Durliat, Smith punch Franklin tickets
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Clinton’s Jordan Smith (top) works for control against Greeneville’s James Treptow during the Class A Section 1 Tournament at Gibbs High School in Corryton. After dropping his opening-round bout, Smith battled through the consolation bracket with wins over Cocke County’s Tanner Mantooth and Elizabethton’s David Wright before securing third place with a 9-4 decision over Chuckey-Doak’s Marcus Britt. - Tony Cox
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Clinton’s Adam Gonzalez works for control against Sullivan East’s Bently Key in the 157-pound weight class during sectional competition. - Tony Cox
Clinton High School’s wrestling team will send two athletes to this week’s Class A State Championships.
The Dragons had four competitors at the sectional tournament Saturday at Gibbs High School in Corryton. Two advanced to wrestle on the state’s biggest stage later this week at the Williamson County AgExpo Park in Franklin.
Freshman Hayden Durliat (113 pounds) finished fourth in his weight class, while junior Jordan Smith (175) took third in his division. Both rebounded after early losses to secure their spots in the state tournament.
“Hayden had to win two matches to qualify, and Jordan lost in the first round and had to come back and win two matches to make it to state,” Clinton coach Carl Nielsen said.
The Dragons’ other sectional qualifiers were Emmanuel Rangel (113) and Adam Gonzalez (157). Both were one win away from advancing to the Midstate.
“All four of them made it to the blood rounds,” Nielsen said. “I’m proud of both of our guys who made it to the state, but I’m also really proud of Emmanuel and Gonzalez. They wrestled extremely well.
“We’re happy to be going to state and see what those guys can do down there.”
While there may be one tournament left this season, Nielsen already has his eye on 2026-27 and plans to tweak his approach.
“The thing for me is that I had to learn how to get these guys peaking later in the season,” he said. “For five months, we went at it really hard. We went five days a week and didn’t take our foot off the gas.
“Looking back, I think some of our guys peaked in early or mid-January, and late in the season we were just tired. There probably should’ve been a couple of rest days in there.”
The Dragons will take time off in the spring before returning for summer workouts.
“We’re going to give them some time off,” Nielsen said. “Then we’ll come back in the summer and hit the weights.”
