Valentine, Hammond earn medals for DCHS in TSSAA state wrestling tournament

Dickson County High School’s Fletcher Valentine and Candace Hammond earned medals Saturday at the TSSAA state wrestling tournament. After advancing to the semifinals of the 182-pound class with three straight wins, Valentine was knocked into the consolation bracket Friday night with a pin by Soddy-Daisy’s Blaike Henry. A pin by Clarksville’s Kiel Russell knocked Valentine into the battle for fifth place where he dropped a 3-2 decision to Clifford Terrell of Brentwood to finish his wrestling career at DCHS with a sixth-place finish. Wrestling in the girls’ invitational, Hammond got a 9-2 win over Natalie Murray of Science Hill in the semifinals but lost a close 7-6 decision to Ravenwood’s Taylor Stole in the championship match. Cougars Beau Badon, Macon Webster and Luke Humphreys were all eliminated from medal contention with losses Friday night at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin. Badon was one win away from the consolation medal round when he lost 5-4 in four overtimes to Luke Hamilton of Brentwood. Humphreys also was a match away from a consolation medal when he fell 11-10 to Riley Wilson of Independence. Webster advanced to the fourth round of the consolation brackets before being eliminated on a pin by Connor Rorhbaugh of Knoxville Halls. Dickson County finished 18^th in the tournament won by Cleveland.