6 Blackman Wrestlers Claim TNAAU State Championships
 

The 2023-24 TNAAU Season ended earlier this month on March 3rd at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center with 6 Blackman Club wrestlers earning the top spot on the podium to put an exclamation point on their respective seasons and to help their club finish as the overall State Runners-up.

In the Girls Division, Dixie Beasley, Girls K-2nd 58lbs, earned her 5th career state medal and first Individual State Championship. Beasley had previously finished as high as 2nd place at the state tournament prior to this season, but punched through to the top of the podium in dominant fashion, surrendering only 2 points total for the tournament and ending with 2 tech falls and 2 pins on the day.

Ava Westenbarger, Girls 3-5th 65lbs, a finalist last season, earned her 4th career state medal and her first Individual State Championship. Westenbarger started the day with a first round bye, followed by a 13 second pin in the semifinals against a Region 3 foe, and ended her season campaign with a tech fall in the finals to earn the Gold medal.

Aria Thephavong, Girls 6-8th 73lbs, capped off the Girls division champions for Blackman by earning her 4th career state medal and 2nd consecutive state championship in the girls division along with a 6th place finish in the boys Junior 70lb bracket. Thephavong earned her championship with a 9-7 decision victory in the first match and a 9-2 decision victory in the second match of a best of three series. In the boys bracket, she wrestled out to the semifinals with a tech fall and a pin in the first two rounds before dropping her semifinal match to the eventual State Champion. In the consolation rounds, she dropped her last two matches to finish 6th, losing to the 3rd and 5th place medalists to finish out the bracket.

On the boys side, Kyson Leaver, Bantam 60lbs, won his 2nd consecutive State Championship, leaving a path of debris in his wake with 3 pins and 1 tech fall on the day, including a pin in the finals. By winning the Championship, Leaver also earned the title of Grand Champion, winning all three Top 100 tournaments, Region, and State during the season, and finished the season with 11 tournament championships on the season.

Last season Ryley Correll ended the season with a controversial OT loss in the finals in the Junior 80lb bracket following a takedown call that was overturned by the official. Correll, Middle School 100lbs, became a 4-time state medalist and started off with a tech fall win in the first round followed by a 5-0 decision victory in the quarterfinals and a pin in the semifinals before earning his first Individual State Championship with a 4-1 decision victory over a returning State Champion in the finals.

Trevor Steffy, Middle School 152lbs, opened his day with 3 consecutive late round pins to punch through to the 4th finals appearance of his TNAAU career. Heading into the finals match, Steffy had dropped the last three matches against his opponent, but won a thrilling punch/counterpunch 12-10 OT match, capturing his 2nd State Championship to cap off his K-8 wrestling career as he heads into High School next season.

Overall, Blackman medaled 33 wrestlers on the weekend and finished the tournament as Runners-up. Blackman had previously won back-to-back overall State Championships in 2022 & 2023 and another Runner-up finish in 2021, solidifying them as one of the top wrestling clubs in the State of Tennessee.

2024 Blackman TNAAU State Medalists