Boones Shropshire grapples with success, winning region and placing fourth at state
Just a week after taking gold in the region, Daniel Boone junior grappler Trevor Shropshire, hit the mat in Franklin on Tennessee wrestlings biggest stage, the TSSAA State Tournament.
Countless wrestlers from across the state enter each season or high school career with a dream of just placing at the state level.
But more times than not, that wish is dashed following the grueling three-day event.
For 195-pound Shropshire, that dream became a reality on Feb. 18, when after seven state matches, he ended his junior season with a fourth place finish and a lasting legacy in the Trailblazers athletic record books.
Shropshires path to Franklin began with the regional tournament where Shropshire became the only Boone wrestler to win the region.
Shropshire went unbeaten in the tournament, sealing a spot in Franklin with a statement win in the championship match against Science Hills Ben Lowery.
With the match tied at 6-6 in the final period, the Boone junior scored an escape and takedown in the final minute of regulation to capture a 9-6 win.
Shropshire opened the state tournament in the round of 32 on Feb. 16 with a 7-6 win coming in double overtime over Kingstons Joshua Bain.
Shropshire continued his winning ways in the second round by pinning Dale Deaton late in the match.
With just eight wrestlers left in the winners bracket, the Boone junior met senior Nicholas Coffey, who received the win with a first round pin.
The loss forced Shropshire to the consolation bracket.
There, he first captured a Friday morning win over senior Donald Evans in 4-3 decision, and followed it up with a Friday night win against Cleveland junior Oleg Stukanov in a 3-1 decision.
The two consolation wins set Shropshire up in Saturdays semifinals match against another senior opponent in Trevion James.
In one of the tournaments late upsets, Shropshire pinned the senior just over a minute and 20 seconds into the match.
The victory pushed the junior to a third place rematch against Coffey.
The senior, who had pinned Shropshire early in their first match, sending him to the consolation bracket lost a tight decision in the semifinals of the winners bracket.
While Shropshire hung around for most of the match, the Boone grappler was pinned almost four minutes into the contest.
With a fourth place finish under his belt, Shropshire should enter next season ranked in the top three of his weight class and could be a state tournament favorite.