Scott Wrestling won its first district championship in program history on Tuesday, Jan 13th, defeating both Gibbs and Anderson County. Congratulations to our Wrestling Highlanders! We are so proud of you! The Highlanders will travel to Seymour on Jan 16th for Region matches.
On January 13th, the Highlander wrestling team hosted the region two, district three dual tournament. With a 6-1 district record, Scott High went into the tournament seeded second. Scott faced Gibbs in the first dual of the night. After the first seven matches, Gibbs was ahead 25-12. The tide began to turn in Scott’s favor when Ashton Teller and Cayden Moffette rolled off a pair of wins by fall in the 150-pound and 165-pound weight classes. That put the Highlanders within one point of tying the score.
Scott unfortunately lost the 175-pound weight class match in overtime after an incredible effort by Desmond Bowling. At that point, Gibbs was back on top. In the next match, Bo Laxton easily pinned his opponent to bump the Highlanders back into a narrow lead. The most exciting match of the dual came in the 215-pound weight class when Mason Lewallen pinned his opponent and secured a victory for the Highlanders. At this point, the Highlanders were guaranteed to finish at least second in the district.
In the championship round, Scott faced a very tough Anderson County team. The dual started with the Highlanders picking up two forfeit wins in the 120- and 126-pound weight classes. In the 132-pound weight class, Raleigh Bowling got a very impressive and hard-fought win by decision, and Scott was ahead of Anderson with a team score of 15-0. However, the Mavericks secured wins at the next three weight classes and gave themselves a narrow lead.
Once again, Ashton Teller managed to turn the tide back in the Highlanders’ favor with a win by major decision in the 157-pound weight class. After a forfeit win for Scott at 165 and a pin for Anderson at 175, Anderson gained a narrow lead. However, once Bo Laxton stepped in to easily pin his opponent once again in the 190-pound weight class, the score stood at 31-24, Scott. In what would prove to be another exciting match for Highlander fans, Mason Lewallen pinned his opponent in the 215-pound weight class and secured a district championship for Scott. After the last two matches of the night, the Highlanders won the dual with a team score of 43-36.
Scott will go into region duals as a number one seed and is one of only 16 district champions state-wide. The team’s success can be attributed to many factors. The Highlanders filled 13 out of 14 weight classes this year and therefore gave up very few team points to forfeits. The hard work and dedication of the wrestlers and coach obviously greatly contributed to their success. It takes many long hours of planning and practice to prepare for every dual. Having dedicated parents and families who cheer the boys on and help ensure that they are ready to wrestle makes a world of difference, as well.
The team will compete for a regional championship on Friday, January 16th at Seymour High School. Go Highlanders!