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Five Rockbridge County High School wrestlers advanced to the Class 3 state tournament by placing in the top four in their weight classes at the Region 3C tournament on Saturday at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, where the Wildcats placed fourth of 17 teams.
RC senior Gabe Wade led the way by winning at 215-pounds to claim his first regional title. Wade, who will be making his first state tournament appearance, pinned Waynesboro’s Cameron Newsome in 5:54 in the semifinals before defeating Staunton’s Dashawn Shifflett in a 4-3 ultimate tiebreaker in the finals. For the season, Wade is 35-8.
Also advancing for RC were junior Hudson Ryan, placing second at 144-pounds, and three Wildcats who placed fourth: freshman Davis Welsh (113), junior Markus Nelson (150) and senior Wyatt Eisenbrown (157). Of the Wildcats advancing, Ryan is the only one who has qualified for the state tournament before this year.
In the team standings, Turner Ashby followed up on its Valley District title by winning with 210 points. Heritage (184), which won the last two years, placed second, while Liberty Christian Academy (179) finished third. Rounding out the top five were the Wildcats (113) and Alleghany (111). RC also placed fourth at the regional tournament last year.
At 144, Ryan pinned Fluvanna County’s Josh Greene in 1:44 in the semifinals before losing in an 18-1 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in the finals to LCA’s Elliott Crews. Ryan, who went 0-2 in his state tournament debut last year, is 35-11 this season.
Continuing an impressive freshman season, Welsh was pinned by Staunton’s Alex Arroyo in 3:27 in the semifinals, but he bounced back in the consolation semifinals by pinning Alleghany’s Dylan Osborne in 47 seconds. In the third-place bout, Welsh was pinned by TA’s Tallen Martin in 48 seconds. Welsh’s record is 9-18.
Nelson was pinned in the first round by Staunton’s Brodie Miller 3:51, but then won three bouts in the consolation bracket. He pinned LCA’s Bennett Wilgus in 1:47 in the consolation semifinals before facing Miller again and getting pinned in 1:15 in the third-place bout. Nelson is 33-11 this season.
Eisenbrown was pinned by Heritage’s Matt Garland in 2:59 in the quarterfinals, but he battled back by pinning three opponents in the consolation rounds. Eisenbrown pinned Brookville’s Isaiah Graves in 1:48 in the consolation semifinals before losing to LCA’s Ben Hudson in a 12-3 decision in the thirdplace bout.
Also placing in the top six for the Wildcats was senior Isaiah Woolfrey (175), who went 2-3 and finished the season at 15-6 overall.
Other Wildcats competing but not placing were seniors Aidan Williams (165) and Kellan Dorey (190), juniors Graham Niebur (132) and Aiden Meyers (138), sophomore Billy Chittum (285/ heavyweight) and freshman Finn Miller (120).
The Class 3 state tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center, starting at 10 a.m. on both days. Last year, with five wrestlers competing, the Wildcats placed 25th.
For weather-related schedule changes, visit www.thenewsgazette.
com.
