Bainbridge High School wrestlers Ryan Adams and Tre’ Story qualified for the state tournament after placing first and second in sectionals respectively. Adams dominated on his way to a sectional title in the 285-poind weight class.

“Ryan basically went in and did whatever he wanted to do and that is not an exaggeration,” head coach Chad Smith said. “He only went to the second round in one match out of his four. He ended up teching, 18-1, in the championship match.”

Adams only returned to the mat a few weeks ago after suffering a major knee injury during football season. He worked with Smith to devise a plan that enables him to reduce the stress on his knee while still being effective on the mat.

“His one knee is giving him some range of motion problems,” Smith said. “He is adjusting well moving to the other side of the body and using his other knee as his dominant knee. He has transitioned well.”

The plan was executed to perfection at sectionals as Adams dispatched his opponents with ease.

“I had to be offensive,” Adams said. “I had to adjust and get new stances. Even now I still want to do stuff that I  know I can’t do. My habits are still there.”

His plan for this week is to continue to build stamina and work on cardio because he was out for the first few months of the season. Adams will enter the state tournament as one of the favorites to win the 285-pound state championship. He missed the podium by one match last season in the 220-pound weight class after being added as an alternate.

“He has three guys in his bracket that placed last year,” Smith said. “He will not see one of those guys until the semifinals, which is awesome. Anything less than a state championship would be disappointing, but anything less than a top three would be unheard of for Ryan this year.”

Even with all the pressure, Smith said that Adams is up to the challenge and that last year’s experience will help him.

“From talking to him, he is up to it, he is hyped and he has it in his mind that nothing less than winning is going to work for him,” Smith said.

Storey will also enter the state tournament with high expectations after winning his first three matches of sectionals easily and almost winning the tournament before falling by points to a wrestler that finished third in the state last year.

“[Tre’] had him on his back in a pinning combination in all three rounds,” Smith said. “Two of those rounds ended by the bell and the third one, the guy reversed… If he can look good in a loss, he looked good in a loss.”

After placing second, Storey is a contender to place in the top four in the state tournament in the 220-pound weight class with an outside chance of winning the state championship.

“If you come out as a second place in sections, you are expected to be no worse than a three or four as far as contenders,” Smith said.

The Bearcats also saw strong showings from young wrestlers Randy Fillingame, Tanner Brown, Thomas Davis and Kendall Glover.

“I was highly impressed with Thomas Davis,” Smith said. “He is a first year wrestler…He was one win away from placing and going to state. I couldn’t have asked for a better result from him.”

“Tanner was one win away from qualifying for state and was up 6-0 in the decisive match before making a mistake and getting pinned.”

Fillingame is an alternate for state.