State Title in Reach For 6 Local Wrestlers
Wheeling Park sits in fourth place in team standings
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HUNTINGTON -- Six northern panhandle wrestlers advanced to the semifinals of the 74th annual West Virginia Class AAA state tournament Monday inside Mountain Health Arena.
All but one of those individuals wear the Red-and-Blue singlets of Wheeling Park, while John Marshall has one. The Patriots also have three alive in the consolation bracket, while the Monarchs have a pair and Brooke one.
Action resumed at 10 a.m. today with championship semifinals and third-round consolation bouts.
Consolation semifinals and matches for third- and fifth-places will complete the morning session. The 14 championship finals will be contested at 6:30 p.m.
Wheeling Park's semifinalists include senior Stevie Mitchell (152), sophomore Adam Angel (170), junior Hunter Nixon (182), sophomore Erick Brothers (220) and senior Charlie Tamburin (285).
John Marshall sophomore Ethan Cook (106) is also a semifinalist. He was a Region I winner.
"We're excited for Ethan to be in the semis. He's looked really good so far," John Marshall coach Ryan Asbury said.
"I'm excited to see what he can do."
Cook (13-2) collected a pair of quick pins in advancing. He will face defending state champion Brady Roberts (20-1) of Parkersburg South.
After a slow start, Wheeling Park finished strong.
"We got off to a rough start. We lost a couple of matches that we could've won, but those guys are bouncing back," Wheeling Park coach Brian Leggett said. "We're clawing our way back into it."
The Patriots, who weren't even on the leader board for most of the morning session, sit in fourth place with 69.5 points, just a half-point behind St. Albans. Six-time defending Parkersburg South has pulled away from Spring Mills, 119-92, for first place.
Brothers Jr., a defending state titlist at 182 who is now 19-1, had falls in 51 seconds and 1:10, while Tamburn, 15-1, flattened his foes in 22 ticks and 1:44. Mitchell is also 19-1 after a 16-1 technical fall and a 30-second fall. Nixon improved to 5-0 with a 16-1 technical fall and a 9-2 decision in which he tweaked his left ankle early on, but gutted it out.
Tamburin and Mitchell were runnersup a season ago, while Nixon sat out with an injury after taking third as a freshman.
Angel, now 17-4, was a third-placer at the Region I Tournament. He has surprised Leggett with his performances, which include a pin of Region II champion Chase Herndon of Spring Mills. Angel was sixth a year ago.
"Adam has wrestled the best he has all season," Leggett said. "He's battled and battled. He hasn't had many matches this season, but he's making the most of his trip here."
After losing to Roberts, 11-5, Adam Carman recorded a pin in 1:49 and earned a 4-0 decision.
"We knew it would be a tough road for Adam as a fourth-place finisher in the regional. We know how tough he is and he's showing it in the consolation rounds. I look for him to get a couple more wins," Leggett said.
When asked if there's any pressure on Carman due to his court battles prior to the tournament, Leggett said, "You would think there's a lot of pressure on him, but if you knew him, he's just happy to be out there wrestling."
Also alive are junior Nate Shelek (132) and sophomore Quinton Velas (138). Shelek was a state champ as a freshman and placed third last season.
Brooke's Braydon Demaria (120) won two matches -- on in each bracket -- to remain alive.
"One thing about Braydon is he's been our constant," Brooke coach Doug Sizemore said of his Region I champ. "I'm glad he's got an opportunity to wrestle for a spot on the podium.
"The rest of our qualifiers were young kids … inexperienced at this level,. The bright lights got a little too bright for them, but I'm happy where we are as a program. The foundation has been laid."
Remaining alive in the consolation bracket for John Marshall are senior Matthew Tschappat (113) and junior Ben McCardle (170).