Curns 113, Peterson 138 tops in 2-AA wrestling
Farragut’s Martin 2nd at 170 along with Hardin Valley’s 106, 220
KARNS — Tops among his young team in the Region 2-AA Individual Wrestling Tournament at Karns High last weekend, Bearden head coach Donnie Floyd talked about his junior who overcame adversity to captured first place.
“Logan, he struggled a bit early on in the season, but he’s really stepped up here towards the end,” Floyd said about Logan Peterson, champ in the 138-pound class Saturday, Feb. 12, after beating Hardin Valley Academy senior Gavin McCormick with a first-period pin. “I see a big change in him in practice and the way he’s conducted himself on the mat.
“The moves he’s using he’s really varying,” the coach added. “A lot of times last year he was really one-dimensional, but I feel like he’s really growing.”
Hardin Valley sophomore Brady Curns was the other local champ (113), winning with a first-period pin of Navaar MacDonald Risner of William Blount, helping HVA finish third as a team.
“Us being first-year coaches at Hardin Valley, I’m really proud of our guys coming in third place here at this big region,” HVA assistant coach Stephen Wilkinson said about himself and head coach Ron Soble.
The Hawks also produced a pair of runner-up finshers: freshman Brock Connatser at 106 and junior Tayvon Morelan at 220.
David Garabrandt, Farragut head coach, said Ads runner-up Zachary Martin in the 170 class, a junior, “is super-strong” who often “controls the match; he was in control of (the championship) match,” having come close to pinning eventual champ Ayden Derry of Anderson County.
However, “a small mistake slightly due to inexperience” ended up being costly, as Martin took second place after being pinned.
Other local state qualifiers
Among other top four local wrestlers who qualified for this weekend’s Sectional match at Science Hill in Johnson City (top four finishers there advance to the state tourney) were Brice Lanman (BHS, third at 113); Jake Shafer (HVA, third, 145); Aiden Yarborough (HVA, third, 152); Jacob Cao (HVA, third, 160); Aiden Enters (FHS, fourth, 160); Connor Ellerbee (HVA, fourth, 182); Andrew Celeste (FHS, fourth, 195). Alex Parks (BHS, third, 220); Ayden Turner (HVA, third, 285) and Isaiah Harvey (BHS, fourth, 285).
