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In a busy week, the Rockbridge County High School wrestling team took on seven duals in four days, ending the regular season with a record of 13-4 in duals.
The Wildcats pounded Valley District rival Spotswood 76-6 last Wednesday in Penn Laird before earning a 39-37 win over Greenbrier East High School of West Virginia in a dual meet on Friday night at Virginia Military Institute’s Cormack Hall.
RC concluded the week by facing tough competition in the Strasburg Duals on Saturday and going 3-2 to place third of 10 teams.
In the dual against Greenbrier East at VMI, which gave the wrestlers a chance to compete in a Division I facility, the most competitive bout was at 157-pounds, with RC senior co-captain Tom Maxwell battling to a 7-6 overtime victory.
Other Wildcats earning wins over Greenbrier East were Markus Nelson (138), Aidan Williams (144), Zeke Mohr (150), Tucker Towle (165) and Brice Hall (175). Wildcats winning by forfeit were Graham Niebur (106) and Sawyer Hattersley (190).
RC head coach Mike Wood praised Maxwell and Mohr for battling to earn tough victories. Mohr was challenged early on, but he pinned his opponent in 3:40. “They gritted it out and won close ones,” said Wood.
The coach also praised Nelson, a freshman, and Williams, a junior, for overcoming their opponents to earn tough victories and help RC take the team win. “Bonus points are big,” he said.
Going into the final bout of the day, the Wildcats were leading by six points, so Ryan Maxwell (120) had to avoid getting pinned to prevent the Spartans from sending the dual into a tiebreaker. Maxwell was nearly pinned late in the bout, but he used his power to avoid the pin, losing 12-4 but assuring RC of the team win.
Wood arranged the dual with Greenbrier East because of his special connection with the school. Wood’s high school coach in Ohio used to coach Greenbrier East, and the two coaches used to face off when Wood was the head coach at Strasburg.
After the high school dual, the Wildcats watched VMI wrestle Appalachian State University.
Wildcats Third At Strasburg
Going 3-2 on Saturday, the Wildcats placed third of 10 teams, trailing only host Strasburg and Sherando.
The Wildcats opened the day by falling to Sherando 45-36, but bounced back with a 71-12 rout of Millbrook. RC suffered a 58-24 loss to Strasburg before defeating Herndon 42-33 and ending the day with a 48-30 win over Martinsburg (W.Va.).
“That’s very, very solid competition,” said Wood, who earned his 300th career coaching win at the duals.
Leading the Wildcats was Hall, who went 5-0 at 175 and earned his 99th career win. Several Wildcats went 3-2, including Mohr (150) and Tom Maxwell (157).
Wood said wrestling on consecutive days was good preparation so that the Wildcats who qualify will be ready for the Class 3 state tournament Feb. 17-18. “That gives us good conditioning, good mat time,” said Wood. From all the wrestling, he said his grapplers “got some bumps and bruises, nothing that is concerning.”
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will play host for the Valley District tournament, starting at 5:30 p.m. The top three wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the Region 3C tournament, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4 at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater.
To see how the Wildcats do in the district tournament, visit www.thenews-gazette. com, and see next week’s newspaper for the full story and photos.
