Blue Tornado Wrestling

The wrestling tradition at McCallie is tough to match. During the TSSAA era, the Blue Tornado have won nine Tennessee State Tournament Championships and seven State Dual Meet Championships.

The 2024 season was a magical one for the Blue Tornado. The wrestlers won the State Duals Championship for the first time since 2006 and the State Traditional Tournament for the first time since 1993. Thirteen McCallie wrestlers qualified for state, and Carson Gentle (285) and Jaxon Lane (106) won individual state titles. Gentle placed fifth at the National Preps Championships to earn All-America honors.

Individually, McCallie has produced 67 State Champions in the sport since 2000.

T.J. Duncan ’11 became the first wrestler in the State of Tennessee to win five individual state titles. And Alex Whitworth '21 became the state's third wrestler to accomplish this feat. Alex earned state titles from 2017 to 2021 and is continuing his athletics career and education at Harvard University.

Whitworth and Gavin Cagle were runners up at the 2021 National Preps Championships and earned All-American status by placing among the top eight. In 2018, four athletes were All-Americans at National Preps, the second straight year the Blue Tornado produced four such honored wrestlers.

The coaching staff is a who’s who in Chattanooga area wrestling. Led by Head Coach Jake Yost, the staff combines nearly unbeatable knowledge, teaching skill and leadership in the McCallie wrestling room. Yost was a two-time Tennessee State Champion and claimed two Southern Conference championships at Tennessee-Chattanooga.