Welcome to the Science Hill High School Hilltoppers

3/25/08 JC Press

J.C. club posts top finishes at state

The Johnson City Wrestling Club had several high finishes in the AAU State Championship this past weekend in Crossville and Tullahoma. Wilson Riley and Caleb Taylor were runner-ups in their respective divisions. Caleb Head scored a third-place finish and Jesse Cross and Derrick Witt had fourth-place efforts.

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2/19/08 JC Press

AAU Team Grabs 10 Top Finishes

Johnson City's AAU wrestling club had 10 first-place finishes at the Rebel Classic in Kingsport over the weekend.

Nick Isolani, Conner Hobson, Jacob Jones, Austin Bagley, Jacob Price, Javier Tapia, Derrick Witt, Wilson Riley, Drew Parks and Max Vaughn all finished first.

Picking up second place finishes for Johnson City were Dylan Snapp, Arron Pool, Caleb Head, Garrett Wood, Caleb Taylor, Devlin Grewal, Jesse Cross and Elliot Vaughn.

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2/17/08 JC Press

Usary Has To Settle for 2nd at State

FROM STAFF REPORTS
CHATTANOOGA: Brett Usary hung with one of the state's top wrestlers for almost five minutes Saturday, but in the end Bradley Central's David Mang proved superior.

Usary gave Science Hill a secondplace finish in a 24-7 technical fall in the 135-pound championship final of the TSSAA state individual wrestling tournament at McKenzie Arena.

"It's disappointing to lose, but on the other hand it's nice to have a second-place finish," Science Hill head coach Jeff Price said. "He's a junior so he can learn from this. The kid he faced might have been the best wrestler in the gym.

"We gave it our best shot."

Indeed, Mang was named the best wrestler Saturday, and Bradley Central, which placed five wrestlers in the final round and eight in the medals round, was the state's top team, finishing with 218 points. Cleveland was second at 106.5 and Brentwood third at 95.5. Science Hill finished 22nd with 37 points.

Greeneville's Joel Brimer, the only other wrestler from Northeast Tennessee to reach the finals, won the 160-pound class. He decisioned Pigeon Forge's Brett Shields 4-2 in overtime. The contest was picked the best match of the day.

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STATE WRESTLING
Science Hill's Usary Rallies to Make Finals
By DOUGLAS FRITZ
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

Brett Usary withstood the test against the best 135-pound wrestlers in the state. But the last step figures to be the most difficult.

The Science Hill junior came back from a 5-0 deficit against Kenwood's Robert Armstrong and recorded a pin with 10 seconds left in their semifinal match Friday night. That moved Usary into today's championship match against favorite David Mang of Bradley Central.

The finals of the TSSAA state individual wrestling tournament begin today at 4 p.m. at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.

The only other area wrestler to reach the championship match was Greeneville's Joel Brimer, who scored a 5-4 decision over Clarksville's Joel Proctor in the semifinals. Brimer will wrestle Pigeon Forge's Brett Shields in the finals.

As for Usary, his task is challenging. "He's got a mountain in front on him, he really does," said Science Hill head coach Jeff Price. "The good thing is we're going in as a serious underdog. We've watched (Mang) all weekend and he's very sure. Sometimes that works in another person's favor.

"If Brett can frustrate him and scramble with him, we may be in the match. A lot of people said Brett was the only person who could compete with Mang."

Usary earned an 8-7 decision in the second round to stay in the title hunt. He earned a pin in the quarterfinals, but had his hands full with Armstrong. Trailing 5-0, Usary racked up four points late in the second period.

Then in the third period, Usary turned Armstrong to take a 6-5 lead. Usary then picked up three more points and then put Armstrong flat as time was running out.

Also performing well for the Hilltoppers was eighth-grader Steven Goldstein, who won a pair of 103-pound matches before getting clipped in the quarterfinals. Eighthgrader Justin Snyder also won a match in the 125-pound class.

"I'm proud of them," said Price. "We did what we could do. We won the matches we were supposed to win."


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2/13/08
Local Wrestlers Ready for State Meet
By DOUGLAS FRITZ
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

With seven wrestlers participating, Science Hill heads the local charge to Chattanooga for the TSSAA individual state tournament.

