seymour wrestlers win fifth straight county championship

Lee Ramsey

Michael Raimondi (135 lbs) prepares for championships

published: January 26 2010 11:31 AM updated:: January 26 2010 11:29 PM

For the fifth straight year, the Seymour Wrestling team is the Sevier County Champions.
The Championship was hosted by the Eagles at Seymour High School.
The final score was Seymour 41, Pigeon Forge 31. The Eagles were led by Luke Hall (125 lbs) Junior who is the number one ranked wrestler in the state of Tennessee. Matches that secured the win for the Eagles were a pin by Willie Stooksbury (119 lbs) and a technical fall by Zack Merriman (152 lbs). Michael Raimondi (135 lbs) added the winning pin to finalize the Championship.
It was an exciting atmosphere in the Seymour High School gym with a lot of fans filling the stands as well as coaches, participants, school administrators and the local press.
The outcome was not decided until the final two matches. The tension was evident throughout the day as the outcome remained in doubt.
Although Seymour is considered one of the top high school wrestling teams in the state with the number one ranked wrestler, the outcome was considered by some as a mild upset since Pigeon Forge also has an excellent wrestling program as well. Sevier County should be proud of both programs.
Seymour Coach Alex Cate had this to say, “I was proud of all the guys. We were motivated. It’s been a big rivalry between us (Seymour) and Pigeon Forge, but it is a very healthy rivalry. We have mutual respect for each other. It is even more intense because some guys have transferred from Seymour to Pigeon Forge that are former Eagle wrestlers.”
In December, Seymour lost to Pigeon Forge so that made the Eagles slight underdogs. Both teams have a shot at the state.
It was a total team effort as the Eagles defeated the Tigers.
Coach Cate explained, “We knew that Seymour and Pigeon Forge would get their points from their studs. That made the second tier matches so important to the outcome. Zack Merriman’s technical fall was a huge momentum swing in our favor.”
It all comes down to Thursday night at Maryville as Seymour goes against Heritage to decide who goes to the state.