With a large portion of their regular season behind them, the Pulaski County High School wrestling team still has several big dates coming up as they continue to prepare for a post-season run toward the region and state meets.
“Our athletes have been working hard and putting in the time to make sure they are physically and mentally ready for what’s coming up,” Cougar Head Coach Bobby Alger said. “Wrestling is unlike any other sport. When you’re on that mat, it’s you versus them. Nobody can do it for you. The coaches can coach and the fans can cheer, but it’s up to the wrestler on the mat to get the job done. Our wrestlers have shown consistent improvement and we’re proud of what they’re doing out there.”
The Cougars have recently competed in several meet, including the 49th Annual Harrisonburg Invitational and the Battle at the Bridge at Woodbridge High School. In addition to those tournaments, two wrestlers also competed in the Mills Godwin Girls Holiday Classic, Culpeper All-Girls Invitational, and the inaugural Best of the East Girls Tournament.
Junior Xavier Ramsey has been a solid performer for the Cougars. At the Harrisonburg meet, he finished in first place with a pinfall and major decision win to get to the championship match. In that match, he pinned Eli Croushorn of Culpeper to take the gold. At the Battle at the Bridge, Ramsey pinned his first opponent, but lost to Eric Ludwig of Atlee in a 9-4 decision. He fell in the consolation round by a medical forfeit.
Senior Co-Captain Gavin Warner has also shown his skills this season. At the Harrisonburg meet, Warner finished in second place, winning his first three matches all by pinfall. In the championship match, he was pinned by undefeated Jake Yowell of Riverheads.
Freshman Braydon Fowlkes may be young, but he has shown consistent improvement. At Battle at the Bridge he dropped his first match, but rebounded to win a 6-4 decision over Daniel Barnett of Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School. In the consolation round, he fell in a 10-4 decision to Mahammad Aboghoush of Potomac Senior.
Senior Co-Captain Nicholaus Golden is another team leader who has been with the program for years. At Harrisonburg, Golden dropped his first match by pinfall, but rebounded to win three decisions in a row to reach the consolation semi-finals. Unfortunately, he dropped a 6-4 decision to Jesse Miller of Broadway. At the Battle at the Bridge, he started with a win by major decision, but fell in his second match by pinfall. He defeated Carlos Garcia of Osbourn in a 4-2 decision to advance, but dropped an 8-4 decision in the consolation round.
Senior Kolton Knowles is another Cougar who has shown steady improvement this season. At Harrisonburg he dropped two matches by pinfall. He earned a taste of success at the Battle at the Bridge, pinning George Well of West Potomac in the consolation round before being pinned by Owen Exner of Battlefield.
Junior Austin McNeil has continued to push himself and is now beginning to see the results. At Harrisonburg he made it to the third-place match thanks to three pinfalls. He was pinned in the third-place match by Kristian Hearn of East Rockingham. At the Battle at the Bridge, he made it to the consolation round three before being pinned by Sidik Jah of Spotsylvania.
Senior Molly Keller has found herself in a very good position this season. After years of finding herself competing against mostly male wrestlers, the Virginia High School League has finally started an all-girls bracket this season. With those seasons of tough experience and a serious dedication to her sport under her belt, Keller has found herself as the number one ranked wrestler in the state in the 136-pound division. At Culpeper, Keller made short work of three straight wrestlers to take first-place. Her longest match was just over one minute. At the Mills Godwin Girls Holiday Classic, she pinned her first two opponents quickly and won a 6-0 decision over Sophie Mazhari of Marshall to win the gold.
Sophomore Carston Hall is also learning quickly and started to get noticed. At Harrisonburg finished 1-2 before being pinned by Homer Doughty of Turner Ashby. At Battle at the Bridge, he lost by pinfall in the consolation rounds to Anthony Aguilar of Gar-Field.
Freshman Ria Eubanks, a first-year wrestler, has made great improvements since the beginning of the season. Like Keller, Eubanks traveled to the two all-girl tournaments along with her normal wrestling schedule with the team. At Culpeper, she took on two very accomplished wrestlers, falling by a major decision to Kaylee Justead of Louisa and by a 10-4 decision to Carolyn Brown of Freedom. At the Mills Goodwin Holiday Classic, Eubanks made it to the fifth-place match before falling by major decision to Emiley Harris of Staunton River.
Freshman Damien Ledbetter is another young talent that will see success in the future. At Harrisonburg he was unable to compete, but things picked up at Battle at the Bridge. Ledbetter made it to the consolation rounds before being pinned by Bobby Shea of Yorktown.
Senior Co-Captain Evan Alger has continued to be a force for the Cougars. He finished third at Harrisonburg after a costly mistake against 12-1 Cash Colbert of Paul VI. Alger finished the day with two pinfalls to take third. At Battle of the Bridge, he finished sixth after an injury forced him to default his final two matches. Alger recently earned his 100th career win in front of a home crowd during a quad match at the Cougar Den.
Sophomore Shawn Head has added a few wins to his record and also continues to improve. At Harrisonburg, he pinned Mason Flint of Riverheads before falling to Braden Holt by pinfall. He fell in the consolation rounds at Battle at the Bridge by pinfall to Marcos Bocanegra of Woodbridge.
Junior Jeffrey Eubanks has put together a record of 6-8 coming out of the Battle at the Bridge. In his matches there, he fell to Jackson Hernandez of Forest Park by pinfall and Michael Freeman of West Potomac in an 18-12 decision.
Junior Thomas Head is another young talent that will continue to grow. At Harrisonburg he fell in the second round of the consolation matches to Joel Whitecotton of Fort Defiance by pinfall. At Woodbridge, his day ended by pinfall against Bradley Tapp of Kettle Run.
“I’m pleased with our work ethic and performance,” Coach Alger said. “We’ve had quite a few individual wins and I continue to see improvement. We’ve been shorthanded all season, and at some tournaments it was worse due to injuries or illness. Seeing Evan get to earn his 100th win in front of a home crowd with friends and family there. When you consider that his sophomore year was the Covid year and we only got to wrestle about a third of our normal matches, that makes hitting 100 an even bigger deal.”
“The future of the program looks bright,” he said. “Our middle school team showed a ton of improvement and the numbers were up. Some of our wrestlers have been willing to wrestle above their weight class several times and that’s just going to make them better moving forward. The region meet is coming soon. We hope to see several wrestlers advance to the state level again this season. We’re proud of the work they’ve put in to get to this point and are excited to see how everything plays out.”
The Cougars will host their final home meet of the season Wednesday, January 11, against Radford and Carroll County. It will also be senior night. January 13 and 14, the Cougars will travel to Virginia High School. Tuesday, January 17, they’ll be in a quad match at Cave Spring High School. Saturday, January 28, is the final scheduled regular season match at Grayson County. The Class 4, Region D tournament is set for Saturday, February 4, at Orange County High School.