Tipton County athletes and teams have won their share of state titles over the years.
Munford and Covington have won baseball state titles and all three schools have won track and field individual state titles.
Tipton County’s high schools, however, have not had a ton of wrestling success over the years, although Munford High School is working on changing that.
Covington has never had a wrestling program while Brighton and Munford have alternated having their own program and co-oping with each other.
Fifteen years ago this week Demetrius Johnson, who was a student at Brighton High School but wrestled for Munford because the Cardinals did not have a team at the time, made history when he won the 112-pound wrestling state title in Chattanooga.
A year later, wrestling for Brighton, he won a second state title, this time at 119 pounds. No one has won a wrestling state title since.
That 2007 season for Johnson was special. He went 37-0 and absolutely dominated the competition at the state tournament, giving up just two points in five matches.
One of his wins came via pin and another by forfeit. In the other three he outscored his opponents 58-11, which is nearly unheard of in a wrestling state tournament. He won his semifinal match 19-3 and the title match 20-4.
Johnson, who went on to wrestle at UT-Chattanooga, was coached by his father, Larrick Johnson.
After winning his first state title, Johnson said, “My goal was to come here and win the championship. It’s a big relief to finally win my first state title.”
