Prep wrestling: Patriots poised to make some noise at State Duals
· Yahoo Sports
Independence went into the WSAZ Invitational as the state’s seventh-ranked team in Division 2. Head coach Cliff Warden used that to motivate the team going into the difficult and prestigious tournament.
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“I told our guys, ‘Hey, five of the six teams that's in front of you guys, you’ve got a chance to beat and we’ve got a chance to plant our name on the map to win a state title,’” the veteran coach said.
The only team the Patriots couldn’t overcome was state No. 1 Ripley, and that race came down to the final weight. Indy’s Landon Burleson won the third-place match at 215 pounds to put the Patriots on top, but Ripley’s Carter Neal won the championship at 285 to give the Vikings a three-point win for the Division 2 title.
They were ninth and tenth overall, respectively. Still, the Patriots finished ahead of state No. 3 Herbert Hoover, No. 2 Williamstown, No. 6 East Fairmont and No. 5 Point Pleasant, in that order.
The only team in the top six the Patriots didn’t get a chance at was No. 4 Keyser.
Ironically, they’ll get that shot on Friday.
Independence will face the Golden Tornado in the quarterfinal round of the West Virginia Dual Team State Championships. The seventh annual event will begin at noon at the State Fairgrounds in Fairlea.
Independence is the runner-up out of Region 3 and Keyser the champion from Region 2.
In the other quarterfinal matchups, Region 1 champ Williamstown will face Region 4 runner-up Point Pleasant, Region 3 winner Herbert Hoover will go up against Region 2 runner-up Moorefield and Region 3 champion Ripley will take on Region 1 runner-up Oak Glen.
All eight teams will wrestle three matches. In addition to a championship match, there will also be third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches.
In addition to Burleson, the Patriots had three other place winners at the WSAZ Invitational: Hunter Whittaker (fourth, 150), Tyson McGinnis (seventh, 175) and Brayden Hart (third, 190).
“That tournament's gotten really hard, so walking out of there with three or four champions is darn near impossible unless you’ve really got some hammers,” Warden said. “Burleson and Hart, for sure, finishing third, those were highlights of it. Even guys that didn't place, going out and scoring their six or eight points, that was valuable.”
In past years, Warden said the Patriots were not a good duals team. That may not be the case this time around.
“We're probably a better duals team this year than we have been, just because we're a year older,” Warden said. “And you think about it, (Independence transfers) Jesse Adams won (175) for (Parkersburg) South and Landon Dunlap placed eighth (at 165) for Oak Hill. Those are two place winners, but we've filled those spots with young guys. And B Hart was third at 190 and Tyson McGinnis placed at 175. So, I mean sure, you miss those guys a little bit, but we’re all right.”
Before the start of Friday’s quarterfinals, Nick Hylton will serve as guest speaker for all the participating wrestlers. Hylton, a graduate of Liberty High School, was a two-time undefeated state champion who later went on to win a NCWA National Championship at Navy Prep.
Every senior wrestler competing this weekend will receive a commemorative medallion that will grant them free admission to the State Duals for life. That’s in addition to the Archer Award presented to the winning coach in each division, which started last year.
WVRC 104.7 will be streaming the matches from all four mats live.