‘Kees recover after tough draw
FRANKLIN — I think there’s more than a little disappointment in the minds of Greenback’s wrestlers today.
The Cherokees were ousted from the championship bracket last night after losing to defending A-AA state champion Hixson in the quarterfinals of the TSSAA state dual wrestling tournament. The event’s blind draw meant what played out like a championship-type matchup was contested in the first round.
“I had some people, some refs, come up to me after and say that should be the state finals match,” Blackmon said. “It just goes to show us that one match could’ve gone the other way and we could’ve been sitting in the state finals.”
Greenback has bounced back from that 36-33 loss and is in position to grab third in a few moments, the bare minimum first-year coach Bryant Blackmon said he would accept last night.
Assistant coach Justin Ridge, who took the Cherokees to the semifinals last year in Clarksville before being derailed by Hixson, echoed that same sentiment. Ridge, who stepped down to focus on his duties as head football coach, saw his team fail to win a single consolation match after losing to the Wildcats last year.
He said he’d make sure Greenback found itself into the consolation championship this time around. The ‘Kees kept their coach’s word by defeating Montgomery Central, the same team that ended their tournament in the consolation rounds last year.