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Parry McCluer High School junior Jackson Brockenbrough placed second at 150-pounds to lead six Fighting Blues who earned medals by placing in the top six in their weight classes at the Class 1 state wrestling tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center. With seven wrestlers competing, the Blues placed fifth of 30 teams, scoring 81 points.
It was the best finish for the Blues in six years, when the Blues placed fifth in 2018. Last year, with nine wrestlers competing, PM placed sixth at the state tournament.
“To finish fifth in the state, that’s pretty daggone good for our school system,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “We’re building a really good wrestling program. It just goes to show you all the hard work these kids are putting in and the coaching staff. We’ve got all these little league kids that are now playing football and now wrestling. We’re getting it back to where it needs to be.”
In addition to Jackson Brockenbrough, other Blues earning medals in the sold-out arena were sophomores Clyde Vassar (fourth, 106-pounds) and Timmy Lesher (fifth, 285/ heavyweight), juniors Cyler Driscoll (fifth, 120) and Junior Convers (sixth, 165), and freshman Jordan Brockenbrough (sixth, 126). PM’s Bobby Crowe (175) completed a strong freshman season by going 1-2.
Grundy won its seventh consecutive state title, scoring 312 points, while Grayson County (142) placed second, and Rural Retreat (136.5) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Galax (116) and PM (81). Following the Blues in the top 10 were Fort Chiswell (75.5), Mathews (72.5), Buffalo Gap (71), Eastside (62) and Holston (58).
Jackson Brockenbrough, who placed third at 144-pounds last year, moved up a weight class earlier this season and won the Region 1C title to lead the Blues to third place in the region for the second straight year. He defeated Lancaster’s Hunter Sebra in a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals before beating Eastside’s Mason McCoy in a 6-3 decision in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Jackson faced Grundy’s Shalem Gordon, who won his second consecutive state title by pinning Jackson in 3:46. Early on, Gordon built up a 5-0 lead, scoring three points on a near pin. Jackson hurt his ankle during the match, but he chose to keep on wrestling. Just before the end of the second period, though, Gordon defended his state title with a pin. Jackson said Gordon “took a shot” and succeeded.
Reviewing his tournament, Jackson said, “Besides that last match, it was pretty good. I wrestled pretty tough.”
Jackson, who had lost to Gordon 4-0 in late January at the Highlander Invitational at Glenvar, looks forward to the possibility of facing Gordon again next year if they are in the same weight class. Both wrestlers will be seniors. “I’ll just work to get better, get back in the weight room and get back in the mat room,” said Jackson.
Of his nephew’s performance, Coach Brockenbrough said Jackson “wrestled the best that he could wrestle this weekend. The Grundy kid, he’s just on another level right now. He’s really good.”
“If you get in a state championship match right now, you’ve done something,” added Coach Brockenbrough.
Jackson finished the season with a 30-4 record. “It’s been a good year overall,” said Jackson. “I’ve won tournaments. I’ve lost tournaments.” Jackson, who plays football in the fall, looks forward to getting back in the weight room. As for wrestling next year, he said, “We’ve got a good program. We’ll get a few new faces next year, so I’m excited for next year.”
At 106, Vassar had a strong tournament to place fourth. Wrestling at 113 as a freshman last year, Vassar went 0-2 at the state tournament.
This year, Vassar, following a runner-up performance at the Region 1C tournament the previous Saturday at PM, Vassar lost his first-round match at the state tournament in an 8-0 major decision to Honaker’s Hunter Dye. However, he won his next three bouts in the consolation bracket, pinning Mathews wrestler Zac Salvadori in 2:01 before beating Giles grappler Carson Campos in a 12-4 major decision and defeating Westmoreland’s Elijah Castellanos in a 6-4 decision.
In the third-place bout, Vassar lost to Rural Retreat’s Houston Bear in a 6-0 decision. Vassar ended the season with a 28-9 record.
Lesher followed up his Region 1C runnerup performance with a fifth-place finish in the heavyweight division. He pinned Northumberland’s Elijah Byrd in 1:52 in the first round before defeating Buffalo Gap’s Anthony Wilder in a 4-2 sudden victory in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Lesher was pinned in 37 seconds by Grundy’s Luke Shelton, who would go on to win the state title. Lesher was pinned by Fort Chiswell’s Brenden Mabry in 1:37 in the consolation semifinals. However, he faced Wilder again in the fifth-place match and beat him in a 3-1 decision, scoring two points on a takedown to break a 1-1 tie.
