RC Goes 2-2 In Duals Wildcats Tie For Third Of Eight In First Competition
The Rockbridge County High School wrestling team went 2-2 and tied for third place of eight teams in its first competition of the season, the Hornet Duals Invitational on Saturday at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville.
The teams were divided into two pools, and the Wildcats placed second of four teams in Pool B, finishing behind Broadway but ahead of third-place Stonewall Jackson and fourth-place Bath County. The Wildcats then wrestled Northside from Pool A and lost 42-30. RC and Broadway were going to face off in a consolation match, but Broadway had some injured wrestlers, so they decided not to go through with that match since they’d already faced each other. The Wildcats and Broadway tied for third place.
In Pool B, RC defeated Stonewall Jackson 54-26 and beat Bath County 41-30 before losing to Broadway 36-30.
Reviewing the day, RC head coach Mike Wood said, “We wrestled very well, being that we were young.” The Wildcats have 10 sophomores and eight freshmen and just two seniors and two juniors.
Wood said his wrestlers “stayed in there, wrestled tough. I couldn’t ask for more, as far as them being extremely young. They didn’t back down. They got some pins when we needed them.”
The Wildcats also had to deal with having just two days of practice last week due to the snow on Monday of last week, but Wood said they worked hard on Thursday and Friday to prepare for the duals.
No RC wrestlers went undefeated, but five Wildcats each went 3-1 to lead the way: junior John Clements at 150-pounds, sophomores Kayleb Glassford (120), Harvey Presnell (165) and Shayde Tomlin (175) and freshman Taylan Tyree (144).
Wildcats going 2-2 were seniors Graham Niebur (138) and Markus Nelson (150), junior Finn Miller (132) and sophomore Davis Welsh (2-2). RC wrestlers going 1-3 were sophomore Gus Daigneau (1-3) and freshmen Ethan Santos (1-3) and Marquise Beverly (285/heavyweight).
Unlike last winter, Wood said the Wildcats “don’t have the guaranteed horses,” but he is confident the team will improve. He said some of his backup wrestlers are going to go down a weight class, and there will be some wrestle-offs this week, with some RC grapplers challenging for starting spots. “I think down the road, we’ll be stronger,” said Wood.
The Wildcats will compete in a holiday tournament on Friday and Saturday at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, with about 30 teams expected.
Wood said he’s anticipating the toughest competition in the history of the TA tournament. The RC coach said he hopes the Wildcats can finish in the top 15.
“I think we’re a team that can put a lot of guys in third, fourth, fifth and sixth place,” said Wood. “Because we’re young, it’s a really tough field.”
“I’m happy with where we’re at for our youth,” added Wood. “Conditioning is good.”
