Buccaneers book return trip to state

January 29, 2016 - Uncategorized - no comments

Beech wrestling program advances to state duals for fifth consecutive season

Chris Brooks, Gallatin News Examiner12:57 p.m. CST January 29, 2016

HENDERSONVILLE The Beech High wrestling program has been making the state tournament a yearly stop in its schedule.

The host Buccaneers clinched a berth in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) State Dual Tournament for the fifth consecutive season with a 49-24 victory over Rossview on Thursday evening in the Region 7-AAA Tournament.

Beech’s effort fell a bit short in the championship match as Wilson Central won its fourth consecutive regional championship, handing the Buccaneers a 40-27 loss.

“By the time we got (to the championship round), I think we were trying to look too far ahead, and we didn’t focus on the matches,” Buccaneer senior Kaleb Rippy said. “The matches that we thought that we could win, we didn’t win.”

Beech pulled away from Rossview in the semifinals with pinfall victories (worth six points each) from sophomore Kyle Smith in the 170-pound weight class and Kaleb Rippy in the 182-pound division, giving the Buccaneers a 28-12 lead.

Senior Peyton Reinart (285-pound division), junior Jacob Kinman (106) and senior Wyatt Sipe (113) closed the match with pinfall victories of their own.

“It feels pretty good,” Kaleb Rippy said. “I just think we need to work for the next week, work harder in practice and get ready. We need to focus on things we did wrong tonight.”

Sophomore Trevor Rippy earned Beech’s first points against Wilson Central with a pinfall victory in the 145-pound class, but Beech never led the match as the Wildcats slowly pulled away.

“I think I wrestled pretty well tonight, but as a team, I think we could have done better,” Trevor Rippy said. “We had a couple of matches that could have went either way, and we lost them when we shouldn’t have.”

Kaleb Rippy added, “I think Wilson Central works a lot harder, and we just didn’t wrestle Wilson Central as hard as we did Rossview. We were looking at Wilson Central, but we were making sure that we wanted to win against Rossview.”

Smith, Kaleb Rippy (195) and freshman Brayden Palmer (106) provided Beech’s other pinfall triumphs, while freshman Jeremiah Herron had the other Buccaneer victory by a decision (worth three points).

“It’s our fifth straight year getting to go (to state), so that’s a big thing,” Beech head coach Jeff Roberts said. “We had our shots (against Wilson Central), but we didn’t capitalize on them when we needed to. Wilson Central’s tough. There’s a reason they’re three-time state runner-ups.”

The Buccaneers turn their attention to the state tournament, slated to be held from Feb. 5-6 at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin.

Beech suffered a 48-18 loss to eventual state champion Cleveland in last year’s semifinals. The Buccaneers finished in fourth place, the best finish in school history.

“They always come strong out of Chattanooga,” Trevor Rippy said. “They’ve always been on top it seems, since I’ve been here, and they’re going to be a hard match, just like we had against Wilson Central.”

The Rippy brothers enter the state tournament with a combined record of 81-2. Kaleb Rippy holds a 44-2 mark after Thursday’s action, while Trevor Rippy remained undefeated (37-0).

“Every match will be pretty much like the one we just had,” Roberts said. “We’ve just got to keep it up, get the freshmen some experience and get them state experience also.”

The Buccaneer program is gaining momentum with each trip to Franklin.

“It’s a great feeling to see the board with all of our state medalists,” Trevor Rippy said. “It went from three to almost 20 now (in the last four years), and it’s just going to keep getting bigger. The program, and Middle Tennessee wrestling, is getting better.”

The Class AAA tournament begins on Friday at 3 p.m., with the quarterfinals slated for 7 p.m. Semifinal action begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, with the finals at 7 p.m.

Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.

Beech 49, Rossview 24

132 – William Downing (B) d. Mitchell Osborn by pinfall; 138 – Enrique Gonzalez (R) d. Dustin Drury by pinfall; 145 – Trevor Rippy (B) d. Jack Thomsen by pinfall; 152 – Joseph Garrett (B) d. Cesar Romero by major decision (13-4); 160 – Adrian Gonzalez (R) d. Jherian Maddox by pinfall; 170 – Kyle Smith (B) d. Evan Baggett by pinfall; 182 – Kaleb Rippy (B) d. Zach Thomas by pinfall; 195 – Antonio Mariscal (R) d. Cade Coley by pinfall; 220 – Peyton Reinart (B) d. Andrew Arias-Lynch by decision (11-7); 285 – David Dowell (B) d. Tyler McCoin by pinfall; 106 – Jacob Andrews (B) d. Zaden Webber by pinfall; 113 – Wyatt Sipe (B) d. Cormac McCarthy by pinfall; 120 –  Vincent Lancia (R) wins by forfeit; 126  – double forfeit.

Wilson Central 40, Beech 27                                   

138 – Caleb Berta (W) d. Dustin Drury by pinfall; 145 – Trevor Rippy (B) d. Zachary Berta by pinfall; 152 – Sinjin Noga (W) d. Joseph Garrett by decision (7-4); 160 – Damon Smith (W) d. Jherian Maddox by pinfall; 170 – Zach Linton (W) won by forfeit; 182 – Kyle Smith (B) d. Daniel Hills by pinfall; 195 – Kaleb Rippy (B) won by forfeit; 220 – Kolin Miller (W) d. Peyton Reinart by decision (6-2); 285 – Michael Kramer (W) d. David Dowell by pinfall; 106 – Braydon Palmer (B) d. Gage Bachus by pinfall; 113 – Alex Pergande (W) d. Wyatt Sipe by decision (5-4); 120 – Simon Pergande (W) d. Heath Uhles by decision (9-3); 126 – Jeremiah Herron (B) d. Prentice Belcher by decision (4-2); 132 – Nicholas King (W) d. William Downing by major decision (14-3).