On Thursday, Alcoa knocked off both Greenback and Kingston to complete a three-peat run on the region title.

Greenback fell to Alcoa, 63-18, in the first round of matches followed by Kingston dropping an 81-0 decision to the Tornadoes.

“I just told the kids that we really need to appreciate it because the opportunities aren’t always there,” Alcoa coach Brian Gossett told The Daily Times.

“The fact that we get a chance to do this again is really awesome, and I am proud for the guys and I am happy for the program.”

Gossett thought his team was really focused and it showed early on. Eight different Alcoa wrestlers pinned their opponent against Greenback while one also picked up a decision.

“We wrestled really well tonight and we got after it really well,” Gossett said. “I was happy with our effort.”

Kingston only had four wrestlers which translated into only a quartet of Alcoa wrestlers having to take the mat twice beyond walking to meet the referee and accepting a forfeit. Jack Warwick, at 182-pounds, and Noah Evans, in the 195-pound class, each wrestled twice and won twice for Alcoa.

Warwick participated in the first match of the night, knocking off Greenback’s Steven Owens with a first round pin. Evans followed with a first round pin victory over Shon Wampler.

Against Kingston, Evans knocked off Austin Davis with a second round pin and Warwick won a 10-2 decision over Christian Gilmore.

Sammy Evans also won over his Greenback opponent in the 285-pound class with a pin. Paxton Pearce (120-pounds), Ryan Verhulst (138), Tim Fisher (152), Austyn Renshaw (160) and Karim Shereef (170) all secured pin victories against the Cherokees.

Dylan McNutt won a 4-2 decision in the 132-pound class against Greenback.

“They have been a good team,” Gossett said. “They have worked hard together. They have lifted each other up. I am just proud and I hope they appreciate the chance to win a region title as much as I do.”

Greenback picked up a 54-12 win over Kingston in the third and final duals match of the night. The win gave the Cherokees region runner-up status.

The duals season ended for Greenback on Thursday, but they still have several wrestlers who will have a shot at the individual state tournament. After the conclusion of the state duals championship, the teams return to the mat for the individual regionals and spots at the state’s individual championship meet.

As for the season as a whole, Greenback coach Ben Ward saw a lot of good things this year.

“I knew coming into this year that Alcoa was the team to beat,” Ward said. “They are head and shoulders above everybody in our region. My goal was to cut into how bad they beat us last year and we did do that. We gained some on them, but they are still way ahead of everybody in our small school district.”

In the win over Kingston, Kevin Ogle picked up a first round pin victory over Fate Currier in the 145-pound class. It was the second win of the night for Ogle as he also pinned Alcoa’s Isacc Lorenzo earlier in the night.

Vincent Perry picked up a first round pin in the 106-pound class over Alcoa’s Brennan Salter.

In the 195-pound class, Greenback’s Shon Wampler scored a first round pin win over Kingston’s Austin Davis.

“If everything goes our way, we could easily take four or five guys to the state tournament,” Ward said.

Alcoa will wrestle in the Class A/AA State Duals on Feb.5 and 6 at Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin.