State Wrap Up - Episode 2: Tennessee and South Carolina Hammers
Each state had some absolute hammers at their state tournaments. We routinely recognize hammers throughout the season (in fact we try to do it weekly in December and January). In that case, coaches are asked to submit a wrestler that exceeded their expectations - whether that was on the mat, in the classroom in a leadership position, etc. We believe “hammers” aren’t just those wrestlers that destroy their competition and it is important to recognize those wrestlers that are continuing to push their ceiling.
But in this case - we are looking for those wrestlers that really hammered their way to a state title. These are the wrestlers that left no doubt. Not all State Champs are listed … the names below met 3 criteria: 1) they won a state title, 2) each classification had representatives, and 3) they met the point cutoff. Honestly - some brackets were tougher than others and a wrestler that won 5-4 in the semis and then 3-2 in sudden victory to win a title might be more deserving even though he or she did not score as many team points … I fully recognize that. But to avoid confusion (and to make it as objective as possible) I went with the above criteria.
Points cutoff for each class:
South Carolina (all): 22
Tennessee 3A - 28
Tennessee 1A-2A: 28
Tennessee D2: 25
Tennessee Girls: 26
Brielle Bissonette (Clarksville) - Tennessee Girls 160 lb. State Champ
Brielle destroyed the bracket - earning 3 falls - 2 in the 1st period as she claimed the Tennessee Girls 160 lb. State Title over Hailey Webb of Farragut.
Thomas Borders (Wilson Central) - Tennessee 3A 120 lb. State Champ
Borders claimed his 3rd state title (in 4 attempts) by crushing the bracket early … He had 3 falls before having a real battle in the finals vs. Arlo Laxton of Cleveland. Borders takedown in the 2nd proved the difference in a 3-2 final.
Easton Brannan (Belton Honea-Path) - South Carolina 3A 138 lb. State Champ
Brannan had two 1st period falls en route to the South Carolina 3A 138 lb. title. Pinning Cael Davis in 1 minute and 33 seconds and Jaqwan Tillman in 1 minute and 29 seconds.
Andy Cable (Pigeon Forge) - Tennessee 1A-2A 120 lb. State Champ
Cable, the sensational sophomore from Pigeon Forge, wasn’t challenged on his way to the top step in Tennessee 1A-2A at 120. He had 2 falls and then an 11-3 major over Noah Shriner before downing Spencer Reep of Gibbs 12-4 for the title.
Kodiak Cannedy (Greeneville) - Tennessee 1A-2A 160 lb. State Champ
Cannedy claimed his 3rd state title with ease. He had 4 first period falls and the only two points he gave up the entire day were two escapes in his opening round match.
Cody Chittum (Cleveland) - Tennessee 3A 145 lb. State Champ
Chittum is the #1 ranked 145 lb. in the nation and it showed. He had 4 falls en route to his first Tennessee first state title since 2018 (he has been at Blair Academy for the last two years - so hasn’t wrestled in the state tournament in quite some time). Chittum is a buzzsaw in all positions, but is particularly tough on his feet … scoring 15 takedowns this weekend and yielding just one.
Nick Corday (Baylor) - Tennessee D2 113 lb. State Champ
Like many of the others on this list … Corday dominated early with 2 falls and then hammered his finals opponent (Jay Eversole) 13-2 to claim his 2nd Tennessee State Title.
Lukas Crosby (High Point) - South Carolina 1A-2A 132 lb. State Champ
Crosby, like all of the South Carolina hammers on this list, had a bye and 2 falls. More impressive though is that he didn’t surrender a single point … 5-0 before the 1st period fall in the semis and 7-0 before the 2nd period fall in the final.
Ashton Davis (Cleveland) - Tennessee 3A 220 lb. State Champ
Davis has had some close matches this season - but none happened at the Tennessee 3A State Tournament. He had 2 falls and a 10-2 major to reach the finals where he pinned Wilson Central’s Noah Todd in the 3rd period (in a 2-0 match).
Dayne Dalrymple (Christian Brothers) - Tennessee D2 132 lb. State Champ
Dalrymple added another state title to his collection with a domination of the Tennessee D2 132 lb. bracket. He had 2 falls early in the tournament and then beat Conor Payne 8-0 in the finals.
