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First All-Valley Wrestling Team Unveiled

Photo by Kim North The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register’s inaugural All-Valley Wrestling Team includes nine members who finished as either state champions or state runnersup this past season. They are, front row from left, Peyton Hall and Robert Bozek, Oak Glen. Back row, are Wheeling Park’s Austin Loew; Madonna’s Alec Cook; and Shadyside’s Greg Quinn. Not pictured are Weir’s Caleb Rea, Magnolia’s Caleb Nice, Linsly’s Gage Giovengo and Beaver Local’ s Cole McComas.

WHEELING — High school wrestling has been a staple of the Ohio Valley winter sports landscape for many years.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association recently held its 80th annual state tournament, while the W.Va. Secondary Schools Activities Commission celebrated its 70th state tournament two weeks earlier. The OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament will turn 65 next January.

Today, The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register unveils its inaugural All-Valley Wrestling Team. The talented squad is broken down into first team, second team and special mention and is comprised of 32 individuals whom proudly represent 14 high schools from all over the Ohio Valley.

ROBERT BOZEK, Oak Glen

This senior sensation concluded his Golden Bears career as a three-time W.Va. Class A/AA state champion, ruling the 138-pound weight division this winter. He finished 42-8 this season, with 24 wins by pins. He was an OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament titleist, as well as a Class AAA Region One kingpin.

In his four years, he set a new school record for victories with 152.

“Robert has had one of the most successful careers in Oak Glen wrestling history. He captured his third state title and his first OVAC title this season. I was happy to see him achieve all of his goals, especially breaking the career win record,” Oak Glen coach Patrick McGillian said.

“Robert has been the ideal captain, teammate, and competitor for our program. We will miss having him around next season but I hope the returning wrestlers have learned from what he has done here at Oak Glen.”

Bozek serves as the captain of the All-Valley team.

CALEB REA, Weir

Just a junior, this Red Riders standout put a bow on a fantastic 43-1 season by winning the W.Va. 126-pound Class A/AA state championship. In doing so, he posted a repeat win over East Fairmont’s Brock Whorton, whom he defeated a week before in the regionals.

His lone reversal came to Parkersburg South’s two-time Class AAA state champion Luke Martin in the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament finals. He returned the favor a week later in the Brooke Classic.

Rea is a sparkling 120-8 heading into his senior campaign. He was 38-5 as a freshman and 39-2 as a sophomore.

“Caleb is the hardest working wrestler I have coached in my 30-year career. He is absolutely dedicated to this sport of wrestling,” Weir coach Tom Taylor said. “He dedicates himself to the preparation for wrestling, both in a general way and specifically for each opponent. We expect great things out of Caleb in the future.”

Rea, who was third at 120 in W.Va. and fifth in the OVAC as a sophomore, won his first three bouts at the Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach before falling to the eventual runnerup.

PEYTON HALL, Oak Glen

Only a freshman, he has already distinguished himself as one of the best flyweights around. Not only did he win the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament 120-pound weight class in January, he posted a convincing major decision over a defending champion which earned him the Bierkortte Award, which is symbolic of the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

He capped his stellar campaign by winning the W.Va. Class A/AA 120-pound championship to finish 43-3. Thirty-one of those victories came by pinfalls. He also won the Cameron Alumni Tournament and University Superior Photo Invitational.

A year-round-wrestler, Hall captured the National High School Coaches Association Freshman National Championships late last month in Virginia Beach, Va. He won seven matches during the event and beat a state champion from North Carolina in the quarterfinals. He then pinned an Ohio Division I state runnerup from Lakewood St. Edward in the semifinals before blanking California’s Chase Saldate, 5-0, in the finals.

“Peyton is the most intense wrestler I’ve ever coached. He does an awesome job of applying pressure, moving from one move to the next and forces opponents to wrestle his style,” McGillian said.

“Peyton stepped up in the biggest of moments this year to claim OVAC, State, and Freshman Nationals Championships. We are all very excited to see what the future has in store for him.”

CALEB NICE, Magnolia

A senior for the Blue Eagles, Nice finally got over the hump in Huntington by winning the W.Va. Class A/AA state championship at 195 pounds. In doing so, he was voted the Class A Wrestler of the Year by tournament coaches while finishing 44-3. He was 154-10 in his career.

