JONESBOROUGH – The Greeneville wrestling team battled through two tough matches on Tuesday night and came home with some new hardware after capturing the Region 1-A Duals championship at David Crockett High School.
This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Greene Devils as they inserted a handful of freshman into the lineup, but those young guys led by some important veterans had other plans.
“Everybody looked at this lineup and looked at these young kids, they said Greeneville is starting seven freshmen and they are going take some lumps,” Greeneville coach Atlas Fagundes said. “Those guys that won state championships the last couple of years are all gone. They thought we’re going to be tough in a year or two, but we preached over and over that Greeneville waits for nobody. These guys knew they had a job to do, and tonight they did it. I could be happier for them.”
In Tuesday’s championship match the Greene Devils had to dig out of an early hole after falling behind 19-6. The match started with Crockett’s Anthony Lastra (215) earning a 4-0 decision over John Chapman. Brayden Vance (285) of David Crockett followed with a fist period pin of Bentley Starnes.
Greeneville’s first points of match came when Brylan Rhodes (106) quickly took Daniel Gond to the mat before pinning him in 57 seconds.
The Pioneers went in front 15-6 when Hunter Meadows (113) pinned Sonny Pryor. That lead grew to 19-6 after Deter Thompson earned a 12-3 major decision over Gabe Oakley.
Greeneville’s Greg Tester (126) flipped Brayden Feltner in the second period and went on to get the pin 3:28.
Cameron Malone (132) gave the Pioneers a 25-12 lead when he pinned Jackson Knight in 1:15.
Things began to turn around for the Greene Devils when senior Derrick Day (138) took the matt. Day took control early and after two near-fall opportunities he led 9-0 in the first period. His lead grew to 14-0 in the second period before he locked Jake Farrell’s shoulders to the mat.
“When you look at the lineup and run the numbers, we know there are guys we have to rely on,” Fagundes said. “Derrick is one of those guys, and Angus Harrell is one of those guys. We believe those are guys that are going to score points. Derrick goes out and pins maybe their best wrestler. That allows us to find better match ups in other places when we know we can count on those guys. Without those captains this might be a different story.”
Mac Hall (144) followed with a first period pin of Hanry Cocke to close the gap to 25-24 for Greeneville. The Devils went in front 30-25 when Hunter Shelton (150) pinned Aaron Allen in the first period.
“Mac Hall cut weight to get to 144 and that gave us options tonight. That’s a freshman going out and doing something great. He’s going to be a great wrestler for Greeneville High School,” Fagundes said.
Greeneville’s Donovan Sanchez (157) used three take downs of Ethan Greer to earn a 9-2 decision.
The Pioneers narrowed the margin to 33-31 when Felix Duncan (165) pinned James Treptow.
Next senior Angus Harrell (175) gave the Greene Devils a crucial 37-31 lead in the night’s penultimate bout. Harrell built a 10-1 lead in the first period, but then Anthony Accoglio closed the gap to 10-5 in the second period. In the third period Harrell moved to the lead 13-5 with a pivotal take down. Accoglio was dinged for two stalling penalties which gave Harrell a 15-6 major decision.
That gave Greeneville a 37-31 lead heading into the final match, which meant Crockett’s Colton Ferrell (182) would have to pin Hayden Matthews to tie the team score. Instead, Matthews worked a reversal in the second period and pinned Ferrell to capture the region championship in style.
“Colton Ferrell is a great wrestler, he’s got to be near the top of their all-time wins list, but because of what we did in the middle it forced them to bump their last three weight classes,” Fagundes said. “Then Hayden Mathews is a sophomore who won three matches last year. This year he leads our team in wins with 33. He has bought in and worked hard for this. He was sick yesterday and missed practice, but he assured me he was going to be here today. For that kid to end the night with a pin was so awesome. I freakin’ love that kid.”
With the win on Tuesday Greeneville will get to host its Class A State Sectional contest on Friday against the runner up from Region 2-A. The winner will advance to the state tournament.
“Region 2-A is good. You know it’s going to be tough no matter who you get, but if I’m going to get in a dog fight, I want to do it at home,” Fagundes. “If it’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out I want it in my yard. We are always working to give ourselves a chance at a state title, and this is the best path for us.”
Greeneville got the day started with a 38-32 win over Tennessee High in the semifinals.
For the Devils Hayden Matthews (215) pinned Mason Campbell. Brylan Rhodes (106) earned a 7-6 decision over Nic Carroll. Gabe Oakley (120) pinned Aiden Dean in the first period, and then Greg Tester (126) earned a 5-3 decision over Noah Hess for an 18-17 lead.
Jackson Knight (132) earned a 15-0 technical fall over Daniel Johnson. Derrick Day (138) pinned Heath Swaggerty and Mac Hall (150) pinned Aiden Burton. With a 5-3 decision over Kalel Honnaker Hunter Shelton (157) gave Greeneville a 38-20 lead with two matches left.
The Devils forfeited the final two matches to set the final margin at 38-32.