Darrius Davis (Byrnes) - South Carolina 5A 285 lb. State Champ
Davis, the Upper State Champ, ran through the 285 lb. 5A bracket. He pinned Jacoreyn Byrd in the 2nd period and Davin Jackson in the 3rd period to claim the title.
Garrison Dendy (Baylor) - Tennessee D2 145 lb. State Champ
Dendy claimed his 3rd Tennessee State title with 3 falls to claim the 145 lb. top step. Dendy’s fall in the 2nd period came after a scoreless opening period and then Stigamier chose bottom … which gave Dendy the opportunity to get the fall.
Ryan Dobbs (West-Oak) - South Carolina 3A 152 lb. State Champ
Dobbs also had two 1st period falls as he claimed the 3A 152 lb. State title. He pinned Jackson Caulder in 1 minute and 46 seconds and Matt Williams in 1 minute and 27 seconds.
Garrett Foreman (Pigeon Forge) - Tennessee 1A-2A 152 lb. State Champ
Foreman claimed his 2nd consecutive 1A-2A title with a domination of the bracket … he had a forfeit and 2 1st period pins (including one in the final) - his toughest match was in the semis vs. Dalen Kimble of Sycamore. A 4-0 win with a takedown and a reversal. Gave up just one point in all day.
Ella’lina Gonzalez (Clarksville) - Tennessee Girls 103 lb. State Champ
Gonzalez claimed her first state title with 3 falls including a 1st period fall of Divine Desilets of Tullahoma in the finals. Gonzalez, who is just a sophomore, did not yield a point all day.
David Harper (Baylor) - Tennessee D2 195 lb. State Champ
Like a walk in the park … Harper only spent a total of 2 minutes (and a few seconds) on the mat all day. Takedown, fall; Takedown fall; and to spice things up he had a takedown, nearfall, and then the fall in the finals making it #3 for Harper.
Kaleb Haven (North Central) - South Carolina 1A-2A 195 lb. State Champ
Haven spent just under 3 minutes on the mat en route to the 1A-2A 195 lb. title. He pinned Mikale Hare in just 22 seconds before pinning Isaiah Ellis in 2:33 to win the 195 lb. title.
Brayden Ivy (Lakeway Christian) - Tennessee D2 138 lb. State Champ
Ivy dominated the Tennessee D2 138lb. bracket. He pinned Gowen in the 1st period (after being up 10-2) and then earned a 17-1 tech fall of Micah Tisdale in the finals.
Will Jeffcoat (Pelion) - South Carolina 1A-2A 285 lb. State Champ
Jeffcoast destroyed both David Fonseca and Tuckers Sellers en route to the 285 lb. title … wrestling a total of 1 minute and 9 seconds.
Thomas Johnson (Aynor) - South Carolina 3A 285 lb. State Champ
Johnson finished his season unbeaten at 19-0 with two 1st period falls to claim the 3A 285 lb. title.
Dominic Love (Green Hill) - Tennessee 3A 195 lb. State Champ
Love started out his run to the title with an 8-2 win over Kallum Lowe (a 2020 State Placer). He followed that up with a fall of Maddox Reed and Connor Milhorn before pinning Donovan Rich of Beech in the finals.
Hunter Mason (Greeneville) - Tennessee 1A-2A 138 lb. State Champ
Mason claimed his 2nd title in as many tries and simply hammered the field. He had a 20-5 tech fall and a 17-1 tech fall before pinning Luke London in the 1st period (after leading 6-1).
Martavis Mason (Ninety-Six) - South Carolina 1A-2A 220 lb. State Champ
Mason, the Upper State Champ, pinned Jamaal McKinney halfway through the 3rd period and then pinned Addison Nickles in the 1st period of the 1A-2A 220 lb. final.
Eyan McKnight (Hillcrest) - South Carolina 5A 195 lb. State Champ
McKnight was just one of two South Carolina 5A wrestlers to make the list … the competition seemed more even in 4A and 5A and thus wrestlers scored fewer points for their teams. McKnight was the exception … he had two 2nd period falls (and did not surrender a single point during the tournament) to claim the title.
Nygel Moore (South Pointe) - South Carolina 4A 182 lb. State Champ
Moore battled from a runner-up spot on the bracket to claim the 182 lb. State title. He pinned Chris Snowden before taking our Lower State Champ Navruz Ibragimov 8-7 in the semis. Moore then pinned Aaron Miller in the finals to claim the title.
