B.B. Branton wrote a great article before the tournament started about Duncan’s quest. Read it here:
T.J. Duncan’s Drive For Five by B.B. Branton at Chattanoogan.com

Duncan completed that quest tonight with a 15-6 win over Baylor’s Spencer Craig. He was selected as the tournament’s Division II Best Wrestler. Congratulations to TJ Duncan on an amazing high school career.

Great article on the Chattanoogan. B.B. Branton has composed a list of Tennessee’s best prep wrestlers in the past half century.

Here are the top 10.

** state champion is the first criteria to be considered for the top 50 … this coincides with next month’s 50th high school state tournament.

1. BILL HARLOW … St. Andrew’s … ’62 state champ at 171 … also won Mid South and national prep titles in ’62 … OW in all three tournaments … defeated ’61 national prep OW in ’62 finals … 5x Mid South champ … 80-1 career record … At Oklahoma State was 1966 NCAA champ … 3x All-American (2-2-1) … 3x NCAA finalist … 2x Big 8 champ … career record: 54-5-2 … 3x National AAU champ … 1x OW … World Silver medal … Tblisi Bronze medal … high school coach at Sapulpa High School in Oklahoma … member of the Oklahoma chapter of the national wrestling hall of fame.

2. JORDAN LEEN … Baylor … 4x state champ ; 2001-04 … ’04 OW … 214 career wins … national high school champ … 4x McCallie Invite champ … At Cornell, 2008 NCAA champion … 3x All-American (8-1-3) … 2x EIWA champ … 2008 EIWA Wrestler of the Year … career record, 118-29.

3. PHILIP SIMPSON … MBA … 4x state champ (1998-01) … 2x OW … 176 career wins … national high school runner-up … 4x champ, McCallie Invite … At West Point, 3x All-American; 2003-04-05 … 2005 NCAA runner-up … West Point’s only 3x All-American … 3x EIWA champ … 134 career wins … currently in the U.S. Army

4. MATT KELLER … Bradley Central … 4x state champ (1999-02) … ’99 OW … 3rd at high school senior nationals … NCAA All-American at Nebraska and UTC … 2x SoCon champ … currently in training for national freestyle tournaments … lives in Cleveland.

5. RANDY BATTEN … Hixson … 2x state champ; 1973-74 … ’74 OW … placed 3rd in 1972 … high school record: 107-2 … won final 87 matches … medaled in three national AAU tournaments … reached final four twice and placed second in the third … At UTC, 3x NCAA D-II national champ (’75-’77) … ’75 OW … ’75 SoCon champ … lives in Birmingham.

6. DAVID VANCE … McCallie … 3x state champ; 1988-91 … ’90 OW … four-time state finalist (2-1-1-1) … 3x McCallie Invite champ … 135-2 record … 103 wins in a row … wrestled one year at Oklahoma … lives in Chattanooga.

7. MARKESE NELSON … Kirby … 2x state champ; 1994-95 … lost one match his last three years … 3x champ at McCallie (OW) and Father Ryan tourneys … 4th at high school senior nationals … Cadet All-American at Fargo … 2x JUCO All-American at Fresno City College … wrestled at Fresno State … UniversityNationals All-American … Armed Forces national champ.

8. ADRIAN NORFLEET … Whites Creek … 3x state champ; 1986-88 … lives in Texas

9. SCOTT WELLS … Brentwood Academy … 2x state champ; 1998-99 … ’98 OW … 4x cadet national champion at Fargo; 2x in Greco/Roman and 2x in Freestyle … undefeated two seasons in Tenn.

10. CHARLES McTORRY … Overton … Tenn. record for wins (216) … 2x state champ; 1994, 1996 … 2x OW … 3x finalist (1-2-1) … high school national champion … wrestled at Nebraska … head coach at Ensworth.

Read the whole article and comment with your thoughts!

I came across this link featuring NCAA Wrestling Championship brackets from as far back as the 1920s. Wow, what a site!

We all know about Gable’s loss to Owings in 1970, but take a look at his 1969 tournament, which was held at Brigham Young, and his 1968 tournament, in which he beat the NCAA champ from the year before, Dan McGuire. McGuire went on to win his 2nd title the next year by fall.

Enjoy all the other brackets throughout the years!

I was looking through the brackets of past NCAA Wrestling Championships, and came across a champion from the University of Tennessee named Chris Edmond. He won the 167 weight class in 1985 for UT. TheMat.com lists Edmond as the only champion from there.

Below is a video of Edmond’s first win in the 1985 tournament. Here are the 1985 NCAA Championship brackets.

When did the University of Tennessee actually discontinue their program?