The Deuce(s) were wild… Morton takes second consecutive state title, Thomas finishes as runnerup

Published 1:08 am Sunday, February 23, 2020

By Ivan Sanders

BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
FRANKLIN – Two seemed to be the number of choice on Saturday during the 2020 TSSAA State Wrestling Tournament at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park in Franklin.
Deuce Morton won his second consecutive TSSAA State Championship in the 195-pound weight class while Tyesha Thomas finished second in the girls’ 119-pound weight class to close out another successful wrestling campaign for the Elizabethton Cyclones.
Morton continued his strong run through the postseason as every match in the regions and at the state tournament were won by pinfall with most coming in the first round as the Cyclone junior ran his season record to 50-2 with the victory.
In Saturday’s championship, Morton schooled Pigeon Forge freshman Caleb Wolfe as Morton was able to put Wolfe down on the mat and then systematically worked his way into position to roll Wolfe over in position for the pin.
Wolfe couldn’t hold off Morton as the referee slapped the mat to indicate the pin and Morton celebrated by clutching his fist realizing that his mission was accomplished.
With Morton’s first-place finish, Wolfe finished as runnerup with Kambell Brown of Alcoa finishing third, McKinley Wagner of Nolensville finished fourth, Jacob Clevenger of Fairview in fifth, and Jerry Campbell of East Nashville Magnet collecting sixth place.
“With all the work that I have put in all year, this was a big tournament to go out there and finished what I started,” said Morton. “Each day through football and weight lifting and everything with wrestling working hard on that mat, it was just good to get out there and finish what I started and get that second state championship and defend my title.
“It was a lot of relief. I like to watch my opponent’s matches and my dad films a lot of matches so its a lot of film study because there are a lot of moves in wrestling.
“It was amazing to take on Wolfe and get the job done. Hopefully, we can come back next year and get a three-peat.”
Morton’s win was something that his coaches felt was deserving as Morton has been in the crosshairs of all his competition in the 195 weight class all season and the win just tops off what they already knew about their wrestler.
“As we said at the beginning of the season, the bullseye was on his back and he proved that he had every right to defend that title,” said EHS wrestling coach Travis Pennell. “He came out here and did exactly what he needed to do.
“He pinned all the way through and is just a force to be reckoned with. You can tell that on the wrestling mat. When you can make quick work in quick pins it shows how dominate you are. He is one of the most dominant wrestlers that I have seen in a long time in our region.”
In the girls’ 119 championship bout, Thomas returned to the title match for the third consecutive year looking to finally get over the top and claim the title.
However, standing in her way was Annalynn Rakett of Clarksville Academy.
It was a dogfight from the onset as both wrestlers were giving it everything they had with the title in sight. In the second round, it appeared that Rakett might have had Thomas set up for a pin but the Cyclone junior battled her way until the two-minute period was up as Rakett led 4-2 at that point.
In the third round, Thomas appeared to have injured herself and the match was briefly stopped as trainers checked on Thomas before allowing the match to resume.
Trailing 8-3 with time winding down, Thomas mounted one last threat trying to set Rakett up for a potential flip-attempt at a pin but Rakett worked out of Thomas’ trap and held on for the win.
Even though Thomas was heartbroken at a third-straight runnerup finish, the junior’s match was recognized as the best match in girls’ final action once again proving that Thomas belonged on the big stage for her effort.
Following Rakett and Thomas were Tullahoma’s Divine Desilets, Emma Wallen of Science Hill, Northwest’s Roseanna Vaughn, and Haley Redmond of Knox Gibbs.
“Tyesha’s effort today was pretty much unparalleled,” said Cyclone coach Eddie Morrell. “She came up short in the finals and that happens sometimes but its no indicator of the work that you put in or the class of athlete that you are.
“Unfortunately this sport teaches tough lessons – you are going to win and you are going to lose. What we are looking forward to is the growth that she has had as a person and the growth that she has had as an athlete. She has done it three times before and she can do it coming back.”
Thomas said that worry about her shoulder may have led to not being as focused as much as she should have been.
“I felt pretty confident but I was a little worried about my shoulders though because they have a tendency to pop out of place,” said Thomas. “I didn’t wrestle as hard as I could.”

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