The event begins today and runs through Saturday at McKenzie Arena. Weigh-ins are set for 2 p.m., and the round of 32 begins at 4 p.m. The round of 16 will also be wrestled today.

Action continues Friday with the quarterfinals, and the semifinals are scheduled for 6 p.m. The championship matches are set for 4 p.m. Saturday.

Science Hill's Brett Usary appears to have the best chance of making big noise in the tournament, but hasn't had a great deal of success at the state level. Usary won one match as an eighth-grader, lost his first match as a freshman and won one match last year.

However, Hilltoppers' head coach Jeff Price said Usary is a different wrestler this year.

"He's not making the same kind of mistakes now," said Price. "He has been a lot more mature wrestler. I think he will be OK, but it won't be a cakewalk."

Making the path to the finals a little less resistant for Usary is his draw. He is in the opposite bracket of Bradley Central's David Mang, who figures to be Usary's biggest roadblock to a state title.

Mang was second in the state two years ago, and then last year won a state title in Alabama before returning to Tennessee.

"If Brett wrestles like he has been wrestling, he will be fine," said Price.

Other Science Hill wrestlers in the tournament are senior Greg Tomas (160 pounds), freshman Matt Stull (140), junior Leeland Davidson (130), eighth-grader Justin Snyder (125), sophomore Jonathan Pearce (119) and eighth-grader Steven Goldstein (103).

"In the bracket Steven is in, he could do well," said Price. "He's got a draw where he could get deep in. Leeland and Justin also got good draws."

Overall, Price said he's pleased that his younger wrestlers earned their berths.

"It's good that they get to see it, and have the experience of being in there and competing," said Price. "Even if they lose that first match and don't get to wrestle again, at least they have the experience of being there."

Also making the state tournament as Region 1 champions were Elizabethton's Josh Richardson at 171, David Crockett's Michael Nease at 130, along with Sullivan East's Travis Wilson at 119 and Kole Bishop at 145.

Other local competitors are Daniel Boone's Logan Bailey (130), Elizabethton's Zach Coggins (215) and Steven Pearce (140), along with Daniel Boone's Matt Montgomery (189) and Jacob Mathes (160).


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2/12 - JC Press

Johnson City Club Reels in Honors

The Johnson City AAU Wrestling Club participated in two tournaments this past weekend in Seymour and Knoxville.

First-place, gold-medal winners were Conner Hobson, Austin Bagley and Max Vaughn. Second-place finishers were Matt Dammann, Tyler Orfield, Drew Parks, Ben Riley, Hunter Bagley, Matthew Smith, Josh Green, Garrett Wood and Braxton and Jesse Cross.


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2/10/08
Region I wrestling

Toppers Send 7 to State
By DOUGLAS FRITZ
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

ELIZABETHTON - Science Hill came in with some question marks, but answered them with a few exclamation points.

And Elizabethton's Josh Richardson authored one mighty exclamation point of his own in the Region 1 individual wrestling tournament at Treadway Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The top three wrestlers in 13 of the 14 weight classes earned berths in next week's state tournament in Chattanooga. In the 140-pound class, the top four wrestlers made it.

Science Hill stepped up with seven wrestlers earning the trip to Chattanooga. And two of them, Justin Snyder at 125 pounds and Steven Goldstein at 103 pounds, are eighth-graders.

"I was really worried because we only had two people coming in who were slam dunks, with Steven Goldstein and Brett Usary," said Hilltoppers head coach Jeff Price. "So to get seven, I'm happy.

"The whole thing all year was we weren't supposed to be able to maintain our competitiveness. But nobody exceeded expectations more than this bunch."

Richardson exceeded expectations for the Cyclones. He surprised Greeneville's Charlie Arrington in overtime to win the 171-pound regional title.

Arrington carried a 2-0 lead as the match dwindled to the final 10 seconds. But Richardson made his move and got the two points to force overtime.

"I just wanted to win," said Richardson. "I saw an opening and I just took it. He had beaten me twice, so I just gave it my all."

After forcing the extra time, Richardson wasted no time with another two-point move. That was a winner as overtime in wrestling is sudden death.

"I was just going all out," Richardson said. "I just wanted to go to the state, so this is just icing on the cake."

It was just the opposite for Usary, who knew anything short of a title at 135 pounds would be a disappointment. Usary took down Morristown West's John Herold in 3:31.

