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Led by three individual champions, 12 Rockbridge County High School wrestlers advanced to the Region 3C tournament at the Valley District Regional Qualifier on Wednesday night at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater.
Eleven RC wrestlers advanced by placing in the top four in their weight classes, and RC sophomore Finn Miller (120-pounds) placed fifth and advanced as an alternate.
Wildcats winning individual titles were senior co-captain Kellan Dorey (190), senior Gabe Wade (215) and junior co-captain Hudson Ryan (144).
Dorey, who also won last year, pinned East Rockingham’s Connor Roadcap in 56 seconds in the semifinals before he was awarded a forfeit in the finals. For the season, Dorey is 29-3.
Wade pinned Rocktown’s Ben Livick in 2:49 in the semifinals before pinning Spotswood’s Dawson Simons in 3:39 in the finals, improving to 32-8 this season.
Ryan pinned Broadway’s Parker Wood in 1:44 in the semifinals and defeated Turner Ashby’s Adam Arenas in a 20-1 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in 5:39 in the finals, improving to 33-10.
Two RC seniors, co-captain Aidan Williams (165) and Wyatt Eisenbrown (157) placed second. Williams, who is 37-6, pinned Broadway’s Conner Mason in 1:50 in the semifinals before he was pinned by East Rockingham’s Kristian Hearn in 2:40 in the finals. Eisenbrown, who is 16-7, pinned TA’s Walter Rhodes in 1:53 in the semifinals before he lost in an 11-0 major decision to ER’s Grant Malin in the finals.
Wildcats placing third were senior Isaiah Woolfrey (175), juniors Graham Niebur (132), Markus Nelson (150) and Aiden Meyers (138); and freshman Davis Welsh (113). Also advancing by placing fourth was RC sophomore Billy Chittum (285/heavyweight).
Coming up a place short of advancing, in fifth place, was RC junior Carlos Reynolds (126).
Team scores were not kept, but host TA was rewarded as the Valley District team champion for the second consecutive year after an impressive regular season. The Wildcats finished second to TA for the second year in a row.
The Region 3C tournament will take place on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Turner Ashby, starting at 9 a.m. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the Class 3 state tournament, which will take place on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22, at the Salem Civic Center, starting at 10 a.m. on both days.
For the full story on the regional qualifier, please see our Feb. 12 newspaper.
