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Capping an impressive career, Rockbridge County High School senior Ryan Maxwell placed fourth at 132-pounds to lead the Wildcats at the Class 3 state wrestling tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.
Maxwell was one of five Wildcats competing at the state tournament in the soldout arena. The Wildcats tied for 25th place out of 49 teams, scoring 18 points.
After placing sixth at 120 last year, Maxwell moved up two weight classes this year. One of RC’s three senior cocaptains and this year’s Valley District and Region 3C champion, Maxwell started the tournament by winning in a 12-3 major decision over Fauqier’s Evan Solada in the first round. In the quarterfinals, Maxwell lost to Northside’s Wayshaun Hicks in a 6-1 decision.
In the consolation bracket, Maxwell bounced back by winning three consecutive matches. He beat Heritage’s Dmitri Jones in a 10-3 decision before winning by injury default over Cave Spring’s Cameron Noell in 1:14.
Maxwell then faced New Kent’s Adam Ayala in his most exciting match of the tournament. The two wrestlers went to double overtime, with Maxwell winning in a 4-1 tiebreaker. “It was a close one,” said RC head coach Mike Wood. “It was 4-1, but it was a lot of scrambling.”
In the third-place match, Maxwell faced Brentsville District’s Riley Macedo for the first time. Macedo took an early lead and had several takedowns to defeat Maxwell in a 9-2 decision.
Reviewing the final showdown of his high school career, Maxwell said Macedo was tough because “he was good at guarding legs. I couldn’t kick out of him.”
Maxwell finished the season with a record of 33-11. “I did better than last year,” he said. “My goal was just to place higher than I did last year. I won some tough matches.”
Wood said Maxwell did well in the 132-pound weight class, “probably about the second or third toughest in the tournament right now. It was pretty loaded. He did a good job. He had a nice career. Two-time state medalist.”
Over his four-year career at RC, Maxwell racked up 98 wins. Looking back on his career, he said, “I couldn’t have done it without God. That’s for sure. It was definitely worth it. Long years.”
Maxwell said he was grateful for his coaches. Wood was his head coach the last two years after former RC head coach Aaron Bruce stepped down. Maxwell had worked with Bruce since sixth grade.
On the team’s performance, Maxwell said, “We did decent, not as good as we hoped, not quite as good as last year, but for the people we had, I think they did well.”
Although he’s not sure if he’ll wrestle in college, Maxwell will stay local next year when he enrolls at Virginia Military Institute, where he plans to study civil engineering.
Competing at the state tournament for the first time was RC senior Sawyer Hattersley, who went 1-2 at 175-pounds.
Hattersley, a Valley District champion who placed fourth in the Region 3C tournament this year, lost to Lafayette’s Christian Gordy in 4:18 in a 16-1 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in the first round. In the consolation bracket, Hattersley pinned Pulaski County’s Parker Midkiff in 2:43 before falling to Fauquier’s Kobe Link in a 4-3 decision. Hattersley concluded his season with a 29-15 record.
RC junior Aidan Williams (157) went 0-2 in his second state tournament appearance, while RC junior Kellan Dorey (190) and sophomore Hudson Ryan (138) went 0-2 in their state tournament debuts.
Williams, who went 1-2 at the state tournament at 144 last year, moved up two weight classes this year and placed third in the Valley District and in the Region 3C tournament. In the state tourney, Williams was pinned by Skyline’s Kyler Ramey in the first round before he was pinned by Heritage (Newport News) wrestler Zachary Ray in 4:24. Williams ended the season with a 22-13 record.
Dorey, a Valley District champion and Region 3C runner-up this year after sitting out last winter due to injury, lost to Grafton’s Andrew Soto in a 4-2 decision in the first round of the state tournament. In the consolation bracket, Dorey lost to Goochland’s Cannen Harlow in a 3-1 sudden victory in overtime. Dorey concluded the season with a 22-13 record.
Ryan, who placed third in the Valley District and in Region 3C, was the Wildcats’ youngest member at the state tournament. He lost to Brentsville District’s Connor Hogbin in a 12-0 major decision in the first round before falling to Hidden Valley’s Ben Armentrout in a 5-1 decision in the consolation bracket. Ryan ended the season with a 25-12 record.
With their 18 points, the Wildcats tied Alleghany and Kettle Run for 25th place. Staunton River won its second consecutive Class 3 state title, scoring 230 points, while New Kent placed second with 153, and Skyline (138) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Brentsville District (121.5) and Heritage (78.5).
Although the Wildcats didn’t do as well at the state tournament as last year, when they took four wrestlers and placed 12th, Wood said having three underclassmen at the tournament bodes well for the Wildcats. “We fell back on some teams, but again, we got them here, and we’ll try to build on that,” he said.
Wood added that the Wildcats had a couple of younger wrestlers who were close to making the state tournament, and they did improve at the Region 3C tournament, placing fourth this year after a sixth-place finish last year.
“We improved on some things,” said Wood. “We were a higher spot at regions this year. We brought five guys [to the state tournament], where last year, we only brought four.”
The Wildcats had more duals this season, going 15-5 after going 14-3 in duals last winter.
Including Maxwell and Hattersley, the Wildcats will graduate eight seniors. The others are Todd Caputo (165), David Castillo (138), Caiden Cavazos (144), John Lindberg (215), Stephanie Ross (132) and co-captain Tucker Towle (165), who placed sixth in the Region 3C tournament.
Looking ahead, Wood said, “Hopefully, we’ll bring five or six guys next year and get a couple medalists again.”
