Cyclones wrestling sees success on the mat
Published 10:23 am Wednesday, December 27, 2017
- File Photo/Bryce Phillips Elizabethton High School's Hunter Morrell gets the upper hand on his opponent.
The Elizabethton High School boys wrestling team is rolling right along this year.
The Cyclones are 9-3 in dual meets with their only losses coming to larger schools Dobyns-Bennett and Tennessee High. Elizabethton has not lost a match in its division.
Here recently, the team traveled to UVA-Wise where the Cyclones competed in the Bobby Bates Classic. EHS finished ninth out of 28 teams, which was the highest finish in school history at the Bates Classic. Cyclone wrestlers Hunter Morrell and Kilroy Hill both finished second in their weight classes, which were also program firsts.
“We can’t believe the season we are having right now,” said EHS coach Eddie Morrell, who co-coaches the Cyclones with coach Travis Pennell. “We have kids that are walking in and making a big difference.
“Like Corey Lawson, who just dropped from 132 to 126 pound, and was like 9-4 at 132 and is going to be even stronger at 126. Hunter (Morrell) has had a great season so far. He is 15-1 and he placed second at the Bates. We are looking for a medal out of him come February. Chris Taylor is having a great season, and he just dropped from 195 to 182.”
This is the first year that Morrell and Pennell have worked as head coaches over the program, and Morrell feels that the team has adjusted well to the change.
“Anytime you have a coaching change, the kids have a chance to reset their beliefs and values and work ethic,” Morrell said. “That is exactly what this team has done. They have come together and decided they are going to work harder, pay more attention to their weight, pay more attention to what they are doing on the mat, and be coached by a couple of guys who are willing to coach them to the very end. It’s just been incredible what the wrestlers have been able to put together.”
This weekend, the Cyclones will travel to Abingdon, Virginia to compete in a tournament.
