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Saturday, Feb. 18 – Rockbridge County High School senior Brice Hall placed third at 175-pounds to lead three Wildcat medalists at the Class 3 state wrestling tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.
Also earning medals by placing in the top six were senior Zeke Mohr, placing fifth at 150-pounds, and junior Ryan Maxwell, finishing sixth at 120.
Hall, who placed fourth the last two years, lost in a 5-3 overtime decision to Staunton River’s Josh Kelly in the quarterfinals on Friday, but he bounced back by defeating three opponents in the consolation bracket before facing Kelly again in the third-place bout on Saturday. This time, Hall got out to an early lead and won in an 11-1 major decision. Hall won the Valley District and Region 3C titles this year.
In his first state tournament appearance, Mohr lost in the first round to Christiansburg’s Jacob Robie in a 5:35 in a 15-0 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more), but he battled back in the consolation bracket, winning by forfeit in the fifth-place bout.
Also making his state tournament debut, Maxwell was pinned in the quarterfinals by Christiansburg’s Brady Hand, but he bounced back in the consolation bracket. In the fifth-place bout, Maxwell was trailing Liberty Christian Academy’s Landon Starnes 9-5 in the third period before scoring three points on a near pin, losing in a 9-8 decision.
Another Wildcat making his state tournament debut, sophomore Aidan Williams, went 1-2 at 144. Williams was pinned by Abingdon’s Yenesew Smith in 5:38 in the first round, but he pinned Meridian’s William Hahn in 2:38 in the consolation bracket before losing in a 10-1 major decision to Broadway’s Feodor Dronov.
Going into the finals, with just four wrestlers competing, the Wildcats were in 12th place of 44 teams.
For the full story and photos from the state tournament, with final team scores, please see our Feb. 22 newspaper.
