Cornersville hosts first wrestling meet in several decades

By Anthony S. Puca Sports Writer
Posted 1/19/22

The Cornersville Bulldogs hosted its first wrestling match in over 40 years Tuesday night, welcoming intra-county rivals Forrest and Marshall County High School to Frog Bottom.

It was a big …

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Cornersville hosts first wrestling meet in several decades

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The Cornersville Bulldogs hosted its first wrestling match in over 40 years Tuesday night, welcoming intra-county rivals Forrest and Marshall County High School to Frog Bottom.

It was a big reunion for Cornersville assistant coach Jeff Gross, who was a three-time state champion wrestler at Forrest.

“This feels good, we have been travelling to all away matches so far this season,” Gross said. “We are looking to get mats for our school and get the momentum and intensity here to make a culture of wrestling and become a better team.”

Gross, along with head coach Sam Hubbell only had four healthy wrestlers for the duals due to some out with either injury or sickness.

“We have a couple guys out sick, but the guys that are here are committed and ready to go to work,” Gross said. “We had a lot of guys come out, but it was a little tough on them, so we have a good start to the program. I don’t care how many guys I have, whoever we have, we will work hard and get better.”

The Rockets beat the Bulldogs 48-6 in the first match of the night with Cornersville’s only win coming by Joshua Bennett via a forfeit in the 106-pound weight class.

Forrest’s Braiden Vanderploeg picked up six points for the Rockets on a first period pin over Caden Bush in the 138-pound weight class before Seth McCoy added six more points with a forfeit at 145.

Asa Nance followed with a pin over Cornersville’s Jonathon Zuniga at 152 and Forrest Ozburn was awarded a forfeit in the 160-pound weight class.

Rocket 170-pounder Chris Davis pinned Xavier Viazcan and Alex Harvey (182), Peter Wilson (195), and Nathan Hall (285) also picked up forfeit wins for Forrest.

There were double forfeits at 113, 120, 132, and 220 pounds which resulted in zero points for either team.

The Rockets followed with a 54-18 win over Marshall County with Braiden Vanderploeg pinning Ryan Bentley (138), Ozburn pinned Aaron Powell (160), Harvey won by fall over Brock Anderson (182), Wilson pinned Levi Franks (195), and Nathan Hall pinned Eli Alexander (285).

McCoy, Nance, Davis, and Tegan Vanderploeg won by forfeit for the Rockets, while Charles Hargrove (220), Julius Foster (106), and Marc Burns (120) all picked up forfeit wins for the Tigers.

In the final match of the night, the Bulldogs took on the Tigers and in the only two weight classes that were wrestled, Cornersville came out on top.

In the 106-pound weight class, Bennett outdueled Julius Foster for a second round pin and Caden Bush pinned Marshall County’s Ryan Bentley in the first round.

The Tigers won the match 36-24 with forfeits in 120, 160, 182, 195, 220, and 285 weight classes while Bulldogs got forfeit wins at 152 and 170.

The match is the only home event for the Bulldogs this season as they prepare for the future which is in good hands with Gross, who intends to pass as much of his knowledge and experience as he can to the young wrestlers in Cornersville.

“The community has been awesome, a lot of people came out of nowhere and just helped us out and got things done, even tonight this match would not be possible without getting these mats from MCHS,” Gross said. “We will continue to come to work every day and be 110 percent committed and be all aboard.”

“It’s not just a sport, it teaches you a lot of life lessons, it teaches you to be tough and all around I think it is the greatest sport in the world, so we will continue to work, get better, have fun, and just let it fly.”

Gross won his first state title in 2017 in the 113 pound weight class, 2018 at 126, and 2019 in the 138-pound weight class for the Rockets.

In his four years at Chapel Hill, Gross had an unbelievable 135-7 record with an undefeated season in 2018 (26-0) and one loss seasons in 2019 (39-1) and 2017 (31-1).

Gross finished in fourth place at the state tournament as a freshman (39-5) in the 106-pound weight class.

Forrest 48, Cornersville 6

106- Joshua Bennett (Cornersville), forfeit.

113-Double forfeit.

120-Double Forfeit.

126-Double forfeit.

132-Double forfeit.

138-Braiden Vanderploeg (Forrest) over Caden Bush (Cornersville), fall, 0.55.

145-Seth McCoy (Forrest), forfeit.

152-Asa Nance (Forrest) over Jonathon Zuniga (Cornersville), fall, 5:36.

160-Forrest Ozburn (Forrest), forfeit.

170-Chris Davis (Forrest) over Xavier Viazcan (Cornersville), fall, 1:08.

182- Alex Harvey (Forrest), forfeit.

195-Peter Wilson (Forrest), forfeit.

220-Double forfeit.

285-Nathan Hall (Forrest), forfeit.

Forrest 54, Marshall County 18.

138- Braiden Vanderploeg (Forrest) over Ryan Bentley (Marshall County), fall.

145- Seth McCoy (Forrest), forfeit.

152-Asa Nance (Forrest), forfeit.

160-Forrest Ozburn (Forrest) over Aaron Powell (Marshall County), fall.

170-Chris Davis (Forrest), forfeit.

182- Alex Harvey (Forrest) over Brock Anderson (Marshall County), fall.

195-Peter Wilson (Forrest) over Levi Franks (Marshall County), fall.

220-Charles Hargrove (Marshall County), forfeit.

285- Nathan Hall (Forrest) over Eli Alexander (Marshall County), fall.

106- Julius Foster (Marshall County), forfeit.

113-Double forfeit.

120- Marc Burns (Marshall County), forfeit.

132-Tegan Vanderploeg (Forrest), forfeit.

Marshall County 36, Cornersville 24

106- Joshua Bennett (Cornersville) over Julius Foster (Marshall County), fall.

113-Double forfeit.

120- Marc Burns (Marshall County), forfeit.

126-Double forfeit.

132-Double forfeit.

138- Caden Bush (Cornersville) over Ryan Bentley (Marshall County), fall.

145-Double forfeit.

152- Jonathon Zuniga (Cornersville), forfeit.

160- Aaron Powell (Marshall County), forfeit.

170- Xavier Viazcan (Cornersville), forfeit.

182- Brock Anderson (Marshall County), forfeit.

195- Levi Franks (Marshall County), forfeit

220- Charles Hargrove (Marshall County), forfeit.

285- Eli Alexander (Marshall County), forfeit.