Lesher said the key to winning his final match was to keep himself level-headed. Commending Lesher, Coach Brockenbrough said, “He gets better each week. I can’t praise that kid enough to come out and do what he did.”
Reviewing his season, Lesher, who moved into the starting lineup this season, said, “I’m pleased with it, as long as I keep the winning record up. Honestly, going from being a backup my freshman year to making fifth at states is a huge improvement.”
Driscoll, who placed third at 106 as a sophomore last year, moved up to 120 and placed fifth in the state this year, following his Region 1C runner-up finish. He started the state tournament by pinning Holston’s Caden Hearl in 1:22, but then lost to Mathews wrestler Salvador Cardenas in a 7-2 decision in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Driscoll pinned Franklin’s Benjamin Harrison in 3:57 before he was pinned by Grayson County’s Caleb Thompson in 3:57.
Driscoll then faced Cardenas again in the fifthplace match and came out ahead this time, pinning Cardenas in 4:11. Driscoll said the keys to the win were “staying focused, not letting anything get to my mind, listening to my coaches. They’re good coaches, and they’ve helped me learn a lot.” Reviewing the tournament, Driscoll said, “I feel if I had wrestled right at the start of the tournament, I would’ve done a little bit better. But I’m happy with what I got. I’m happy to score points for the team.” He finished the season with a 29-10 record.
Convers, who went 0-2 at the state tournament at 175 last year, moved down a weight class to 165 this year. Following his Region 1C runnerup finish, Convers started the state tournament by pinning Middlesex’s Thomas Dobb in 3:49. He then defeated Buffalo Gap’s Caleb Deaver in a 10-3 decision in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Convers was pinned by Grundy’s Brody Ford in 37 seconds.
In the consolation bracket, Convers lost to Galax’s Gavin Crouse in a 10-1 major decision. He then faced Lancaster’s Albert Pollard in the fifthplace match. Pollard got a near pin and went up 4-0 before Convers battled back to cut the lead to 5-4, but time expired before he could score any more points. Convers ended the season with a 21-16 record. Coach Brockenbrough praised the improvement of Convers, earning a medal last weekend after he was ousted on the first day of the state tournament last year. “That says a lot,” he commented.
Jordan Brockenbrough completed a strong freshman season by placing sixth at 126. Following his Region 1C runner-up finish, Jordan lost in the first round to Grundy’s Blake Broyles in a 13-2 major decision, but he won his next two bouts in the consolation bracket, pinning Northampton’s Reegan McGee in 2:10 before pinning Rural Retreat’s William Rose in 3:34.
Jordan was injured in losing a 14-6 major decision to Fort Chiswell’s Jack Hughes, so he sat out the fifth-place match. “He wouldn’t have finished sixth if he wouldn’t have gotten hurt, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s safe for him,” said Coach Brockenbrough. Jordan Brockenbrough
At 175, Crowe finished an impressive first high school season by going 1-2. He pinned Northampton’s Rogello Garcia in 1:33 in the first round before he was pinned by Eastside’s Dayton Stanley in 3:54 in the quarterfinals. Crowe’s tournament ended when he was pinned by Cumberland’s Pittman Kimball in 2:57 in the consolation bracket. Crowe finished the season with a 19-11 record.
PM will graduate just one senior, Scottie Garrett (144), who placed sixth at the Region 1C tournament to earn a medal. “Scottie Garrett will be missed,” said Coach Brockenbrough.
The Blues had several talented freshmen who narrowly missed advancing to the state tournament this year, and they look to improve with the return of sophomore Jacob Shafer (132), who had to sit out the later part of the season with an injury.
Excited about the future of PM wrestling, Coach Brockenbrough said he looks forward to working with wrestlers who have been competing in middle school tournaments, “We’re gonna bring in four or five freshmen next year that have been with us for a while,” he said. “We’ve set the bar high in football and in wrestling, and I think wrestling next year and the next couple of years is gonna be really good.”
