Cherokee’s Anthony Toineeta (in black) prepares to pin Stephen O’Bryon, Murphy, in the finals of the 138lb division at the Smoky Mountain Conference wrestling tournament on Saturday, Jan. 31 at Murphy High School. (DENISE WALKINGSTICK/One Feather contributor photos)
MURPHY – Two members of the Cherokee Braves varsity wrestling team won championships in their division at the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament held at Murphy High School on Saturday, Jan. 31. Anthony Toineeta took first place in the 138lb division and Jaron Bradley won in the 145lb division.
Toineeta pinned Aaron O’Connell, Hiwassee Dam, in the semifinals and then pinned Stephen O’Bryon, Murphy, in the finals to win the championship.
Bradley pinned Weston Acosta, Hayesville, in the semifinals and then pinned Alex Trias, Murphy, in the finals to win his championship.
Cherokee’s Jesse Queen took second place in the 120lb division. He won a 10-5 decision over Dylan McLeod, Swain, in the semifinals. He was pinned by Tristan Praytor, Rosman, in the finals.
Cherokee’s Andrew Griffin took fourth place in the 182lb division.
Cherokee’s Jaron Bradley (top) gets Hayesville’s Weston Acosta in an arm lock in the semifinals of the 145lb division which Bradley won.
Spencer McCoy, an EBCI tribal member at Swain, took first place in the 220lb. division.
Rosman won the team title with 171.5 points followed by Murphy 166, Swain 138, Robbinsville 104, Cherokee 68, Hayesville 55, Hiwassee Dam 40 and Andrews 18.
Other Cherokee results are as follows:
126 – Semifinals, Brady Lovin (Robb) over Seth Sneed (Cher), fall
126 – Consolation Semifinals, Jarod Southards (Swain) over Seth Sneed (Cherokee), decision 9-5
132 – Quarterfinals, William Cable (And) over Scarlett Guy (Cher), fall
132 – Consolation Semifinals, Dawson Lowe (Swain) over Scarlett Guy (Cher), fall
160 – Quarterfinals, Damon Messer (Ros) over Ethan Swearengin (Cher), fall
160 – Consolation Semifinals, Sidney Guthrie (Hiwassee) over Ethan Swearengin (Cher), fall
195 – Quarterfinals, Jacob Matheson (Hayes) over Steven Daggs (Cher), fall
195 – Consolation Semifinals, Craig Cutshaw (Swain) over Steven Daggs (Cher), fall
220 – Semifinals, Spencer McCoy (Swain) over Daniel Griffin (Cher), fall
220 – Consolation Semifinals, Cody Cantrell (Murphy) over Daniel Griffin (Cher), fall
285 – Semifinals, Andres Villagomez (Ros) over Dakota Ward (Cher), fall
285 – Consolation Semifinals, Adam Crisp (Hayes) over Dakota Ward (Cher), fall
