Johnson, Kendall advance to state
The Clinton High School girls wrestling team has a sectional champion, senior Kalinda “Ace” Johnson.
Competing at 185 pounds for the Lady Dragons, she captured the sectional title Friday night at Northview Academy, celebrating her birthday with a dominant performance.
Johnson pinned all three opponents she faced, securing the championship by defeating Knoxville Catholic’s Aliya Whaley in 3 minutes, 1 second.
“Ace did a great job,” Clinton Coach Channing McDonald said. “She had a tough kid from Catholic in the finals, and I think she placed at state last year. I’m really proud of Ace. She’s really worked hard.”
The Lady Dragons also had a strong showing from Zaira Feeney (120 pounds), who made a deep run in Kodak before being eliminated in the consolation semifinals.
Feeney earned pins over Tennessee High’s Kayleigh Carroll and Science Hill’s Ivy Evans-Ball, and defeated Pigeon Forge’s Ayela Murillo by technical fall.
In the semifinals, Feeney was pinned by Anderson County’s Danielle Connors, who was ranked No. 1 in the state in the 126-pound weight class in December. Connors went on to win the sectional title at 120 pounds.
“I’m really proud of Zaira; she had a tough match against Danielle,” McDonald said. “She’s worked really hard. She hurt her shoulder and lost to the girl from Pigeon Forge, but she was one match away from going to state.”
Murillo defeated Feeney by fall in the consolation semifinals.
In the boys Section 1-A championships on Saturday, Clinton’s Dalton Kendall finished third in the 215-pound division and secured a spot at the state championships.
He is one of two 215-pound wrestlers from the Anderson County Schools system to qualify, joining Anderson County’s Josh Bingham, who held the No. 1 state ranking in December.
Clinton’s two seniors, Johnson and Kendall, will compete at the TSSAA state championships at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin, beginning Friday and concluding Saturday.