"It has been hard all year," said Usary. "If I lost a match, everybody would look down on me. And if I won, they would say, 'You're supposed to do that.'

"At the state, I just want to do the same thing I did here."

Snyder came up with a surprise regional title for the Hilltoppers at 125 pounds. He stopped Dobyns-Bennett's Austin Mann with a 2-1 decision.

"He came in as the seventh seed, but he has been tough all year," said Price. "He lost some matches by one point, two points and three points. I was just hoping he would make it to the state. It was pretty good for an eighth-grader."

The other eighth-grader was pretty good, too. Goldstein had little trouble disposing of Daniel Boone's Tim Auman, winning with a pin in 2:58.

"I felt like this was something I could do," said Goldstein. "I just worked hard in all of the practices and I never gave up.

"I knew going in (to the finals) that I could pin him, but I should have wrestled better than I did."

Also making it to the championship match for the Hilltoppers were Greg Tomas, who lost to Greeneville's Joel Brimer by an 8-1 decision at 160 pounds, and Jonathan Pearce, who was stopped by Sullivan East's Travis Wilson by an 8-2 decision at 119 pounds.

David Crockett's Michael Nease kept his banner season rolling right along by easily winning the 130-pound title. He won the Musket Bowl of wrestling with a 10-1 decision over Daniel Boone's Logan Bailey.

Sullivan East's Kole Bishop won the 145-pound title with a 6-0 decision over Greeneville's Justin Myers.

Other local qualifiers were Elizabethton's Zach Coggins, who beat Daniel Boone's Spencer Feathers 3-2 in the 215-pound consolation, Daniel Boone's Matt Montgomery (189) and Jacob Mathes (160), Science Hill's Matt Stull (140), Elizabethton's Steven Pearce (140) and Science Hill's Leeland Davidson (130).

2/4/08 Johnson City Press

PREP WRESTLING
SH GIRLS, BOYS AMONG TOPS IN STATE

Science Hill finished second in the inaugural girls' state wrestling meet on Saturday. The Lady 'Toppers lost in the championship round 36-12 to Soddy-Daisy.
Although all-state honors weren't awarded at this first-ever girls' competition, Sarah Austin and Hannah Austin met all-state criteria based on what is expected on the boys' side.
Sarah won her championship meet match against Dakota Johnson, getting the best of a 4-1 decision. Hannah won by a forfeit.
Janey Goldstein also won a match the championship round with an 8-5 decision over Soddy-Daisy's Madison Murray.
The Hilltopper boys finished seventh in the state dual meet. They opened up the tournament with a 42-32 loss to Clarksville, but went on beat William Blount 61-10 and Tullahoma 42-26. They lost a final match 34-32 to Antioch.
Three 'Toppers - Brett Usary at the 135-pound weight class, Greg Tomas at 160 and Matt Cruise at 171 went undefeated in the state competition.
Science Hill finished the year with a record of 30-5. The Region 1 individual championships will be held this weekend at Elizabethton.


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February 1, 2008
State duals put 'Toppers up against Clarksville
By DOUGLAS FRITZ
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

One of the top five wrestling programs in the state, tradition-wise, Science Hill prepares for yet another state tournament battle.
The Hilltoppers will take on Clarksville today at 6:30 p.m. (EST) in the opening round of the TSSAA state dual wrestling tournament at Clarksville's gym.
It's not an easy matchup because Clarksville is a traditional power, but it's a matchup Hilltoppers" head coach Jeff Price said he likes.
"We're not sure it could have been any better," said Price. "We're so young and the kids are so good, we're trying to show them what this level is all about. I want them to see that.
"This is what it is all about. We have no pressure. I'm looking forward to it."
Science Hill (28-3) has never really made a big threat to win a state dual championship, but the Hilltoppers have been consistently in the mix. This is their eighth consecutive trip to the state event.
The Hilltoppers rank No. 4 in state history in total matches wrestled at the state tournament, behind perennial powerhouses Soddy Daisy, Bradley Central and Clarksville. They are fourth in wins and fifth in winning percentage with teams who have wrestled at least 10 matches.
And their return trip this year came despite heavy graduation losses.
"Nobody gave us a shot to be here," said Price, whose team finished runner-up to Greeneville in the regional tournament. "The whole thing this year was: Dobyns-Bennett's going to beat us, David Crockett is going to beat us, and Morristown West is going to beat us. They were so sure they were going to beat us, and they didn't.
"But these kids have been great this year. They responded well. I was only disappointed one time this year in the total overall team effort."
Greeneville battles Tullahoma at 4:30 p.m. in its opening-round contest.
Action continues in the event through Saturday's championship match at 8:30 p.m. EST.


