Cox’s star wrestler sat in the stands at Oscar Smith High School Friday, occupying almost the exact same seat he was in a year ago at the Eastern Region tournament.
But there was one major difference: This time, Tejovan Edwards was smiling.
Last season, he never made his way out of those bleachers – ruled academically ineligible just before the postseason. Friday, he left his seat long enough to beat both his opponents, by pin and technical fall, and advance into today’s region semifinals.
“Last year, I came and supported my team, but it was tough,” Edwards said. “I had to watch guys I beat go out and wrestle for the championship, knowing I should’ve been there.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying.
The day he found out he’d failed to make the grade in Spanish – he got a 69.4 and needed a 69.5 to be eligible – he showed up in his teacher’s room after school.
“I stayed for about two hours,” Edwards said. “I begged her for extra credit, for a break, for anything. I got silly eventually. I tried to take her out to dinner. She finally turned the lights out on me.”
His next stop was the wrestling room, where he had to tell Falcons coach Corey Williams that his season was done early. It was a hard conversation, considering Edwards was one of the team’s leaders, having finished second in the region and seventh in the state the year before as a sophomore.
“When I saw Corey, I cried,” Edwards said. “It was hard, because he was mad. He was disappointed. He told me I let the team down.”
The stings kept coming, too. He still had to give his parents the news.
His mother knew he was crushed, so she didn’t say much. His dad was a different story.
“I had plenty to say,” Tee Edwards said. “I was upset, because I had warned him that it takes more than talent. The world can be one of the roughest teachers you’ll ever come across, so I guess I’m glad it taught him that lesson.”
The final reinforcement came at last year’s state tournament, where Edwards watched a wrestler he had pinned go on to win it all.
It prompted a promise – to himself, his parents, his coach and team – that he wouldn’t have even the slightest stumble as a senior. He got a tutor for each of his classes and trained harder than ever on the mat.
The results: When Edwards’ grades came out last week, his two A’s, three B’s and a pair of C’s were more than enough to keep him eligible for sports. And his 38-3 record has him ranked No. 1 in the state at 140 pounds.
Today’s semifinal opponent is Great Bridge’s Louis Johnson, ranked second in the state, but Edwards has already beaten him soundly twice. All of Edwards’ losses have come in national tournaments; No one in Virginia has beaten him.
