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Led by two individual champions and seven other grapplers placing in the top six, the Rockbridge County High School wrestling team placed third of 15 teams at the Big Orange tournament on Dec. 21 at William Byrd High School in Vinton.
It was also a big day for two RC girls at the Ladycats Invitational at Radford High School, the first-ever girls’ sanctioned regular-season tournament by the Virginia High School League, where senior Mia Marando won at 145-pounds and freshman Tasha Shorter placed fifth at 152.
At the Big Orange tournament, the Wildcats scored 209.5 points, trailing only tournament champion William Byrd’s 264 and runner-up Salem’s 220. Rounding out the top five were Riverheads (204.5) and Northside (174).
Praising his wrestlers, RC head coach Mike Wood said, “They’re slowly but surely getting better. We’re very consistent this year.”
The Wildcats had also placed third at the Harrisonburg Invitational a week earlier, and they’re 3-0 in dual matches.
Leading the way at the Big Orange tournament were two of RC’s co-captains, senior Kellan Dorey and junior Hudson Ryan, who won their weight classes.
At 190-pounds, Dorey defeated Riverheads wrestler Trey Payseur in a 19-3 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in the semifinals in 3:33. In the finals, Dorey pinned William Byrd’s Paul Ferrebee in 1:17.
Ryan won at 138, pinning Salem’s Kolynn Eastman in 1:30 in the semifinals before defeating Northside’s Tariq Nowalish in a 4-3 decision in the finals.
RC senior co-captain Aidan Williams placed second at 165. Williams defeated Riverheads grappler Jacob Johnson 11-4 in the semifinals before losing in a 15-0 technical fall to Northside’s Joel Swanson in 2:42.
Two Wildcats, senior Gabe Wade (215) and junior Markus Nelson (150), placed third. Wade lost in the semifinals to WB’s Graylen Castleberry in a 22-7 technical fall in 5:17, but he defeated Northside’s Michel Witcher in a 3-2 tiebreaker in the third-place bout. Nelson was pinned by Blacksburg’s Tyrique Nicholson in 2:59 in the semifinals, but he pinned Martinsville’s Jordan Draper in 50 seconds in the thirdplace bout.
RC freshman Asher Wells (175) stepped up to place fourth. Wells pinned Salem’s Alessand Migliorelli in 2:38 in the quarterfinals before he was pinned by WB’s Stephen Underwood, the eventual champion, in 1:58 in the semifinals. In the third-place bout, Wells lost to Northside’s Landon Hartung in a 19-10 major decision.
Placing fifth for the Wildcats were sophomore Finn Miller (120) and freshman Harvey Presnell (144). Miller went 4-1, defeating Salem’s Dylan Bonet in a 12-8 decision in the fifth=place bout. Presnell went 3-1, beating sophomore teammate John Clements in an 8-6 decision in the fifth-place bout. In his sixth-place finish, Clements went 2-2.
RC was scheduled to compete in the Southmoreland Holiday Classic last Friday and Saturday in Alverton, Pa. Wood said the tournament “is probably a little bit harder than our state tournament.” He said it really gives his wrestlers “a good gauge of where we’re at.”
The Wildcats will start the new year with their first home competition of the season, a quad meet on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Due to the early deadline for today’s newspaper, the story on the Southmoreland Holiday Classic and Thursday’s quad, with photos, will be in our Jan. 7 newspaper.
, For the RC girls, senior Mia Marando claimed the title in the B bracket at 145-pounds at the Ladycats Invitational on Dec. 21 at Radford High School, while freshman teammate Tasha Shorter placed fifth at 152.
Marando Wins In Radford
Marando, who placed sixth in the second annual Virginia High School League Girls State Open Wrestling Championships in February, went 5-0 at Radford, pinning all five of her opponents. She was wrestling on one good leg.
Shorter went 2-3 in the 152A bracket, pinning Amherst County’s Abigail Eggleston in 3:18 before she was pinned by the champion, Shade Spring’s Abigail Honaker, in
4:16.
Wood said he and his assistant coaches are trying to get their girls their own mini-schedule, prior to the girls’ regional and state tournaments later this winter. He said the girls travel with the boys a lot of the time, but they often aren’t able to get in matches.