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February 1, 2008
Expanding horizons
Science Hill Opens Up Wrestling Team for Girls
By DOUGLAS FRITZ
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

Science Hill is on the cutting edge of a new girls' high school sport.
The Hilltoppers fielded a girls' wrestling team, and 14 competitors will compete in a state invitational tournament Saturday. Only three other schools in Tennessee "Soddy Daisy, Cleveland and South Doyle" have programs that will compete in the event.
There are several reasons why wrestling coach Jeff Price wanted Science Hill to be involved.
"I thought if it happened I wanted to be in on the ground floor," said Price. "Plus, college programs are picking it up, so it can be a scholarship avenue. I think Title IX has been driving a lot of it. I think it's coming.
"As long as it is girls wrestling girls, I think it's great. I've been opposed to girls wrestling with guys because it's a question of chivalry. You can't teach a guy to respect a girl and then tell him to go kick the crap out of her."
Price tried to get things started by mentioning the program during class. He said the response was quick.
"I talked about it in first period, and then in fourth period I had girls tell me there were 24 girls who wanted to do it," said Price. "That's when I thought it might be feasible. But I'm not real surprised. With the amount of athletes we have in our school, I figured we could fill the weight classes.
"And there are probably a lot of girls walking around our school wishing they had done it. Some girls have asked about doing it next year."
When they first started, Price said there were about 20 girls who came out for the team. Fourteen of them remain, including senior twins Sarah Austin and Hannah Austin.
Both Sarah and Hannah were enthusiastic when Price told them of the plan.
"When I first heard about it, I thought it was a great thing," said Sarah. "I had never thought about wrestling, but it sounded like a lot of fun. And I had Coach Price as a teacher and I knew he wouldn't sign me up for something I would hate."
Hannah also said she thought wrestling would be a fun thing.
"It has been great and it has been so much fun, but it is hard work," said Hannah.
"Some people thought it was like a joke at first. But when we had our first home tournament, a lot of people realized we weren't kidding and they took it more seriously."
The twins haven't held much back when they are on the mat.
"They are really nice sweet kids," said Price. "But when they come into practice, we try to keep them separated. One of them beat the other one in a match, and afterwards one rode home with her parents and the other rode the bus.
"One thing about our girls, they get after it. They get after it from the get-go."
Members of the team (with weight class in parentheses) are: Katie Greatti (105), Jenny Arnett (112), Kathryn Lilly (112), Sarah Kenney (112), Ryann Williams (119), Audie Lacy (125), Jamie Goldstein (130), Rachel Callaway (138), Danielle Miranda (148), Deanna Powers (155), Sarah Austin (165), Rachel Shirley (165), Jamie Walker (185), and Hannah Austin (185).
Price said next season things could get even more serious for the girls.
"When things get full-blown, we will take the same approach as the guys," said Price. "We haven't taught them as much this year. We're trying to teach a slimmed-down version of our system, just the bare-bones stuff."

Katheryn Lilly (left) and Jennifer Arnett do some one-on-one during a Science Hill practice.

1/22/08
SH wrestlers look strong for duals at Greeneville
By DOUGLAS FRITZ
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com


Science Hill's wrestling team will carry a record of 27-2 into tonight's Region 1 dual tournament at Greeneville.
The Hilltoppers take on Morristown West at 6:30 in one semifinal while Dobyns-Bennett battles Greeneville in the other match. The two winners will meet at 8 o'clock for the title.
The regional champ locks up a berth in the state duals, which will be held Feb. 1-2 at Clarksville. The runner-up would play host to the Region 2 runner-up Saturday with a state tournament berth on the line.
Science Hill head coach Jeff Price said he believes his team will get a shot at the regional title.
"I expect us to win against Morristown West," said Price. "If we go down there and do what we've been doing, it shouldn't be a problem."
Science Hill is led by Brett Usary, who is 37-3 at 135 pounds and ranked No. 2 in the state. Another key wrestler, heavyweight Evan Lilly, was lost for the season because of a torn ACL last week.
The Hilltoppers' overall record is a bit surprising, said Price, but young kids have really stepped up. In the starting lineup this year, the Hilltoppers have used three eighth-graders (Steven Goldstein, 28-7 at 103 pounds; Justin Snyder, 125; and Lucien Link, 152) and four freshmen (Dylan Snapp, 140; Javier Tapia, 112; Matt Stull, 145; and Wilson Riley, 145).
"These guys have exceeded expectations," said Price. "It has just been a blast."
The individual Region 1 tournament will be held at Elizabethton on Feb. 8-9.


