Dragons matmen show grit in split at Karns
Clinton’s Jordan Smith (175) had a decisive win over Hardin Valley Academy’s Nolan Sharp scoring points for the Dragons with a pin in 1:42. Smith also picked up a win by fall for Clinton against Sevier County. (photo:Tony Cox )
The Dragons opened the night in Northwest Knox County against Region 2-AA runner-up Hardin Valley Academy, falling 56-23 to the Hawks after winning four bouts.
“Hardin Valley is a good team, but I don’t think they’re unbeatable,” Clinton coach Carl Nielsen said. “If we had a couple of things go our way, the outcome might have been a little different.”
Clinton recorded wins from Keenan Hoskins, Marshon Matthews, Adam Gonzalez and Jordan Smith.
Hoskins, the Dragons’ 132-pounder, earned a technical fall with a 21-6 victory over Sylas Flemming.
The bout was stopped at 3 minutes, 1 second.
Matthews, wrestling at 150 pounds, won by injury default over John Geiger. At 157 pounds, Gonzalez pinned William Wilmer in 3:26, while Smith (175) secured a pin of Nolan Sharp in 1:42.
Clinton closed the night with a decisive 65-12 victory over Sevier County High School.
“We bounced back against Sevier County, and some of our young guys did really well,” Nielsen said.
“Wrestling Hardin Valley first, some of those young guys got knocked around a bit,” he said. “Against Sevier County, I had first-year wrestlers doing things young guys don’t usually do. We really came back.”
The Dragons took control early as 113-pounder Hayden Durliat pinned Aaron Valdez in 3:48 after both teams recorded forfeits at 106 pounds.
Emmanuel Rangel (120), Boston Ollis (138), Jonah Hoskins (215) and Roman Hollifield (165) all won by forfeit.
At 126 pounds, Connor Lemmon won by technical fall, rolling past Liam Jagels 18-2 in 3:21. Hoskins added another win at 132, pinning Gavin Powers, while Aaron Solberg (144) pinned Gavin Drummond in 3:55.
Gonzalez (157), Brown (190) and Smith also picked up wins by fall to cap the Dragons’ bounce-back performance against the Smoky Bears.