Jojo Morris (Belton Honea-Path) - South Carolina 3A 126 lb. State Champ
Morris had a 1st period fall over Zach Freeman before taking on Jamie Valenzuela in the finals. His fall of Valenzuela came in the 2nd period in a close 4-3 match.
Tre Morrisette (Dobyns Bennett) - Tennessee 3A 160 lb. State Champ
Morrisette claimed his 2nd state title with 3 falls and a 17-2 tech fall. He pinned Landon Fisher of Jefferson County in the finals in the 1st period and gave up just 6 points the entire day.
Jonathan Morton (Elizabethton) - Tennessee 1A-2A 220 lb. State Champ
Morton won a very good weight class in Tennessee 1A-2A. He pinned Vetter before surviving a tough quarter with Ron Atwood of Trousdale County (a 3-1 sudden victory win). He then pinned Mason Keel and pinned last year’s State Runner-up Caleb Wolfe in the 3rd period of a very close match.
Ella Murhpey (Hardin Valley) - Tennessee Girls 190 lb. State Champ
Ella, just a freshman, ran through the 190 lb. bracket with 3 falls. She pinned Makayla Craig, Jamya Brewer, and Chukwuedom Odeigah to take the top step.
Parker Petersen (Father Ryan) - Tennessee D2 285 lb. State Champ
We missed seeing a possible Petersen vs. Howard matchup as Howard was out of the season with a knee injury. As a result, Petersen destroyed the 285 lb. weight class … wrestling his 3 matches in a total of 1 minute and 19 seconds.
Josh Shaw (Hanahan) - South Carolina 3A 182 lb. State Champ
Shaw, the lower state champ, won by injury default over Jonathan Daimon Hicks and then pinned Peyton Gregory in 57 seconds to claim the 3A 182 lb. title.
Kayson Sorgee (Landrum) - South Carolina 1A-2A 126 lb. State Champ
A bye and 2 falls for the Upper State Champ put him on the top step in South Carolina 1A-2A. He was up 11-0 on Aiden Quick before his semifinal fall and up 10-4 on Dalton Smith before getting the fall in the final.
Cooper Strickland (Belton Honea-Path) - South Carolina 3A 106 lb. State Champ
Strickland pinned Elijah Mayers in 2:17 and Seth Tolman in 1:28 to claim the South Carolina 3A 106 lb. State title. He outscored both of his opponents 10-1 before getting the fall.
Caleb Uhorchuk (Signal Moutnain) - Tennessee 1A-2A 113 lb. State Champ
Caleb, the defending 106 lb. State Champ, bumped up to 113 and took out the defending Champ LeAndre Dabney of Greeneville in the finals 9-4. Uhorchuk won a very deep weight class with relative ease - pinning 2020 State Placers Hunter Gentry and Gregory Gomez along the way.
Daniel Uhorchuk (Signal Mountain) - Tennessee 1A-2A 126 lb. State Champ
The West Point commit (signee?) was unstoppable in 1A-2A 126. He had 3 falls en route to the finals and took an injury default over Trevor Lewis of Hixson in the finals to claim his 4th state title.
Roseanna Vaughn (Northwest) - Tennessee Girls 119 lb. State Champ
Vaughn was unstoppable this season and she continued that throughout the state tournament. She pinned Katie Vail and Milla McNutt to advance to the finals where she pinned the defending State Champ Annalynn Rakett in the 2nd period.
Alex Whitworth (McCallie) - Tennessee D2 170 lb. State Champ
5. Few Tennessee wrestlers win five state titles … Alex Whitworth has joined that elite club and he did so with ease. He pinned Blatt and had a 17-0 tech fall over Ben Bumgarner before downing Ben Revere 19-3 in the 170 lb. finals.
Jack Wyland (Eastside) - South Carolian 4A 132 lb. State Champ
Wyland is just one of two non-Upper or Lower Champ (South Carolina) to make this list after he battled through the bracket from a runner-up spot. Wyland pinned Danchez McNeal before pinning Naszeir Bellamy in the semis. Wyland then beat Spencer Cox 2-1 to claim the 4A 132 lb. title.