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From the TimesFreePress.com (Chattanooga)
1/20/08

Girls' State Wrestling
By: Ward Gossett (Contact)

There was the excitement of a double-dual wrestling meet at Soddy-Daisy, and then there was the electricity when the girls got their turn.

"It's always exciting when you have four teams going on two mats, but when the girls took over, you could feel the electricity in the air," Soddy-Daisy coach Steve Henry said.

After the Trojans beat Greeneville and Johnson City Science Hill and McCallie split with the upper East Tennessee teams, Soddy-Daisy's girls wrestled their Science Hill counterparts.

"It's an emotional difference," Science Hill coach Jeff Price said. "The girls wrestle harder. With them, wrestling is more emotional and less cerebral."

They didn't keep official scores, but Science Hill won seven of the 14 matches and there was one draw. It was a preview of the first girls' state dual tournament, a four-team invitational that will take place during the Division I boys' state duals Feb. 1-2 in Clarksville. There will be 10 weight classes , four fewer than the guys' competition , and those weights are 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 138, 148, 155, 165 and 185 pounds.

"There's no other sport that gets the adrenaline pumping like this one," said Soddy-Daisy's Melissa Downs, a petite freshman who also plays soccer and runs track.

Joining Downs with wins for Soddy-Daisy were Rachel Albrecht, Madison Murray, Taylor Oakes, Taylor Lewis and Brook Hensley.

"They bring a special excitement to the gym. The girls don't know how to stall. They go full speed the whole time," Henry said.

Girls' wrestling is in its infancy in Tennessee, but some states have had the sport for years.

"I don't know if I had a daughter if I would let her wrestle," said Mark Witt, father of Taylor Witt, 130-pounder for the Soddy-Daisy guys. "I might be a little more lenient if it was girls wrestling girls. Taylor has never wrestled a girl, although we were sweating it out one time when it looked like he might have to. For him and other guys that might have to wrestle girls, it's a no-win situation. You win and it's, "So what, you beat a girl." But if you lose you'd never live it down."

Taylor wasn't sure he'd want to wrestle a girl. He blushed when asked about the possibility.

"It would be kind of weird, different," he said. "There are moves I use on guys that I feel would be inappropriate to do on a girl."

His mother, Mary, agreed.

"If we had a daughter, I'd rather her wrestle a guy than for Taylor to wrestle a girl," she said.

Girls elsewhere in Tennessee, as close as Cumberland County and McMinn County, have wrestled against boys. That may no longer happen if support for girls' wrestling continues to grow across the state. Science Hill administrators already have approved a coaching supplement for next season.

"It's a good sport. A member of our school board was in the crowd today," Price said. "I always thought we could have a good girls' team, because there are a lot of good girls' athletes at Science Hill."

Jeanne Henry, Steve's wife, has been around the sport for years. The Henrys have twin daughters of middle school age, and one replied in the affirmative when asked if she would wrestle. Jeanne rolled her eyes.

"They do it in the living-room floor all time, and it drives me crazy," she said. "But seeing that they live with the coach, I think I would get outvoted if they wanted to wrestle. But there are good points. You talk about exercise ,think about the strength and endurance it takes."

Coach Henry believes it is a step in the right direction. It keeps girls from wrestling guys and it could provide some Title IX relief to beleaguered high school and college wrestling programs.

"They bring something new and fresh to the sport," he said. "Today we didn't have a '65- or an '85-pounder. We had some key individuals who weren't here. Our girls need to understand that this is history, the first girls' wrestling state championship, and this may be their only chance to win a state title."



