their work ethic. A lot of these guys have come up seeing the Uhorchuks dominate the mats, and that becomes the expectation.”
Sophomore Jackson Davis is also expected to be a state champion contender at 160 pounds after piling up 35 wins to go with region and sectional individual titles in his first season. Daniel Odom and Jackson Owens are back after winning 30-plus matches last season despite wrestling through injuries.
Ian Bryant and Jaxon Quails are returning state qualifiers, and Brandon Clifford, Luke Higdon, Eben Shriner and Jacob Winchester could provide even more quality to the lineup.
The Eagles are not short of great minds, either, as the coaching staff is seven deep, including assistant coach/athletic director Brian Beasley, who helped lead Georgia’s Chattooga High School to a state title in 2020.
“Everyone getting a taste of winning state last year was great,” Clements said. “We want to stay on top, so we are working hard and grinding every day. These guys are already in midseason form, and we haven’t even started.”