Rockets grapplers sweep tri-meet, prepare for postseason

Anthony S. Puca Sports Editor
Posted 1/27/21

With only two weeks remaining until the Region 3A/AA Tournament at Eagleville, the Forrest Rocket wrestlers entertained Cheatham County and Marshall County for senior night at Chapel Hill on Thursday, January 21. Forrest opened up the tri-meet versus the 2008 state champion Cubs with Rocket junior Forest Ozburn coming up with a huge comeback win over Daniel White in the 152-pound weight class...

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Rockets grapplers sweep tri-meet, prepare for postseason

Posted

With only two weeks remaining until the Region 3A/AA Tournament at Eagleville, the Forrest Rocket wrestlers entertained Cheatham County and Marshall County for senior night at Chapel Hill on Thursday, January 21.

Forrest opened up the tri-meet versus the 2008 state champion Cubs with Rocket junior Forest Ozburn coming up with a huge comeback win over Daniel White in the 152-pound weight class.

Ozburn trailed 2-0 after the first period and fell behind 5-2 after the second before making his comeback in the third period, going ahead 10-5 before pinning the Cheatham County grappler with 35.4 seconds remaining in the match.

Chris Davis picked up six points for the Rockets with a forfeit win at 160-pounds before the Cubs got on the board when Timmy Kern pinned Forrest freshman Hamen Hileman.

Ian Reed followed with another takedown for Cheatham County over Alex Harvey in the 182-pound bout to tie the match before Forrest senior Noah Hill kept his undefeated record in tact when he pinned Landon Morris with 1:11 remaining in the second period in the 195-pound weight class.

There was a double forfeit at 220 and Cheatham County took forfeit wins at 285, 106, 113, and 120 pounds as Forrest had no healthy wrestlers to fill those spots and the Rockets fell behind 36-18.

Asa Nance got the Rockets back on track when he took on Bryan Otey in the 126-pound match as the Forrest junior wasted little time picking up six points when he pinned Otey with 35.6 seconds remaining in the first period.

Braiden Vanderploeg was next up on the mat as he was pitted against Adan Alvarez at 132 and Vanderploeg came out on fire, winning the first period 4-1 before dominating the second to take a lopsided 18-1 technical fall win for five points to make it 36-29 with two matches remaining.

Forrest freshman Seth McCoy inched the Rockets to within one point at 36-35 when he also came out in dominating fashion, pinning Owen Carney with 51.2 seconds remaining in the first round in the 135-pound weight class.

The match came down to the 145-pound bout as Forrest senior Hunter Pendley went to the mat to face off with Cheatham County junior William Hendrix.

The two grapplers battled to a 2-2 first round tie before the action picked up in the second period with Pendley going ahead 8-5.

The final three minutes determined the winning team and Pendley held firm, coming away with the tough 8-5 decision and three points to secure the 38-36 win for the Rockets.

In the second match of the tri-meet, the Marshall County Tigers took on the Cubs and MCHS took 18 out of the first 30 points, beginning with a forfeit win by senior Aaron Foster in the opening 160-pound match.

The Cubs picked up six points with a forfeit win before MCHS senior Colton Haun destroyed Ian Reed, pinning the Cheatham County grappler with 50.7 seconds left in the first round of the 182-pound bout.

Landon Morris pinned Marshall County’s Brock Anderson in the next match before the Tigers picked up their final points of the night with a forfeit win at 220.

The final match of the night pitted intra-county rivals Forrest versus MCHS in a matchup that featured only four matches decided on the mat.

Haun picked six points and his second win of the night for the Tigers when he pinned Alex Harvey with 15 seconds remaining in the first round.

Hill also won his second bout of the tri-meet when took on Anderson and the defending state champ jumped out to a 9-1 lead before pinning Anderson with 13.6 seconds left in the second round.

Ozburn won his second bout of the night with a first round pin over James Jamison and Foster completed his tri-meet sweep with first round pin over Forrest’s Chris Davis in the 160-pound bout.

