Overtime injury ends Stacey's repeat run

Feb. 28—FRANKLIN — Jake Stacey's bid for a repeat state wrestling championship ended painfully last Saturday with an overtime injury in the 175-pound final at Williamson County Ag Expo Center.

The Green Hill senior, who won the 170 championship last year before that weight was eliminated, won a pair technical falls and a major decision Friday to advance to Saturday's championship match. But his shoulder, which had popped out during sectionals the previous week, did so during each of Friday's matches but was popped back in each time.

But when his finals match against Nolensville's Charles McTorry went to overtime tied 4-4, the shoulder came out again 12 seconds into the extra session as he made a diving tackle which might have been a pin. But the pin wasn't called and Stacey was writhing in pain as trainers worked on him. When the 1:30 injury time limit passed and Stacey's shoulder still out of socket, the official declared McTorry, last year's runner up at 160 after a second-place finish as a 113-pound eighth-grader in 2020, the champion.

Stacey, who has committed to Arkansas-Little Rock, didn't even stay for the medal ceremony which immediately followed as his parents took him to a hospital for X-rays. Trainers originally feared a fractured shoulder. But X-rays revealed another disclocation which was then popped back into place.

Stacey's coach, Brad Rowlett, missed the match after learning his parents were involved in a one-car crash earlier in the afternoon which claimed both of their lives. Assistant coach Kyle Mitchell was joined on the bench by club coach Jake Williams, who won back-to-back NAIA national championships for Cumberland in 2014 and '15, took Rowlett's spot on the bench. Williams also coaches Trousdale County's Rob Atwood, was also on the Yellow Jackets' bench as Atwood won his third straight state title, this one at 215 in Class A.

A class-by-class look at Wilson County's other 14 wrestlers in Class A, AA and girls:

Class A120

Watertown freshman Gunnar Tompkins won a major decision and a pin to reach the semifinals before he was pinned 1:24 in by Signal Mountain's JoJo Uhorchuk. He rebounded with two wins in the consolation brackets, capped by a 7-4 win over Munford's Logan Bridges, to finish third.

126

Purple Tiger senior Gabe York went 0-2 with a pair of pins.

285

Watertown sophomore Wesley Hamlet went 0-2 with a pair of pins.

Class AA

113

Green Hill senior Rambang Rambang went 0-2 with a 13-2 major decision and a 9-3 setback.

120

Mt. Juliet junior Michael Johnson lost 9-7 in sudden victory to Collierville freshman Devin Corbin. He rebounded with a 2-0 decision over Maryville senior Cameron Abbott before bowling out to East Hamilton's Luke Carpenter 6-0.

126

Green Hill junior Hayden Hunt was pinned in the first round before bouncing back with an 11-4 win over Knoxville Halls' David Cook in the consolation round. He was then ousted by Collierville freshman Drew Corbin 4-1.

144

Hawks senior Alex Velazquez was busy with five matches, winning his first two by a pin and technical fall to reach the semifinals before losing by tech fall to eventual champion Landon Desselle of Summit. In the consolation bracket, he lost to Rossview's Max Landrum 7-1 before grabbing fifth place with a 12-4 major decision over Houston's Jacob Geiser.

Wilson Central junior Vance Blake was also in this bracket. He fell into the consolation immediately with a 6-0 setback to Walker Valley's Asher Easley. But he bounced back in consolations with a pair of pins before he was pinned by Geiser.

150

Green Hill junior Luke Athoe lost 9-4 to fall into the consolation bracket where he beat Dobyns Bennett's Drew Vetter 6-3 before falling to Arlington's Michael Anderson by fall 1:48 into the match.

165

Wilson Central senior Camron Isbell, who finished sixth at the since-discontinued 160 last year, dropped a 4-2 first-round decision to Arlington's Dylan Fritz before winning twice in consolations — one by a 12-4 major decision and 8-3. He was pinned in 3:22 by Ravenwood's Alex Osburn one round short of earning a berth in at least the fifth-place match.

215

Mt. Juliet senior William Czerniak was pinned by Shelbyville's Logan McBee in the first round. The Golden Bear linebacker tackled Maryville's Bryce Goins, pinning him in 3:52, in the consolations. He then dropped a 7-2 decision to Nolensville freshman Jake Sentell.

285

Green Hill sophomore Luka Nash lost 10-1 and 5-1.

Girls

120

Mt. Juliet freshman Mya Bundy pinned a pair of opponents to reach the semifinals where she lost 14-1 to eventual champion Nataleigh Shane of Bradley Central. She bounced back with a 7-0 consolation conquest of Seymour's Gracie Voorhies before finishing fourth after she was pinned at 3:40 of the third-place match to Clarksville freshman Ava Johnson.

152

Lady Bear junior Julia Jirka pinned her first opponent in 32 seconds before she went down by fall in 5:15 to Rossview's Lily Avalos. In the consolations, Jirka edged Maryville's Hannah Parish 10-9 before losing one match from at least a berth in the fifth-place match as she was pinned in 2:05 by Clarksville Academy's Molly Scoville.