A long week of wrestling resulted in a pair of dual meet defeats for Parry McCluer High School but a quartet of medal winners at the Bison Invitational on Saturday at Buffalo Gap High School in Swoope.
Last Wednesday, the Fighting Blues dropped a pair of decisions, falling to Alleghany 66-12 and losing to Giles 66-18 in a tri-meet in Buena Vista.
PM bounced back on Saturday, with four individuals bringing home medals from the Buffalo Gap tournament by placing in the top six in their weight classes.
The Blues tallied 51.5 points to place 13th of 14 teams in the tournament. Franklin County ran away from the field to take the team title with 222 points, followed by Alleghany with 150.5. Fluvanna County (125), Hidden Valley (121.5) and Tunstall (104.5) rounded out the top five.
Leading the way for the PM contingent was Brody Julian, who took third place at 126-pounds. Julian received a bye in the first round and reached the championship semifinals by pinning Fluvanna County’s Kevin Sloan in 1 minute, 34 seconds. After falling to eventual champion Jerry Salazar-Mendoza of Stonewall Jackson in the semifinals, Julian fought his way back through the consolation round with a pair of victories. Julian first scored a 21-5 technical fall over Hidden Valley’s Riley Appel and then took third place with a 13-2 major decision over Liberty’s Brendan Borum.
At 144-pounds, Jordan Brockenbrough finished in fourth place for the Blues. He also reached the championship semifinals, defeating Stonewall Jackson’s Charles Hoover 9-2 before suffering a 9-3 setback to Kai Adams of Liberty. In the consolation round, Brockenbrough won a 4-1 decision over Goochland’s Ryan Pillion to reach the third-place bout, where he was pinned by Fluvanna County’s Isaac Walker 1:59 into the match.
PM’s Lucas Ramsey (138) and Timber Thomas (285/ heavyweight) both earned sixthplace
medals at the tournament. Ramsey lost a tough 10-7 overtime decision to Goochland’s Drew Butler in the bout for fifth place, while Thomas, who won two matches on the day, fell to Bath County’s Tyler Shaver 7-1 in their battle for fifth.
Also competing for the Blues at the tournament were Isaiah Gilbert (132), Liam Long (150), Grayson Simmons (157) and Brad Spinner (285/heavyweight).
Thomas Wins Twice
With a shorthanded roster and surrendering forfeits in most weight classes, the Blues never had much of a chance in the tri-meet last Wednesday. To compound matters, PM managed just four wins on the mat in the duals against Alleghany and Giles.
Thomas had two of those victories. Against Alleghany, he took a 3-0 lead after the first period and pinned Ethan Shue 56 seconds into the second period. Thomas scored the first takedown against Smith of Giles and then recorded a fall in 1:34.
Julian was awarded a forfeit in the dual match against Alleghany, and he needed just 25 seconds to pin Roberts of Giles. At 132, Gilbert roared out to a 6-1 lead with a pair of takedowns and pinned McCoy of Giles in 1:08.
The Blues now will take some time off for Christmas break and return to action next week, traveling to Lynchburg for the Heritage Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
ABOVE, PM sophomore Brody Julian wraps up his Alleghany opponent at 126-pounds. AT LEFT, Fighting Blue junior Jordan Brockenbrough lifts up his Giles opponent at 144-pounds. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photos)
