Dobyns-Bennett takes top honors at Brawl in the Hall

BRISTOL — From basketball to Brawl at Viking Hall. Two days after The Classic basketball tournament came to end, more than 400 wrestlers representing nearly 40 teams from four states gathered at Viking Hall for the two-day Bill Brimer Brawl in the Hall. Leading the way was Dobyns-Bennett, which won the boys team title for the second time in program history, with eight finalists and seven picking up individual titles for the Indians. They also had two girls in the finals, with one of them taking home the top prize. "It is not very often that we win it, but we are always excited to get to wrestle some of the teams that we expect to see across the state and then seeing some tough teams from out of state," Dobyns-Bennett head coach Wes Idlette said. "It is always good for our program." Dobyns-Bennett swept the seven weight classes from 106 to 144, led by Mason Jakob, who won the 126-pound weight class and earned top wrestler honors for the lower weight divisions. The Indians scored 302 points to second place Pisgah (NC) with 272.5. The next closest local team was Tennessee High in seventh with 141.5 points. "I am excited. I kind of figured it was going to happen, but was just trying to be like maybe it won't happen or maybe it will," said Jakob, who has won three straight state wrestling championships. "Who knows, it is up to the Lord, we will see what happens. It is fun, it is cool. Still hearing your name being called is pretty awesome." While Jakob's championship match with Greeneville's Brylan Rhodes was over in a hurry, Dobyns-Bennett sophomore Vaughn Pulitzer had to go overtime to defeat Deter Thompson of David Crockett at 132 pounds. "I was down throughout the match and then came back from stalling calls. Then in overtime I got a take down to win it. It was tiring, I was very tired," said Pulitzer, who went from sixth last year to first place. "It is just about eating the right foods, just practicing hard, getting your endurance up. A lot of offseason training, weight-lifting. I put on a lot of weight over the last year." Dobyns-Bennett freshman Evelyn Norman rallied as well to earn top honors in the girls' 107-pound weight class, one week after placing eighth in the prestigious Beast of the East that the Indians attended at the University of Delaware. "I have just been working hard in practice, putting the effort in practice," Norman said. "I feel like there is a good competition. I didn't feel like I was going to win my last match, but I came back and I won...I was losing. I got on top and cradled her and pinned her." That certainly drew praise from Idlette, whose Indians also got a second place finish from Lucy Dempsey at 114 pounds. "She was down during her match, but wound up coming back for the reverse win pin," he said. "it is just a testament of just the fight of not only her, but our entire team and how we don't give up." Other male winners for Dobyns-Bennett included Bryson Church (106), Noah Watkins (113), Peter Ryan (120), Wyatt Rogers (138) and Derek Winseman (141). The only finalist not to finish first for the Indians was Charlie Wilson (285), who finished second to Tyson Click, who earned top wrestling honors for the heavier weight divisions for the Samuel Everett School of Innovation in Knoxville. "I think for us everybody wanted to out-do each other. It started out at 106 with Bryson and then after that Noah got a quick pin as well. Just kept rolling on from that with Peter and Mason so it was one after another," Idlette said. "It was like a domino, wins are contagious. We are excited about that. We love winning so we are going to do everything we can to keep that rolling." Joining Wilson and Thompson as locals to finish second in their weight divisions was Tennessee High's Dominic Reynolds (190). Third place honors went to Tennessee High's Spencer Miller (285) and Elizabethton's Jakob Clevinger (138). Idelette has high hopes this season for the Indians, who performed well as one of 200 teams in Delaware, and continued that trend over the last two days in Bristol. "We had some kids do really well there with our boys and our girls...it was really good for us," Idelette said. "I am very happy with our Tribe program and the way we wrestled today. I think we are on a mission to showcase ourselves. We have been traveling nationally over break and realized that we can wrestle with the best teams across the country. Now we are here to showcase that we are one of the top teams in Tennessee." Dobyns-Bennett hopes to prove just that as the season progresses toward Franklin and the state meet in February. "That is the plan, make sure we continue to do well," Idelette said. "We want to make sure we represent Dobyns-Bennett the right way and represent our region and continue to do well in our program." Boyle County (KY) won the girls team title with 172 points to Gibbs with 108. Sullivan East (82) was the top local team in fourth place, while the four-girls Indians were sixth with 50.5 points, led by Newton, who has found a new sport in thrive in. "I did judo when I was younger and then our coach moved away so my brothers and me got into wrestling," she said. Soniyah Taylor of David Crockett won the 185-pound girls division, while other second place honors went to Tennessee High's Isobel Smith (100), Elizabethton's Sadie Kellerman (120) and Mackenzie Zeigler (235) of Daniel Boone. Several third place finishers included Kadence Stamey (107) of Sullivan East, Raya Kochemba (132) of Volunteer, Sullivan East's Brynlee Cosby (138) and Sophia Swink of Elizabethton at 145 pounds. John Battle senior Kari Streit earned the top girls wrestler in the event for a fourth straight year. Idlette, who attended Baylor School and played football at Maryville College, appreciates that effort and dedication it takes to compete as high school wrestlers. "You have to take it on yourself because it is just them out there and there is nobody for them to blame," Idlette said. "The work that they put in, they put in hours for just minutes on the mat. It is a testament to just the work you have to put in to be successful in this sport."