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JC Press, 1/18/08

TRIBE WRESTLERS FALL SHY AT SCIENCE HILL

Hilltopper Wrestlers Third in 2008 Annual Fandetti Brawl
TriCitiesSports.com
January 14, 2008

JOHNSON CITY -- The Science Hill wrestling team placed third among eight teams in the highly-competitive Fandetti Brawl at Science Hill High School on Saturday.

Brett Usary claimed a title in the 135 division and Steven Goldstein (103), Dylan Snapp (140) and Evan Lilly (275) turned in second-place efforts to lead the Hilltoppers.

Here are winners in each division and top finishers for the Hilltoppers.

103 Weight Division
Champion-Will Allen-Ooltewah
Science Hill Standout-Steven Goldstein 2nd Place

112 Weight Division
Champion-Gary Sluder-Greenback
Science Hill Standouts-Javier Tapia 4th Place, Alex McKinney 5th place

119 Weight Division
Champion-Jeremy Miller-Greenback
Science Hill Standout-Jonathon Pearce-6th Place

125 Weight Division
Champion-Tee Boone-Notre Dame

130 Weight Division
Champion-Cody Hood-Ooltewah
Science Hill Standout-Leland Davidson-4th Place

135 Weight Division
Champion-Brett Usary-Science Hill

140 Weight Division
Champion-Eric Heider-Notre Dame
Science Hill Standout-Dylan Snapp-2nd Place

145 Weight Division
Champion-Kole Bishop-Sullivan East
Science Hill Standout-Wilson Riley- 3rd Place

152 Weight Division
Champion-Jared Wolfe-Ooltewah
Science Hill Standout-Lucien Link-6th Place

160 Weight Division
Champion-David Jordan-Ooltewah
Science Hill Standout-Greg Tomas-4th Place

171 Weight Division
Champion-Jake Young-Ooltewah
Science Hill Standout-Matt Cruise-6th Place

189 Weight Division
Champion-Pat Flynn-Notre Dame
Science Hill Standout-Josh Lewis-6th Place

215 Weight Division
Champion-Eric Phipps-Notre Dame

275 Weight Division
Champion-Cody Sliger-Ooltewah
Science Hill Standout-Evan Lilly-2nd Place

Team Placements-12 teams total
1st- Ooltewah
2nd-Notre dame
3rd-Science Hill
4th-Greenback


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Story published 1/14/08, The Chatanoogan.com

* Science Hill: The Fandetti Brawl in memory of former Jefferson County wrestler, Scott Fandetti, who died in 1996 at age 16.

Ooltewah (262.5 pts.) won its fourth tourney of the year with 12 medalists, including six champions; Will Allen (103), Cody Hood (130), Jared Wolfe (152), David Jordan (160), Jake Young (171) and Cody Sliger (285).

Notre Dame (216.5) was second, followed by host Science Hill (193.5) and Greenback (169.5).

The Irish champions (4) were Tee Boone (125), Eric Heider (140), Pat Flynn (189), Eric Phipps (215).

OW - Notre Dame's Pat Flynn.

Best Match: 125; Tee Boone (Notre Dame) defeated Eddie Long (Greenback).



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Story published 1/6/08 - JC Press

PREP WRESTLING - Toppers place fifth in Charlotte

Science Hill more than held its own on Saturday in the Hopewell Titan Duals in Charlotte, N.C., posting a 4-1 record and scoring a fifth-place finish.

The Hilltoppers started with a 66-15 victory over Challenge, then slipped to defending North Carolina champion Mount Pleasant 61-18. From there, Science Hill defeated Weddington 60-16, Jay Robinson 38-30 and Ledford 42-36.

Individually, Steven Goldstein, Brett Usary, Greg Tomas and Evan Lilly spearheaded the Toppers with 4-1 records. Matt Cruise added a 3-1 day.


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Story published: 12-24-2007 JC Press

Prep Wrestling - Hilltoppers sweep at Mitchell Co.

Greg Tomas and Brett Usary both went 9-0 over the weekend as Science Hill swept its nine matches in the Feldspar Duals at Mitchell County High (N.C.).

Josh Lewis added an 8-1 mark for the Hilltoppers, who defeated T.C. Roberson 48-24, North Buncombe 40-29, Rosman 48-23, Asheville High 1-0, Charlotte Latin 51-27, Mitchell County B team 78-0, Madison 55-24, Dorman (S.C.), 36-30 and Mitchell County A team 37-28.

