Things have certainly changed in the last 20-25 years. Yet if you go back to when I first started to fall in love with collegiate wrestling, in terms of a large portion of the southeast, we had programs in Tennessee and that was it. In Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, & Florida there were no collegiate programs. Today we have them in Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia & Florida, but we didn't back then. As a result, when I put the words southern & wrestling together, out of habit, out of respect, out of appreciation, I always think of Tennessee first and foremost. UT-Chattanooga has had a respectable program for years. A DII powerhouse that transitioned into a DI team that ruled the Southern Conference for decades. When I was younger Carson-Newman before being discontinued after the 2009 season, always had a respectable DII program. I was surprised that some of these four & five timers didn't stay in the state. I wonder how hard Chattanooga or for that matter Carson Newman fought for these talents. At the end of the day you have to go where you're going to get the best of all worlds. Wrestling, academics, student life, scholarship money, there's a lot to consider.
Here are Tennessee's four timers and how they did collegiately.
 |
| Martin Francis |
The Volunteer state's first four time state champion was Martin Francis of Notre Dame who won titles from 69'-72'. He wrestled Collegiately for a very short amount of time at Tennessee.
 |
| Phillip Simpson |
Phillip Simpson won four Tennessee High School State titles for Montgomery Bell Academy from 98'-01'. Collegiately he competed for Army where he was a three time All American. He took 3rd in 2003 as a sophomore, placing 8th in 2004 as a junior, finishing off his career at the NCAA runner-up as a senior in 2005. A EIWA runner-up in 2002 as a freshman, he would then win three EIWA crowns in a row.
 |
| Matt Keller |
The late Matt Keller won four Tennessee High School State championships for Bradley Central from 99'-02'. He began his collegiate career at Nebraska where he took back to back 3rd place finishes at the BIG 12 championships in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He then transferred to UT-Chattanooga where he not only won back to back SOCON titles, but also earned NCAA All American finishes of 8th & 4th. A two time Southern Conference place winner, taking 5th in 2006 & 7th in 2007, he was also a three time CKLV place-winner. 7th in 2004, 6th in 2006 & champion in 2007.
 |
| Jordan Leen |
Representing Baylor, Jordan Leen won four Tennessee High School State titles from 01'-04'. Collegiately he competed for the Big Red of Cornell (NY). Going 118-29 during his career he was a three time All American. Winning the NCAA title as a junior in 2008, he was 8th in 2007 & 3rd in 2009. He was also a two time EIWA champion.
|
| Ryan Scott |
Ryan Scott of McCallie won four Tennessee High School State titles from 01'-04'. He wrestled for Appalachian State in college.
|
| Bailey Whitaker |
Bailey Whitaker won four Tennessee High School State titles for Baylor from 05'-08'. Collegiately he wrestled for Navy.
 |
| T.J. Duncan |
T.J. Duncan became Tennessee's first five time state champion when he won his fifth title in 2011 for McCallie. He began his collegiate career at Maryland but quickly transferred to Shorter.
 |
| Stuart Doster |
Stuart Doster won four Tennessee High School State titles for Baylor from 08'-11'. I don't believe that he wrestled in college.
 |
| Zach Watson |
Zach Watson won five Tennessee High School State titles from 08'-12' for Baylor. Collegiately he wrestled for Virginia where he was 6th at the Southern Scuffle in 2013 as a true freshman. Unfortunately injuries would keep him from reaching his full potential past that point.
 |
| Campbell Lewis |
Winning four Tennessee High School State titles from 09'-12' for Soddy Daisy, Campbell Lewis wrestled for UT-Chattanooga in college.
 |
| Chris DeBien |
Chris DeBien won four Tennessee High School State titles for Cleveland from 12'-15'. Collegiately he competed for UT-Chattanooga. He won SOCON titles in his freshman & junior seasons of 2017 & 2019, taking 3rd in 2018. He was also 6th in the Southern Scuffle his junior season. He was unfortunately injured for his senior season in 2020.
 |
| Ryan Parker |
Representing Baylor, Ryan Parker won four Tennessee High School State titles from 13'-16'. He went to Army to play football & to wrestle. I believe after his sophomore season, he chose to focus solely on football.
 |
| Michael Murphy |
Michael Murphy won four Tennessee State High School Crowns from 13'-16' for Baylor. He wrestled collegiately for Virginia.
 |
| Sammy Evans |
Sammy Evans won four Tennessee High School State titles for Alcoa from 14'-17'. He wrestled collegiately for UT-Chattanooga.
 |
| Knox Fuller |
Knox Fuller won four Tennessee High School State titles for Bradley Central from 14'-17'. He competed collegiately for Army.
|
| Eli King |
Representing Father Ryan, Eli King won four Tennessee High School State titles from 14'-17'.
No comments:
Post a Comment