For three Pulaski County Cougar wrestlers, the season lasted longer than it did for most. The two seniors and one junior earned a chance to compete at the Virginia High School League Class 4 State Championship in Virginia Beach, where they were able to compete in their respective weight classes.
“I’m very proud of all my wrestlers’ accomplishments, we made big strides this season,” Cougar Head Coach Bobby Alger said. “This was another bitter sweet weekend for me though. As much as I loved the trip, and what it was about, at the end of it all I watched two more seniors wrestle their last high school matches. I am proud of the fine men that Gavin and Evan have become, and I expect big things from them in their next step forward in life.”
While the Cougars had just three wrestlers in the State meet, they still put up respectable points.
“We placed 21 out of 46 as a team,” Coach Alger said. “There was only one team in the top 20 that only entered three wrestlers like us. The rest had more. Salem took 10 and we beat them in team points. They were 29th. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Junior Xavier Ramsey wrestled in the 113-pound division. He began the meet with a win by pinfall over Blake Deschamps of Patrick Henry-Ashland.
In his next match, Ramsey ran into a buzzsaw in the form of region champion Bryson Rios of Loudoun County. Ramsey went the distance with Rios, but fell by major decision 15-2. In the consolation rounds and competing for a chance at third place, Ramsey faced off with Blaine Reynolds of Smithfield High School.
Ramsey fell behind 2-0, then 4-0, and then 5-0 before gaining a point on an escape. The score moved to 7-1 before Ramsey hit a reverse to make it 3-7 and then moved the score to 5-7 just before the end of the first period. Ramsey tied the score at 7-7, but fell behind when he slipped up and allowed a reverse, putting him down 7-9. He got one point for an escape to make it 8-9 with just over 10 seconds remaining, but couldn't get another move in to tie it up before the end. Ramsey finished his junior season with an impressive 28-9 record.
Senior Gavin Warner had a tough draw from the start in the 126-pound bracket, facing 41-7 Ian Richey of Courtland High School in his opening match. Warner fell behind in the match, but was making a comeback when Richey made a move and was able to pin him.
Warner moved on to the consolation rounds, fighting for a shot at third place. He faced Spencer Moth of Jamestown High School and slowly built a lead. Working methodically, Warner built a 5-1 lead in the third period before pinning Moth with just 16 seconds remaining.
His third match of the day was huge, facing 36-5 Braden Henderson of Blacksburg High School. The match lasted the full three rounds, with Warner battling to the end, but the final result was a 10-1 loss by major decision. Warner ended his season with a record of 32-10.
The final Pulaski County wrestler was senior Evan Alger. After making earning a Region Championship last season and competing in the State meet, Alger was primed for a strong run. He started the day in the 190-pound bracket with a pinfall win over Seyvon Davis of Warhill High School halfway through the first period.
In his next matchup, Alger faced 47-6 Jasinto Ayala of Dominion High School. The match went three rounds, with Alger pulling out the 5-2 decision victory. That win advanced him to day two of the meet in the championship bracket.
Alger started day two with a take down, then earned a near fall to lead 4-0 at the end of the first period. He earned another take down at the start of the second period before pinning Se'Von McDowell of Dinwiddie High School with 1:31 remaining in the second period.
That win put Alger in the Championship match against undefeated Kingsley Menifee of Fauquier County. At the end of the first period, it was 2-4 with Alger trailing, but midway through the second period Evan sustained an injury to what appeared at first to be his knee, but was actually a hamstring issue. He recovered enough to continue briefly, but the injury limited him and became worse shortly after, forcing an end to the match due to injury default. Alger finished the meet in second place and with a season record of 35-5.
“Gavin and Xavier both had a win in the tournament, and represented Pulaski County very well,” Coach Alger said. “They have both contributed to moving our program forward and we’ll miss Gavin next season very much. We’ll also be very excited to see how Xavier performs next season as a senior.”
His comments about his other senior were made as both a coach and as a father.
“Of course, I’m very proud of Evan, both as his father and coach,” he said. “He’s worked for years, all of these guys have, to become the best wrestlers they could become. Evan has progressively moved ahead further in the post season every year, and found himself in the finals as a senior. Unfortunately, that match was cut short by injury. He really did have a heck of a tournament despite the final result. To the best of my knowledge, and with the feedback from prior coaches and wrestlers, Evan is only the third PCHS wrestler to ever make it to the finals of a state tournament, and the other two fell just short of the gold as well.”
With the season now over for most PCHS wrestlers, only two remain. Cougar senior Molly Keller and freshman Patricia “Ria” Eubanks will be competing in the first-ever Virginia High School League Girls State Wrestling Tournament beginning Friday, February 24, and continuing through Saturday, February 25, at Unity Reed High School in Manassas.
Keller wrestled mostly male opponents in the 138-pound division through the regular season, ending with a record of 21-9 against all opponents, male and female. She also holds a perfect 13-0 record against other female wrestlers. In all-girl events, she wrestles at 136 pounds.
Eubanks is relatively new to the sports as a freshman, but has shown significant improvement throughout this season. Coach Alger commented that despite being young, she has shown plenty of promise and it wouldn't be surprising to see her make some noise at the State Championship meet against other female wrestlers.