The wrestling team with one of the smallest contingents made some big noise at the Class 1B/1C Super Regional on Saturday at Bath County High School.
With only five grapplers competing, tied for the lowest number among the 12 teams at the tournament, Parry McCluer High School’s wrestling squad sent all five to the medal stand, one to the top of the podium and, maybe more importantly, four to this weekend’s Class 1 state tournament.
“We put a good check mark on the season after [Saturday],” said PM head coach Jeremiah Brockenbrough. “We showed up. To get everyone to the semifinals was pretty exciting.”
“Every one of our wrestlers earned their spots; they weren’t given anything,” Brockenbrough continued. “They showed up and worked hard every day.”
Led by 126-pound sophomore Brody Julian, who left Hot Springs with his second straight regional title, the Blues had four wrestlers earn spots in the state tournament by finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes. Junior Jordan Brockenbrough placed second at 138, sophomore Timber Thomas finished third in the 285-pound/heavyweight division, and freshman Isaiah Gilbert took fourth at 132. Freshman Lucas Ramsey will serve as the state alternate at 144 after placing fifth.
As a team, the Blues tallied 86 points to finish eighth of 12 teams. Riverheads, with five weight class champions and 13 medal winners, took the team title with 243 points. Grayson County was a distant second with 206.5 points, followed by host Bath County (129), Fort Chiswell (119.5) and Giles (115) to round out the top five.
Julian’s championship bout was a thriller. He fell behind Fort Chiswell’s Jeramia Caviness, the top seed in the bracket, 3-0 after the first period. In the second, however, Julian managed an escape and a takedown, earning the first-place medal with a pin in 3:37.
“We knew if we could keep it close, we’d get our opportunity,” noted Coach Brockenbrough. “We went through a couple of flurries, and when Brody took off and got him on his back, it was done. Good for him. We had been through two big tournaments, and he finished in second place; it was time for him to win a tournament.”
Julian had little trouble reaching the finals. He opened his tournament with a pin of Bath County’s Zach Bryant in 1:28 and scored a 15-5 major decision over Peter Lignos of Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy in the semifinals. Julian enters the state championships with a 22-5 overall record.
Jordan Brockenbrough also made his way to the championship match Saturday. He first scored a technical fall (lead of 15 points or more) over Dominic Jones of Giles before pinning Isaac Fountaine of Riverheads 1:34 into the semifinal match. Brockenbrough, now 18-10 on the season, ran into a buzz saw in the finals, however, falling by technical fall to SMLCA’s Grant Gardner.
“We were a little flat,” the PM coach said of the finals match at 138-pounds. “It was a good tournament for him. He came in as the two seed. He worked hard to get there and scored some good bonus points for the team.”
With a pin of Aiden Anderson of Galax in just 41 seconds, Thomas reached the championship semifinals, where he was pinned by Bath County’s Tyler Shaver in 3:20. Thomas battled his way through the consolation round, however, scoring a 9-0 decision over Jaxson Smith of Giles and edging Mason Flint of Riverheads, 2-1, scoring a pair of escapes in the final two periods, to take third place and improve his record to 19-11.
“He was pretty heartbroken after losing in the semifinals,” Coach Brockenbrough noted of Thomas. “He did everything right. He shook off the disappointment, and I couldn’t be more happy for him.”
Sporting a 16-14 record this year, Gilbert finished fourth to earn his state tournament berth. After losing to Grayson County’s Caleb Thompson, who went on to win the title, Gilbert defeated Harris Ellis of Bath County by technical fall before losing to Jack Hughes of Fort Chiswell by fall in 3:30 the third-place match.
“He had a great tournament,” Coach Brockenbrough said of Gilbert. “He [unfortunately] ran into the kid who was going to win the state in the semifinals… I think he is possibly top five in his weight class this year.”
Ramsey also reached the semifinals by defeating Parker Eversole of Fort Chiswell by fall in 1:07. Back-to-back setbacks placed Ramsey in the fifth-place match, where he scored a 6-1 decision over Lucas Cox from SMLCA. Ramsey completed his freshman campaign with a 12-16 record and will serve as an alternate should one of the state qualifiers be unable to compete.
The state tournament is slated to take place this Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center, with wrestling at 10 a.m. on Friday and at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. At last year’s state tournament, with several wrestlers competing, the Blues placed eighth of 28 teams.
“I think everybody we’ve got going [to the state tournament] is going to medal,” Coach Brockenbrough predicted. “We’ve got to have a really good week of practice and stay focused. We have to be driven, and we have to make sure that every day we’re in that room we’re pushing each other. Our ultimate goal is to put everyone on that podium.”
This story will also appear in our Feb. 18 newspaper.
