Blues Place 16th Of 26 Teams In William Byrd Tournament
For the second straight weekend, the Parry Mc-Cluer High School wrestling team participated in a big, prestigious tournament, and for the second straight weekend, the Blues brought home a secondplace medal. This time, however, that medal had company.
Brody Julian, wrestling at 126 pounds, finished in second place at William Byrd High School’s Big Orange tournament held on Friday and Saturday in Vinton. Unlike the previous weekend’s tournament, however, Julian was joined by another PM medal winner, as heavyweight Timber Thomas placed fifth at 285-pounds.
“I think we wrestled pretty good this weekend,” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “We won some really big matches. We’re starting to turn the corner a little bit, I believe.”
As a team, the Blues had four wrestlers win at least three matches at the 26team tournament, scoring 66 points to finish in 16th place. Independence High School, out of West Virginia, won the team title
, page A10 with an even 200 points, while Salem placed second at 193. Host William Byrd (170.5), Lord Botetourt (161) and Blacksburg (152.5) rounded out the top five.
Julian reached the championship bout against Independence’s Tyler Varney with three wins, including a thriller in the semifinals. In the title tilt, Julian and Varney battled to a scoreless draw after the first period, but Varney scored a takedown and a two-point near fall in the second and held on for a 9-3 decision to take the title.
The PM sophomore, who now boasts a 17-4 record, won his first two bouts and then, in the semifinals, took a 6-1 lead over Lord Botetourt’s James Dean after the first two minutes. The back-and-forth match saw Julian clinging to an 11-10 advantage heading into the third period. Julian scored a takedown in that stanza and advanced to the finals with a 14-10 victory.
“Brody was a little disappointed he got beat in the finals,” said Brockenbrough. “But that match in the semifinals is the kind of match you want. Last year, we were hoping to get to second days of tournaments and make it out of the blood round to medal. This year, the expectation is to make it to the finals every time.”
At 285, Thomas lost his first match of the tournament, falling to Landon Hairston of Bassett, 3-1. He then battled back with four wins in the consolation bracket to earn his fifth-place finish. In the fifth-place bout, Thomas held off Liberty Christian Academy’s Masen Vockrodt, 4-1.
“He wrestled five times on Saturday,” Brockenbrough explained. “He wrestled almost 30 minutes of wrestling Saturday, having to win four matches. The mindset is us against everybody. He was ready to roll.”
PM’s Isaiah Gilbert (132) and Lucas Ramsey (144) both won three matches at the tournament but finished just out of medal contention. At 138, Jordan Brockenbrough finished with a 2-2 record.
“This was our last two-day tournament, and this is a milestone for some of them,” the coach continued. “Some of them were discouraged, but they understand the process. You have to get through January and some of these grueling tournaments to be ready to wrestle kids who haven’t prepared themselves the way we have.”
The Blues will return to action tonight, Wednesday, when they entertain their only Pioneer District foe, Bath County, on Little League night in Buena Vista. Wrestling will feature the little league club team and the middle school squad alongside the varsity Blues and is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Next Tuesday, the Blues will play host to Riverheads and Rural Retreat for their final home competition of the season, starting at 6 p.m.
