Wolverine wrestling playoff hopes still up in the air after loss to Madison

Senior Night turned into a night of what-ifs Tuesday for Polk County’s wrestling squad.

Hoping to close its regular-season home schedule with a flourish and clinch a 2A dual team playoff berth, the Wolverines instead suffered a 48-31 loss to visiting Madison, not ending Polk County’s hopes for one of the two Western Highlands Conference automatic postseason berths but leaving the Wolverines in need of help to secure one.

Now 3-3 in the WHC, Polk County will have to wait until at least Thursday’s match between Madison and Hendersonville – and more likely into next week – before knowing whether its season-long push for a playoff spot will be rewarded.

“It definitely hurts,” said Polk County head coach Phillip Miller. “It’s very disappointing.”

The Wolverines might well have fielded a full team Tuesday and still suffered the same fate. But three missing starters – one sick, two unaccounted for – didn’t help Polk County’s cause. The Wolverines shuffled wrestlers around, but still forfeited two weight classes. Those two matches, had they gone Polk County’s way, would have given the Wolverines the win.

“We were missing three starters,” Miller said. “There aren’t really any excuses, but we were missing three starters. They got the matchups the way they wanted them and we didn’t get it done.”

Madison took an 18-0 lead before Jerry Cox, wrestling at 195, dominated his match. Cox nearly pinned Jaden Woods in the first period and spent much of the third period inches away from a fall in the third, finally settling for a 13-4 major decision.

The Patriots won five of the next six matches to build a 48-10 lead before Polk’s Dillon Knighton used a late first-period move to gain the upper hand and pin Josh Yontz with 4.3 seconds left in the period. That led to the heart of Polk County’s roster, its middleweights, and Chase Emory, Dustin Calvert and Anthony Marino each delivered victories, Emory via a first-period pin, Calvert a second-period fall and Marino, one of the team’s seniors, closing the match with a 4-0 decision of Luke Clark.

Polk County will travel Saturday to the Razor Rumble in Walhalla, S.C., then visit R-S Central on Tuesday before hosting the WHC postseason tournament on Friday, Jan. 30.

106: Mason Bernheart (M) p. Triston Watkins
113: Frederick Veser (PC) forfeit
120: Zach Davis (M) p. Kevin Sandoval
126: Taylor Barnes (M) forfeit
132: Dillon Knighton (PC) p. Josh Yontz
138: Chase Emory (PC) p. Jarred Chandler
145: Dustin Calvert (PC) p. Jordan Chandler
152: Anthony Marino (PC) dec. Luke Clark, 4-0
160: Elijah Kimbrough (M) p. Cameron Reed
170: Jacob Shelton (M) p. Kenneth Ruff
182: Payton Roberts (M) p. Austin Hylemon
195: Jerry Cox (PC) maj. dec. Jaden Woods, 13-4
220: Jacob Hutchins (M) forfeit
HWY: Brent Turner (M) p. Marquise Lipscomb