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Nine Parry McCluer High School wrestlers advanced to the Class 1 state tournament by placing in the top three in their weight classes at the Region 1C tournament on Saturday at Fort Chiswell, where the Fighting Blues placed third of eight teams.
Two PM wrestlers, sophomores Jackson Brockenbourgh (144-pounds) and Cyler Driscoll (106), won regional titles, while four Blues were runners-up, and three Blues finished third.
Brockenbrough advanced to the finals by pinning Galax’s Ayden Stiltner in 1:20 in the semifinals, and he won the title by defeating Grayson County’s Keyon Mitchell in a 9-2 decision.
At 106, Driscoll pinned Galax’s Alex Lopez in 1:33 in the semifinals before overcoming GC’s Bo Anderson in a 4-3 decision in the finals.
In the team standings, Grayson County won its second consecutive Region 1C title with 191.5 points, while Galax (158) placed second. The Blues, coming off winning the Pioneer District title on Jan. 30, tallied 156.5 points to finish third. George Wythe (124) placed fourth, and Fort Chiswell (86) finished fifth. Rounding out the standings were Bath County (78), Giles (68) and Covington (29).
The tournament was a notable improvement for the Blues from last year, when they placed fifth and advanced six wrestlers to the state tournament. “Our team wrestled hard all day,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough.
Blues placing second to advance to state were seniors Ryan Patterson (120) and Cody Thomas (190), junior Cole Chittum (285/ heavyweight) and freshman Jacob Shafer (126).
PM grapplers advancing by placing third were senior Kabell Austin (215), sophomore Junior Convers (175) and freshman Clyde Vassar (113). Junior Scottie Garrett (157) completed his freshman season by placing fourth.
At 120, Patterson pinned Bath County’s Lyric Altizer in one minute in the semifinals before he was pinned by Fort Chiswell’s Jack Hughes in the finals.
Thomas earned a 4-1 win over GC’s Landon King in the semifinals at 190 before he lost 7-3 to Galax’s David Espinoza in the finals.
In the 285-pound/heavyweight division, Chittum pinned FC’s Brendon Mabry in 1:44 in the semifinals before he was pinned by Galax’s Riley Jo Vaught in 1:45 in the finals.
At 126, Shafer defeated Giles grappler Hayden Collini in 4:17 in a 16-1 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in the semifinals before falling 9-7 to FC’s Marquis Howell in the finals.
Austin was pinned by Galax’s AJ Ashworth in the semifinals at 215, but he bounced back by pinning GC’s Zachary Rivera in 4:37 in the third-place bout.
At 175, Convers was pinned by Galax’s Caden Carico in 1:32 in the semifinals, but he bounced back by pinning GC’s Isaiah Blankenship in 5:53 in the thirdplace bout.
Vassar was pinned by GC’s Sergio Rodriguez in the semifinals at 113, but he pinned Giles grappler Colton Moye in 2:57 in the third-place bout.
At 150, Garrett lost 5-2 to Giles wrestler Levi Sadler in the third-place bout. “I felt really bad for Scottie Garret, but he’s a first-year guy,” said Brockenbrough.
The Class 1 state tournament will take place on Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center, starting at 10 a.m. on both days.
Last year, the young Blues placed 13th at the state tournament, with Thomas placing fourth at 195 Jackson Brockbenbrough finishing fifth at 145. Patterson, who went 0-2 at the state tournament, is the Blues’ third wrestler returning to the big show.