He also won the W.Va. Class “A” Challenge, the Class A/AA Region One Tournament, the Tyler Consolidated Larry Richie Memorial Tournament and the Cameron Alumni Tournament, where he was named the MOW. He was second at the Brooke Classic and took third at the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament.

Nice is a four-time OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament placewinner. He was champion in 2016 at 220 and third as a freshman at 182. He also finished fifth at 182 as a sophomore. He is also a four-time Region One A/AA champion and placed four times in the state tournament. He was third in 2016, sixth in 2015 and fourth in 2014.

“Caleb has etched his name in Magnolia School history as being the most decorated wrestler in school history. Caleb was both feared and respected throughout his wrestling career,” Magnolia coach Eric McKeever said. “He dominated his weight classes year-in and year-out. He won over 150 wrestling matches in his career with well over 100 of them coming by pin fall. Caleb will continue his wrestling at the college level next year, as he is still undecided on what school he will attend.”

GAGE GIOVENGO, Linsly

This Cadets senior captured the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament heavyweight title despite weighing a little more than 200 pounds.

He finished his career with 108 wins and 81 of those came via pins.

“Gage was a true joy to coach,” Linsly coach Brian Valentine said. “He’s a true competitor and that showed when he decided to compete at 285 instead of 220.”

Giovengo qualified for the National Prep School Tournament where he won his first two matches.

GREG QUINN, Shadyside

This Tigers’ senior, who competed at 120 this season before dropping to 113 for the postseason, scripted a four-year career for the Orange and Black unlike any other in program history. He established a school-record for wins with 192 against just 13 setbacks. He was a two-time Division III state runnerup his junior and senior seasons when he went 56-1 and 50-2, respectively. Of his school-best 192 victories, 118 came via pin. On the flip side, he was only pinned three times in his career.

He finished as Shadyside’s only four-time state placer. He was sixth as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore. He was also a three-time district champion and four-time sectional titleist. He won the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament as a junior and was a three-time finalist.

“Greg had an outstanding career for us,” Shadyside coach Sean Grinch said. “He might not have won a state championship, but he did a lot of good things for this program. He was one of our leaders for four years.”

Quinn, who recorded a first-period pin in the recent OVAC-MAC Clash of Champions, placed seventh at the FloNationals last weekend in Indiana, Pa. He went 7-2 over the two day event while earning All-American status.

AUSTIN LOEW, Wheeling Park

This Patriots junior came on strong when it counted at the end of the season. He finished as a state runnerup at 195, losing to four-time titleist Justin Allman of Parkersburg South.

Loew finished this season 34-14 and is 72-29 for his career.

“Austin was injured midway through each of his last two seasons which has sidelined him for a lot of his career. To have him stay healthy all year and see how much better he performed as the year went on was fun to watch,” Wheeling Park coach Clay Tucker said. “You can speak to any wrestling or football coach up here and they will all pretty much say the same thing, he’s a really tough kid, and an extremely hard worker.

“He won a lot of matches towards the end of the year by being very physical and in great shape, just wearing down opponents which got him in the state finals this year. I’m very excited to watch him play football and pick up where we left off next year for his senior season.”

ALEC COOK, Madonna

This Blue Dons’ sophomore finished the season 49-7 as a Class A/AA state runnerup at 132 pounds. He won the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament with a 3-2 nod over Shadyside’s Josh Kahl.

“Alec works constantly. He means a lot to our program,” veteran Madonna coach Ray Pernell said. “His work ethic is outstanding. Him and his dad wrestle six days a week, and during our season they worked out on Sunday’s.

“Alec is a good kid and knows what he wants.”

COLE McCOMAS, Beaver Local

Just a freshman, he surprised some people by making the Division II state finals at 106 pounds. He dropped a 12-6 decision to Cuyahoga Falls CVCA’s Jacob Decatur.

McComas, who finished the season a sparkling 47-2, was an OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament champion. His other reversal came to Genoa Area sophomore Oscar Sanchez, who won the D-III 106 crown.

“We know where we’re at right now,” his brother and coach, Johnny, said. “We’ll get back in the (wrestling) room and start working for next year.”

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