Foster (8-5) finished fourth in the region tournament last season and qualified for the state tournament where he did not place in the 152-pound weight class.

Haun (8-8) wrestled at 170-pounds last year and is looking to make some noise at Eagleville.

The Region 3A/AA Tournament at Eagleville begins on February 12 that will feature a new format that consists of wrestling out by weight class.

Hill, Pendley, McCoy, and Vanderploeg all qualified for the state tournament last year.

Hill (20-0) won the region and state title last season at 182-pounds and Pendley (13-8) finished fourth in the region and did not place at the state tournament.

McCoy (10-6) finished second at last year’s region tournament at 113-pounds and went on to an impressive fourth-place medalist finish at the state championships as an eighth-grader.

Vanderploeg (15-6) came in fourth place at the region tournament at 120 and went 1-2 at the state tournament.

This year’s state championships will be at the Chattanooga Convention Center with Division I Class A-AA taking place on Thursday, February 18th.

Cheatham County 38, Forrest 36

152-Pounds: Forest Ozburn (Forrest) over Daniel White (Cheatham Co.), Fall 5:25.

160: Chris Davis (Forrest), Forfeit.

170: Timmy Kern (Cheatham Co.) over Hamen Hileman (Forrest), Fall 1:13.

182: Ian Reed (Cheatham Co.) over Alex Harvey (Forrest), Fall 5:01.

195: Noah Hill (Forrest) over Landon Morris (Cheatham Co.), Fall 2:51.

220: Double Forfeit.

285: Rolen Prater (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

106: Cody Andrews (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

113: Justin Andrews (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

120: Sumner Boyd (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

126: Asa Nance (Forrest) over Bryan Otey (Cheatham Co.), Fall 1:24.

132: Braiden Vanderploeg (Forrest) over Adan Alvarez (Cheatham Co.), TF 17-1 3:45.

138: Seth McCoy (Forrest) over Owen Carney (Cheatham Co.), Fall 1:09.

145: Hunter Pendley (Forrest) over Spencer Hendrix (Cheatham Co.), Dec 8-5.

Forrest 42, Marshall County 24

170: Hamen Hileman (Forrest), Forfeit.

182: Colton Haun (Marshall Co.) over Alex Harvey (Forrest), Fall 0:15.

195: Noah Hill (Forrest) over Brock Anderson (Marshall Co.), Fall 2:24.

220: Eli Alexander (Marshall Co.), Forfeit.

285: Wesley Holder (Marshall Co.), Forfeit.

106: Double Forfeit

113: Double Forfeit

120: Double Forfeit

126: Asa Nance (Forrest), Forfeit.

132: Braiden Vanderploeg (Forrest), Forfeit.

138: Seth McCoy (Forrest), Forfeit.

145: Hunter Pendley (Forrest), Forfeit.

152: Forest Ozburn (Forrest) over James Jamison (Marshall Co.), Fall 1:25.

160: Aaron Foster (Marshall Co.) over Chris Davis (Forrest), Fall 1:29.

Cheatham County 66, Marshall County 18

160: Aaron Foster (Marshall Co.), Forfeit.

170: Timmy Kern (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

182: Colton Haun (Marshall Co.) over Ian Reed (Cheatham Co.), Fall 0:50.

195: Landon Morris (Cheatham Co.) over Brock Anderson (Marshall Co.), Fall 0:41.

220: Eli Alexander (Marshall Co.), Forfeit.

285: Rolen Prater (Cheatham Co.) over Wesley Holder (Marshall Co.), Fall 0:59.

106: Cody Andrews (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

113: Jason Thomason (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

120: Sumner Boyd (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

126: Bryan Otey (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

132: Adan Alvarez (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

138: Owen Carney (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

145: Spencer Hendrix (Cheatham Co.), Forfeit.

152: Daniel White (Cheatham Co.) over James Jamison (Marshall Co.), Fall 0:42.