The Rockbridge County High School wrestling team went 1-1 in a Shenandoah District tri-meet last Wednesday at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville before placing ninth of 15 teams at the Raptor Rumble on Saturday in Harrisonburg.
At the tri-meet, the Wildcats cruised to a 59-18 win over Wilson Memorial, earning pins and wins by decision, before falling to Alleghany 54-33. The Wildcats are now 6-6 in duals this season.
RC head coach Mike Wood, who picks Alleghany or Riverheads to win the district, said the dual against Alleghany was tough because the Cougars have more experienced wrestlers. The Wildcats were also giving up 12 points due to forfeits in two weight classes.
Led by six grapplers who earned medals by placing in the top six, the Wildcats had a solid showing at the Raptor Rumble on Saturday at Rocktown High School.
RC scored 85.5 points, finishing one spot behind district rival Waynesboro (eighth, 106) and a place ahead of Madison County (10th, 61).
Turner Ashby won the tournament with 230.5 points, while First Colonial (211) placed second, and Fauquier (195.5) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Broadway (165) and Rocktown (150).
Assessing his team’s performance, RC head coach Mike Wood said, “I’m pretty happy overall because we’re predominantly freshmen and sophomores.”
The Wildcats’ top individual showing came from sophomore Harvey Presnell, who placed third at 165-pounds. Presnell advanced to the semifinals before falling to First Colonial’s Remy Garcia in a 4-2 decision. In the consolation bracket, Presnell defeated Turner Ashby’s Walter Rhodes 5-2 before beating Fauquier’s Samuel Keys in a 17-2 technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) in 4:05 in the third-place bout.
RC’s lone senior competing, Markus Nelson, placed fourth at 157-pounds. Also earning medals for the Wildcats were sophomores Davis Welsh (fifth, 126), Shayde Tomlin (fifth, 175) and Cole Fine (sixth, 120) and junior John Clements (sixth, 150).
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will play host for their only home meet of the season, starting at 6 p.m. Their opponents in the tri-meet will be district rivals Buffalo Gap and Staunton. Before the duals, the Wildcats will honor their three seniors: Nelson, Graham Niebur and Carlos Reynolds.
On Saturday, the Wildcats will travel to Strasburg to compete in six duals, starting at 10 a.m.
Shorter First At Draft
RC’s female wrestler, sophomore Tasha Shorter, took first place for the third time this season on Saturday at the Tough Girls Wrestling Tournament at Stuarts Draft.
Shorter won both of her matches at 152-pounds. She pinned Heritage’s Jenesis Huffman in 1:02 and then pinned Appomattox’s Ella Quarles, a ranked opponent, in 5:51.
Pleased by Shorter’s progress, RC assistant coach Kage Tomlin said, “I think Tasha’s constantly improving with each tournament she goes through… She’s doing more than what’s required of her at practice on her own to become a better wrestler.”
On Saturday, Shorter will compete in a tournament against other girls in Orange County.
