State Wrestling Wrap-Up

RC Wrestlers Wrap Season

Three Wildcats Go 1-2 At State Tourney

With a challenging end to the season, Rockbridge County High School wrestlers Wyatt Eisenbrown, Hudson Ryan and Gabe Wade each went 1-2 to lead the Wildcats at the Class 3 state tournament on Saturday at Heritage High School in Lynchburg.

Also competing for RC were Davis Welsh and Markus Nelson, with each going 0-2. The Wildcats placed 35th of 48 teams.

Going over the state tournament, head coach Mike Wood said, “End of the year, if you don’t get on the podium [top six] somewhere, it’s always a little disappointing.”

“The ones we lost were close matches, which makes it even hurt a little more,” added Wood, concluding his third season as RC’s head coach. “If you get pinned, you get pinned, but if you’re right in the match, you could’ve won, and they were winnable matches. We lost some scrambles.”

Adding to the Wildcats’ challenges were having the state tournament delayed from the previous weekend due to the winter storm earlier that week. In addition, the tournament was condensed from two days to one. Instead of taking place at the Salem Civic Center, the usual location, it was held at a smaller venue.

With the extra week of practice, Wood said his wrestlers “were already antsy to wrestle last week, and then they had to push it off. Then you’ve got to try to find different places to practice, so it was a little rough.”

The last wrestler standing for the Wildcats was Wade, a senior who was the Region 3C champion at 215-pounds and was making his first state tournament appearance. Wade battled Bassett’s Kamron Hodge in the first round before losing in an 8-7 decision, but he bounced back in the first round of the consolation bracket by pinning William Monroe’s Josh Wilson in 2:35.

In the next round, Wade faced Staunton’s Deshawn Shifflett. After a scoreless first period, Shifflett took a 2-0 lead in the second period. Wade scored a point in the third period, but he ran out of time, and Shifflett won in a 2-1 decision. In the regional championship match two weeks earlier in Bridgewater, Wade had beaten Shifflett in a 4-3 ultimate tiebreaker. Wade finished the season with a record of 36-10.

Also making his state tournament debut, Eisenbrown (157-pounds), a senior, pinned New Kent’s Aidan Salmon in 1:36 in the first round. Eisenbrown was then pinned by Lord Botetourt’s Angel Rigney in 3:39 in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Eisenbrown’s high school wrestling career came to an end when he was pinned by Abingdon’s Michael Maxfield in one minute. Eisenbrown went 21-11 for the season.* On Wade and Eisenbrown, Wood said, “’It’s hard for the seniors to go out that way. Unfortunately, that’s part of the game. Some kid’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose.”

Ryan (144), a junior who went 0-2 in his state tournament debut last year, pinned New Kent’s Blake Gregory in 1:29 in the first round on Saturday, but he lost in an 11-7 decision to William Byrd’s Zane Taylor in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Ryan’s season concluded the season when he lost in a 6-5 decision to Staunton River’s Owen Borden. Ryan ended the season with a record of 3613.

At 113, Welsh, the lone RC freshman competing at the state tournament, was pinned by Skyline’s Jacob Buffum in 32 seconds in the first round. He then faced Pulaski County’s AJ Robertson in the first round of the consolation bracket and lost in a 7-4 decision. Welsh finished the year 9-20 overall.

Nelson (150), a junior making his state tournament debut, was pinned by New Kent’s Quinn Morrison in 2:50 in the first round. In the first round of the consolation bracket, Nelson was pinned by Brentsville District’s Connor Hogbin. Nelson finished the season 33-13 overall.

As a team, with five wrestlers, the Wildcats scored 10 points to finish 35th, ahead of 13 teams. Last year, also with five grapplers, the Wildcats placed 25th. This year’s winning team was Skyline with 218 points, while Staunton River (178.5) placed second, and Brentsville District (139) finished third. Rounding out the top five were New Kent (103.5) and Liberty Christian Academy (103).

It was a strong season for the Wildcats, who went 14-6 in duals, finishing second to Turner Ashby in the Valley District standings. TA was the Region 3C champion and placed ninth in the state. Twelve Wildcats advanced to the Region 3C tournament, where the Wildcats placed fourth.

The Wildcats will graduate seven seniors: Eisenbrown, Wade, Kellan Dorey (190), Mia Marando (138), Roman Wilhem (165), Aidan Williams (165) and Isaiah Woolfrey. (175).

While the Wildcats will miss these seniors, Wood looks forward to returning the vast majority of his team, and he expects to add seven or eight rising freshmen.

WILDCAT JUNIOR Hudson Ryan wraps his arm around an opponent at 144-pounds. Ryan went 1-2 and finished the season at 36-13 overall. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)