None of Jason Kidder's Central Arkansas Christian teammates told him of the stakes before he wrestled the final match of his career Saturday night.
A referee who wasn't a part of his upcoming match spilled the beans, though.
"He walked by and mentioned it. He said, 'You know if you win this, y'all win it,' " Kidder said.
Not that Kidder needed any more reminders of how to handle his 285-pound championship match, but he took it to heart and pinned Gentry's Zach Ellis in the Class 1A-5A final at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
Kidder's pin, his fourth of the tournament, not only capped his third individual state title, but it helped CAC jump Greenbrier a final time and earn its first team title at the state high school wrestling tournament.
Powered by three No. 1 seeds who each won state championships in the upper weights, CAC stormed back from a deficit through much of the day to finish with eight medal winners and 197 points to edge Greenbrier, which slipped in Saturday's semifinal round and finished with 193 team points.
In addition to Kidder, 195-pounder Braden Zini pinned Woodlawn's Dylon Johnson to cap his third state title, and 182-pounder Jon Andrews pinned Gentry's Cody Watson to win his first. CAC also had two wrestlers finish second and three finish fourth.
"What a better way for it to go down than for your No. 1 seeds having to win it in the end," CAC Coach Keith Almond said. "It seems year after year, it's the heavies. It's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure, but it's a good feeling now."
CAC's title came a year after it finished third to Maumelle and Bismarck. The Mustangs could have finished second if Kidder had won his final match by fall, but wrestling with a broken hand he won by decision.
Kidder, who will wrestle next year at Lyon College, said that wasn't on his mind Saturday night, and he even tried not to think about how a victory would give his team the title.
"I could tell when all the people went crazy that we had won it," Kidder said.
It capped a back-and-forth day for CAC and Greenbrier, which raced away from the pack in the morning round.
Greenbrier entered Saturday with a seven-point lead over CAC and seven points ahead of Maumelle in third place. By the time the semifinal round had ended, CAC had put five wrestlers in the finals, had eight ensured of top-six finishes and 179 team points.
Greenbrier had three in the finals, 10 medal winners and 175 points, while Maumelle, which finished fifth, had nine medal winners but went 2-5 in the semifinal round.
Although Greenbrier took a lead early in the final round, CAC took it back after Zini, named one of six most outstanding wrestlers, won his final match. Greenbrier jumped ahead when Austyn Brawley earned a pin in the fifth-place match at 220, putting Greenbrier up 193-191, but with little hope considering Kidder finished his career with two consecutive undefeated seasons.
"I was Gentry's biggest fan there for a bit," Greenbrier Coach Jason Howard said. "But we fought hard, we wrestled well. It's a long tournament and that kind of weighs on you."
Little Rock McClellan, a second-year program, crowned its first champions in 160-pounder Adrian Brown, who was named one of six most outstanding wrestlers, and 220-pound Trent Lewis. The Lions placed eight wrestlers and finished third with 181.5 points.
Pulaski Academy crowned three individual champions -- 138-pounder Nick Noel, 152-pounder Jimmy Noel and 170-pounder Layne Hatcher -- and finished sixth with 153.5 points.
In Class 6A-7A, Rogers placed 11 wrestlers and scored 203.5 team points to outlast cross-town rival Rogers Heritage, which placed seven wrestlers and had 194 points.
Rogers entered the tournament's final round with a six-point lead over Rogers Heritage, but Coach Ken Simmons said he didn't feel comfortable until Josh Lee won by pin in his fifth-place match at 195 pounds. Christian Brummett won a state title for the Mounties at 170 pounds, and his brother, Ray, finished second at 285 pounds.
"We just worked our tails off," Simmons said. "It just happened. You never know. The guys you count on sometimes they get upset, they get caught in a pin. But we wrestled well."
Sports on 02/22/2015