Science Hill, now 16-0 on the year, wrestles at Sullivan East on Jan. 3 (newspaper incorrectly stated Jan. 8).

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Published 12/12/07

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Published 11/23/07

WRESTLING
Hilltoppers expected to be young, talented
By JEFF BIRCHFIELD
Press Sports Writer
jbirchfield@johnsoncitypress.com

Young, but talented are words to describe the 2007-08 Science Hill wrestling squad. Only three seniors and three juniors are on this year's team, but seven returning grapplers finished in the top six of Region 1 a year ago.

"This team is going to be a lot like the first team I had here," said Price. "The only proven guys I had that season were Brett Paduch and Andy Gallatin. There were a bunch of no-name wrestlers, who stepped in and went on to have great careers.

"I'm excited because we're young, but there's not a beginner in the bunch. We're two-deep almost everywhere. It's going to be an interesting year."

Evan Lilly moves up from the 189-pound class to the featured heavyweight division. It should be more of a natural weight for Lilly, who played as a lineman for the Hilltopper football team.

"When he wrestled 189, Evan always came in from football about 215," said Price. "Last year, he came in about 230 and really had to cut. We decided in the spring he was going to stay at heavyweight.

"When you come into practice and can concentrate on practicing, lifting and working out and it's not about cutting weight, it takes an element away that makes it easier to prepare."

Fellow senior Cory Brown, who also competed at 189, drops down to the 171 weight class. He often faced heavier opponents last season to fit the team's needs.

The third senior is Greg Tomas, a 160-pounder who earned All-Conference honors and was third in the region a year ago. He posted an overall record of 25-17.

"Greg came in from North Carolina, but he worked hard and got third in the region," said Price. "We have a lot of possibilities from 152 to 189. We're trying to see what our best options are going to be there."

Eighth-grader Lucien Link is the projected wrestler at 152, while sophomores Matt Cruise and Josh Lewis will likely split time at 189. Freshmen Wilson Riley, Matt Stull and Dylan Snapp should hit the mat in the 140 and 145 classes.

The next two weights feature wrestlers, who each had 39 wins a year ago. Junior Brett Usary is a three-time Region 1 champion and is attempting to become just the third wrestler ever to win four Region 1 titles. The others were Science Hill's Jon Edmonds and Tennessee High's Chad Cross. Brett's older brother Bo was a two-time state champion and a three-time regional champ.

Leland Davidson was a runner-up in the region a year ago with a record of 39-21. It depends on how training goes to which weight class each will end up.

"Brett and Leland are both trying to get to 130," said Price. "One will wrestle 130 and one will wrestle 135. They are both proven veteran wrestlers."

Eighth-grader Justin Snyder seems to have the inside on the 125 spot, although freshmen Austin Fullbright and Derrick Witt could challenge.

The lowest weight classes show sophomore Jonathan Pearce, 31-20 a season ago, at 119, freshman Javier Tapia at 112 and eighth-grader Steven Goldstein at 103. Freshman Alex McKinney and sophomore Zach Schuette are others in the 52-wrestler strong program that will probably get varsity experience.

"Javi was like a 103-pounder last year. We really didn't have a true 112," said Price. "We hope he will be really solid this year. Steven Goldstein has been in the program three or four years, so we're hoping he will be able to do this."

Price took the Hilltoppers to five straight top-10 finishes in the state individual championship meet from 2002-06, but finished well behind champion Greeneville at last year's regional meet. The Greene Devils again appear the team to beat in Region 1.

"Greeneville is going to have a special team," Price said. "It's one of those years they have about six seniors and five juniors. They were so good last year, but they only lost Caleb Myers and (Eric) Tillson. They've had back-up kids ready to slide right in.

"D-B has a junior heavy team like we had two years ago. They have a bunch of young kids who they are going to throw to the wolves, but they should be pretty tough. Roger Hill has done a really good job at David Crockett. He's got some athletic kids out. It's going to be tough, but I'm excited."

This season isn't all about wins and championships for Price. It's the most fun he's had coaching in several years.

"I've got a good coaching staff and everything is lining up," said Price. "I don't know what it will mean as far as championships and all that, but I'm just happy coming to practice with a great bunch of kids. There are names people don't know now, but they're going to know before it's all over with."