Tennessee D1 AA

We have reached the Elite 8 and if we believe the ranking we have a couple of “Cinderellas” still dancing after the opening weekend of the state series.

So what is a Fan’s Guide?

The Fan’s Guide is a look at the tournament as a whole (at least from this point moving forward since two rounds have already been wrestled) … from a fan’s perspective. But it is not a prediction of who will hoist the trophy on Saturday. Because all of the rounds will be wrestled on Saturday we will talk about the tournament overall as well as who is the favorite, which team is a darkhorse, and then a more in-depth look at the Elite 8 matchups.

A Fan’s Guide is a little different. It is a look at a few individual pieces from each bracket … they include:

  • Favorite: the team (of the 8 that remain) that look (at least on paper) as the team to beat.

  • Darkhorse: a team a little off the radar … everyone seems to be talking about this team or that and this team has all the pieces to surprise some people.

  • The most in-depth part of the dual Fan’s Guide is a look at the possible lineups for the 8 teams. We try to breakdown each of those matchups and tell you which team might have an edge … projecting to possible final 4 matchups or the finals more difficult - so like each team below we will focus on the next match. The favorite, the darkhorse, and the overall summary gives you an idea of what we think might happen the rest of the week.

Elite 8

Overall:

Favorite: Cleveland

Cleveland is the top ranked team heading into Saturday and are the defending champs. They are also an impressive 22-0 on the season with wins over Bradley Cetral, Summit, Father Ryan, and others. Their duals with Bradley and Summit have been close so Cleveland isn’t the clear favorite (this year’s squad isn’t head and shoulders above everyone else), but they have proven they can win those close duals and if anyone is going to take the trophy they will need to bring their “A” game to knockoff the defending champs.

Darkhorse: Dobyns Bennett

DB has had an outstanding season … they are 23-0, but pull a tough Wilson Central squad right off the scale. If I were in attendance on Saturday morning - this is the dual I would be watching. They haven’t been pushed all season, but they also haven’t run into the top programs like Wilson, Cleveland, Bradley, etc.

Summary: Really good bracket. Cleveland and Summit looked destined to clash again - this time in the state semis. Rossview and Maryville are both capable, but beating those two teams is going to be a challenge. DB vs. Wilson is the match to watch in the opening round and the winner likely pulls Bradley Central. The Division 1 AA State Duals always produces some exciting duals … this year will be no exception.


Always nice to have two hammers at 106 in case you want to bump, but Cleveland doesn’t need to bump anyone with returning State Champ Chase Walker sitting at 113 and returning State Placers Zac Bosken and Bentley Ellison at 120 and 126. The lightweights are the strength of this year’s Cleveland squad - although Logan and Cy Fowler (152 and 160) as well as Lucas Symborski (182) are huge if Cleveland is going to win another title.

Jacob Miller and Max Landrum are both returning State Qualifiers for the Hawks and they will lead the way. For Rossview to push Cleveland they will need Ben Mayberry and Devin Otero to come up big against two of Cleveland’s hammers in Ellison and Cy Fowler. Rossview must stay close down low because if Cleveland leads by more than 18 after 106-126 then it might be tough for the Hawks to climb back into the dual.


Maryville’s strength is up top with Stadel, Cooper and McDonald as well as at 170 with returning State Placer Michael Colligan. Returning State Qualifiers Dominic Chimeno and Coen Lovin as well as Junior Daniel Halcomb are who Maryville looks to in the lighter weights … Chimeno and Lovin will be key for Maryville. Lee, Helton, and Walsh will be huge (and maybe huge is simply losing a decision rather than giving up a fall) if Maryville is going to knock off Summit.

Summit has two nationally-ranked hammers in the lineup with Jarvis Little and Landon Desselle. Don’t be surprised to see Jarvis Little weigh-in at 126 and Desselle at 138 to give the Spartans the flexibility to make the matchups they want. Add in State Runner-up Finley Jameson, State Placer Luke Justice, and State Qualifiers Brayden Leach and Jensen Schreiber and there are few teams that can match them in the middle of the lineup.


Wilson Central is led by their returning Runenrs-up James Hicks and Noah Todd as well ass State Placers Nicholas Mercante, Riley Fort, and Paul Johnson. State Qualifiers Connor Warnock and Wendell Myers will play a huge role in how far Central goes this Saturday.

Dobyns Bennett is led by returning State Champ Max Norman, State Placer Garrett Crowder, and freshman phenom Mason Jakob. They also have a ton of returning State Qualifiers that will be huge in this dual.

There are 4 matchups in this one that will go a long way in determining who advances and it all starts at 220 with Todd vs. Crowder. Both will be in the hunt for an individual title and both will be counted on to take the win here. DB returning SQ Gavin Armstrong vs. Central returning Placer Paul Johnson is another huge one at 132. Dobyns Bennett should have the edge 113, 160, 170, and 195 with Central getting the edge at 120, 126, and 152. Todd/Crowder, Armstrong/Johnson, as well as Myers vs. Mullins will be key … don’t be surprised if we see Mason Jakob up at 120 to take on Hicks if Dobyns really needs a win there.


Bradley Central enters 17-5 with at least 3 losses to Cleveland (31-30, 40-26, and 35-20). But make no mistake - this team is close to overcoming that bump and claiming the title themselves … the key will to focus on their next opponent this Saturday and not look ahead to a possible match with Cleveland (hard to do when you are rivals). Bryson Terrell, Ethan Lipsey, and Luke Belcher lead the way for BC, but it will come down to Miguel Rincon, Wade Brooks, Tyee Crisp, Knox Watson, Jake Fox, and Gunner Taylor if Bradley is going to claim the title. Brentwood is stout in the middle with Judson Jarrett, Arash Yazdani, Clark Vaughn, and Wyatt Gibbs, but like Bradley they will need others to step up if they are going to advance. Joseph Daniels and Noah Dixon will be huge in how far Brentwood advances this weekend.

This dual is good on good with potential matchups with Jarrett vs. Lipsey, Yazdani vs. Crisp, Belcher/Fox vs. Vaughn and Gibbs vs. Brooks. How those four matches go will go a long way in determining who advances and who does not.


  • Dobyns Bennett downs Anderson Co

  • Maryville over Science Hill, 42-25

  • Cleveland downs Oakland, 58-15

  • Bradley Central beats Blackman, 64-14

  • Wilson Central downs Clarksville, 53-19

  • Rossview downs Cookeville, 37-27

  • Summit hammers Collierville, 73-0

  • Brentwood beats Houston, 39-34

Jason FulmoreComment