Hoover, AL -  14 Blackman Wrestlers were named to the Tennessee Wrestling Club Coalition (TNWCC) 2023 Deep South National Duals team along side wrestlers from Arlington Wrestling Club (Memphis), Cookeville Youth Wrestling (Cookeville), and Seymour Youth Wrestling (Knoxville).
          The TNWCC, a cooperative formed in 2021 for offseason training between like-minded wrestling clubs from Blackman, Arlington, Cookeville, & Spartans, has competed in the Deep South National Duals in Hoover, AL as an exclamation point to the summer offseason.
          "We didn't get to get together as much as we would've liked this offseason, but every since 2021 we've gotten together about once a month throughout the summer following the end of Freestyle and Greco season," Blackman Coach Troy Steffy says. "I think when you take a step back and look at the growth and success of the clubs involved, it's clearly had a positive effect."
          The growth and improvement culminated this season with 3 of the 4 original clubs (Arlington, Blackman, and Cookeville) all finishing in the top 8 at the TNAAU State Championships in March, as well as Blackman and Cookeville finishing 1st and 2nd in the Region 3 Championships with Arlington finishing 4th in Region 4.
          "We would generally lose a lot of our kids to different sports in the offseason but still had a lot that wanted to train, so we took a look around and found some clubs that weren't necessarily from our area so we could get some different training and partners, and it all came together from there," Steffy says. "Chris (Nettleton), Jarvis (Spartans), and Cameron, Chuck, and Dustin (Cookeville) have all become good friends and have shared ideas over the years that have helped us all grow. There is no doubt it has helped all of us continue to grow."
          The TNWCC offseason program begins in May after the conclusion of the TN-USA Freestyle and Greco season and concludes at Deep South National Duals at the end of July.

TNWCC Deep South Nationals Duals Roster:
45 - Ryker Westenbarger (Blackman)
50 - Dawson Sanchez (Blackman)
55 - Kyson Leaver (Blackman), Dixie Beasley (Blackman)
60 - Joshua Hughey (Blackman)
65 - Ava Westenbarger (Blackman) 
70 - Gunner Kenny (Blackman), Maddox Westenbarger (Blackman)
75 - Gabe Stephens (Arlington)
80 - Gabe Nettleton (Arlington)
85 - Mason Davison (Blackman)
90 - Ryley Correll (Blackman)
95 - Henry Baker (Blackman)
100 - Blake Johnson (Cookeville)
108 - Peyton Pickens (Blackman)
115 - MJ Crain (Seymour)
125 - Drew Corbin (Arlington), Devin Corbin (Arlington)
140 - Zaydan Morgan (Cookeville)
170 - Trevor Steffy (Blackman)
235 - Tyson Spink (Blackman)