Leave-’em Leavell’d
Hulet, Leavell lead historic fourth-place finish
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Anderson County’s Deameion Leavell secured the 175-pound state championship with a victory over Fairview’s Cole Neal in the finals at the TSSAA State Wrestling Championships in Franklin. It marked Leavell’s second state title; he previously won the 165-pound crown in 2024. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County’s Zedediah Hulet (top) controls Gibbs’ Noah Eller during the 138-pound championship match at the TSSAA State Wrestling Championships in Franklin. Hulet, a junior who finished 40-6, claimed the title with a 10-7 decision after advancing with wins over Oliver Little of Upperman, Skylar Hedges of Fairview and William Holloway of Soddy Daisy. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County finished fourth in the team standings at the 2026 TSSAA State Wrestling Championships in Franklin. Pictured are (from left) assistant coaches Tucker Armstrong and Zeke Hulet, Deameion Leavell, Zed Hulet, Hayden Harrell, Danielle Connors, Evan Prewitt, Head Coach Matt Slone and Assistant Coach Rod Connors. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County’s Hayden Harrell (right) shoots in on Watertown’s Gunnar Tompkins during a 144-pound consolation match at the TSSAA State Wrestling Championships in Franklin. Harrell controlled the action and rolled to a 15-2 major decision victory. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County’s Evan Prewitt (top) locks in a tight ride against Chattanooga Central’s Trevor Burney in the 190-pound championship match at the TSSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Williamson County Ag Exposition Arena in Franklin. Prewitt advanced to the finals with victories over Lee Millington of Millington Central, Logan Rawlinson of Soddy Daisy and Corey Hatcher of Alcoa before finishing as the state runner-up. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County’s Danielle Connors (bottom) shoots in on Springfield’s A’shawnise Leavell during the fifth-place match at the 2026 TSSAA State Wrestling Championships. Connors secured a takedown with 47 seconds remaining in the first period to claim the victory. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County’s Zed Hulet (center, with headphones) watches the pre-championship highlights video before the finals of the TSSAA State Wrestling Championships. Hulet competed in the 138-pound title match later in the evening. - Tony Cox
The Anderson County High School wrestling program had a historic stay at the 2025-26 TSSAA Class A State Wrestling Championships over the weekend at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin.
The Mavericks finished fourth overall in the team standings of the event won by Soddy-Daisy. Signal Mountain finished second, followed by Station Camp, which edged out Anderson County for third place.
The Mavs had a pair of state champions, the most in a single state tournament in school history. They also had four medalists on the Volunteer State’s biggest wrestling stage.
Zed Hulet, who competes in the 138-pound weight class, and senior Deameion Leavell (175) both left the Midstate with state tournament championships.
It was the second state title for Leavell, who won with Clinton in 2022-23. Hulet, a junior, will return as a state champion for the Mavericks next season. He’ll be the first ACHS grappler to return as a state titlist.
Evan Prewitt, who competes in the 190-pound division, was the runner-up in his bracket, and Hayden Harrell finished fourth in his weight class.
“It was historical for Anderson County,” Mavericks Coach Matt Slone said. “We had two state champions, the most we’ve ever had in a single state tournament. We finished fourth as a team and that’s the best ever.
“We had four placers and that’s the most we’ve ever had, and Hulet will be the first returning state champion for our program. (Leavell) came in after he won a state championship at another school. But Zed will be a returning state champion in our program and we feel pretty good about that. We finished fourth, and Station Camp, a bigger school, had a couple of more kids than we did. We were battling with them, but they edged us out.
Connors finishes fifth for Lady Mavericks at state Junior Danielle Connors (126 pounds) finished fifth at the 2025-26 girls state championships in Franklin.
The appearance in Franklin was her second consecutive trip to the state championships. She came in fourth last season.
“Our guys and gals did a great job,” Slone said.
