GRAY-The season is nearing its' mid point, but the Cocke County High School wrestling squad has been finding success as it continues to grow.

The CCHS Wrestling team traveled to Daniel Boone High School last Thursday. The duel match featured the Daniel Boone Trailblazers, the Volunteer Falcons and the Big Red.

The Fighting Cocks came away with two big wins at this duel.

Volunteer was CCHS's first opponent. This match was a nail-biting affair all the way until the last match.

The match started with the 171-pound class and ended with the 160-pound weight class. Dominic Keller recorded his first varsity start and win. Raymond Romines and Casey Kittley also recorded dominate performances by pinning their opponents. The highlight of the evening came when Travis Bowden stepped onto the mat with the team scores tied at 36-36. Bowden was battling all through out the bout and finally pinned his opponent with 10 seconds left in the match to give the Big Red the win at 42-36.

Daniel Boone was next on the card for the Fighting Cocks. Starting with the 215-pound weight class, Victor Shultz put up a valiant effort, but came up a bit short. Kipp Dalton (8-1) extended his winning streak with a pin fall victory over Daniel Boone's 125-pound wrestler. Casey Kittley wrestled up and pinned his opponent in the 152-pound weight class with 1:21 left in the match. Tim Vaughn also recorded his first varsity win. He pinned his opponent with :09 seconds left to go in the contest. The final score of this match was 48-27.

CCHS came away with two much-needed wins. The team has come a long way since the beginning of the season. With these two wins it pushes their record to 4-8. The team is really young and growing with experience after each match.

The Big Red squad will finally have not one, but two home matches this week. After wrestling on the road for nearly the entire season thus far, the Big Red will host IMAC conference foe Morristown West today. Weigh-ins begin at 5:30 p.m. with matches underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Cocke County High School Gymnasium

The Big Red will finish out the week with a home match against Jefferson County and David Crockett with weigh-ins at 5:30 p.m. and matches at 6:30 p.m., again at the Cocke County High School Gymnasium

Both evenings loom large to the Cocke County squad. The Big Red are excited about finally getting to compete in front of their home fans, and are hoping for a big turnout on both evenings.

Big Red wrestling boosters have sent out a big congratulations to head coach Randy West and assistant coaches Smith, McCarter and Caldwell, who have donated their time and support for the squad without much recognition.

Boosters are hoping the community comes out in support of the squad both tonight and Thursday night. Fans will be treated to plenty of exciting matches between Cocke County and their archrivals from Morristown West, Jefferson County and David Crockett.