2007 THE YEAR IN LOCAL SPORTS- 2. Pioneer wrestlers find state success

While Patterson earned his spot among the state’s best as an individual, 2007 also saw a complete team effort from the Pioneer wrestling program, which reached the state tournament as a unit for the first time in the program’s history.

After a stellar regular season, the Pioneers, under the tutelage of head coach Matt Turner, defeated Antioch by 20 points in their region duals to reach the state’s field of 16, where they would face the No. 2-ranked team in the state, Soddy Daisy.

Unfortunately, Soddy handed the Pioneers a lopsided first-round loss, and in the consolation round the team came up just short, falling to Hendersonville 41-34.

As well as their team success, several individual Pioneer grapplers earned additional state berths. Rush Reedy, Aaron Thomas, Bobby Rampp, Casey Welch and Jon Paz all went on to represent WCHS at the individual state championships, with Paz and Thomas winning region titles in their weight classes.