Four Parry McCluer Wrestlers Medal

By Jonathan Schwab Led by senior Jackson Brockenbrough’s runner-up finish, four Parry McCluer High School wrestlers earned medals by placing in the top six in their weight classes at the Class 1 state tournament on Saturday at Virginia High School in Bristol. With seven grapplers competing, the Fighting Blues placed eighth of 28 teams.

For the second consecutive year, Brockenbrough placed second at 150-pounds. Three of his teammates placed fifth: senior Cyler Driscoll (138-pounds), sophomore Jordan Brockenbrough (132) and freshman Brody Julian (120).

Jackson Brockenbrough, who was pinned by Grayson County’s Aaron Peterson in the Region 1C championship on Feb. 14 at Giles High School in Pearisburg, faced Peterson again in the state finals. This showdown also went into the third period, with Peterson pinning the older Brockenbrough brother in 5:18.

To reach the finals, Jackson won three matches. He pinned Grundy’s Lucas Vance in 1:48 in the first round before defeating Lancaster’s River Diaz in 5:47 in a 20-4 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in the quarterfinals. Jackson then defeated Eastside’s Mason McCoy in a 1-0 decision in the semifinals before facing Peterson in the finals.

Jackson, who earned his 100th career victory at the Blues Invitational, PM’s first tournament of the season on Dec. 7 in Buena Vista, finished the season with a record of 31-6.

Going over the highlights of Jackson’s career, his uncle, PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough, noted Jackson was in the regional finals all four years, winning as a sophomore and junior and placing second as a senior and freshman. Jackson also earned medals at the state tournament all four years, placing fifth at 145 as a freshman, third at 144 (after the weight classes changed) as a sophomore before his two runner-up finishes at 150.

“He had a great career,” said Brockenbrough. “He’ll be greatly missed.”

The Blues scored 64.5 points to place eighth, ahead of Mathews (63) and George Wythe (57.5) in the top 10. Last year, with seven wrestlers competing, PM placed fifth.

Winning its eighth consecutive title was Grundy (278.5), while Rural Retreat (192) placed second, and Grayson County (171.5) finished third. Rounding out the top seven were PM’s Pioneer District rival Bath County (88) in third, Holston (85.5) in fourth, Galax (69) in fifth and Giles (68) in sixth.

Joining Jackson in concluding his career with a podium finish for the Blues was Driscoll (138). After placing third at 106 as a sophomore and fifth at 120 last year, Driscoll moved up three weight classes and placed fifth.

A regional runner-up this year, Driscoll pinned Holston’s Mason Bonilla in 3:04 in the first round of the state tournament. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Lancaster’s Ashby Russell in a 5-0 decision. Driscoll was then pinned by Grundy’s Brody Coleman in 3:32 in the semifinals.

In the consolation bracket, Driscoll was pinned by Rural Retreat’s Sarmont Badziev, but he bounced back by pinning Westmoreland’s Dylan Bock in 2:58 in the a 24-13 record. Coach Brockenbrough said Driscoll “wrestled really well.”

At 120, Julian completed an outstanding freshman season by going 3-2. Following up on his regional title, Julian lost to Rural Retreat’s Caleb Gibson in six minutes in a 16-1 technical fall. He bounced back in the consolation bracket by pinning Chilhowie’s Caden Schools in 2:41 before defeating Mathews wrestler Zac Salvadori in a 2-1 decision. Julian was then pinned by GC’s JT Porter in 1:52, but he bounced back again by beating Northampton’s Israel Birch in a 14-1 major decision in the fifth-place bout. Julian finished the season with a record of 29-9.

Praising Julian for his impressive debut season, Coach Brockenbrough said, “I don’t think the state’s seen enough of him. He’s going to be a really big asset to our program.”

Also placing fifth was the younger Brockenbrough brother, Jordan, at 132. Following up on placing sixth at 120 last year and winning the regional title at 132 this year, Jordan lost in an 11-6 decision to RR’s Justin Walker in the quarterfinals, but he bounced back by pinning Galax’s Kendal Llamas in 2:27 in the consolation bracket. Jordan was pinned by Mathews grappler Salvador Cardenas in 3:57, but he won the fifth-place bout in a 9-4 decision over Castlewood’s Joel Bush. Jordan had a record of 24-12 this season.

At 144, PM junior Jacob Shafer was a round away from earning a medal. Shafer, a regional runner-up, went 2-2. He pinned Eastside’s Braxton Freeman in 5:06 in the first round before losing in 4:54 in a 24-7 technical fall to Northampton’s Andrew Daggins. In the consolation bracket, Shafer pinned Lancaster’s Nathan Meburg in 2:11 before he was pinned by Bath County’s Paxton Rivenbark in 4:22. Coach Brockenbrough said Shafer, who finished the season with a record of 24-15, “had a good weekend.”

Making his state tournament debut at 126 was PM freshman Tyler Shafer, who went 1-2. The younger Shafer pinned Northampton’s Brendan McGee in 2:56 in the first round before he was pinned by Holston’s Maddox Buchanan in 2:49 in the quarterfinals. Shafer then concluded his season at 8-16 overall with an 18-0 loss in a technical fall in three minutes to Galax’s Christhian Zaldivar.

Also making his debut at the state tournament for the Blues was freshman Timber Thomas (285/heavyweight), going 0-2. Thomas was pinned by Castlewood’s Jacob Young in 3:47 in the first round and then was pinned by Northwood’s Gabe Frye in 1:38.

The Blues had an eighth state qualifier, senior Junior Convers (190), but Convers was unable to compete due to a season-ending knee injury.

Coach Brockenbrough, completing his 18th year as PM’s head coach, said it was a challenge for his wrestlers to adjust to the change in schedule after a winter storm postponed the state tournament from the previous weekend and condensed it to one long day instead of two. The state tournament has taken place at the Salem Civic Center in recent years, but it was moved to Virginia High School in Bristol, so the Blues and their fans had to travel two hours farther.

“It wasn’t a very good choice,” said Coach Brockenbrough of the change. “The kids prevailed the best they could.”

The Blues will miss their three seniors: Convers, Driscoll and Jackson Brockenbrough. The future looks bright, though, with promising younger wrestlers and a growing middle school program feeding into the high school program.