The PCHS wrestling team came out of a nearly two week layoff from competition and performed better than expected last weekend at the Crooked Road Duals at Grayson County High School.
The event featured 10 teams from around Southwest Virginia, including Patrick Henry-Glade Springs, Galax, Radford, and George Wythe. The Cougars competed in Pool B with these teams.
The Cougars and Galax each finished the day 3-1, but Galax earned a head-to-head win against Pulaski County to claim first place and leave the Cougars in second.
Once the Pool events were complete, teams were cross bracketed. The Cougars faced off with Chilhowie, the second-place team in Pool A. For the second time this season, the Cougars found themselves in a tie breaker situation with the final score tied at 42-42. Similar to when the situation occurred against the Radford Bobcats earlier in the season, the Cougars were edged out on the tie breaker criteria, leaving the Cougars in fourth place overall for the tournament.
“We wrestled well today, some of the best wrestling we have done all season,” Cougar Head Coach Bobby Alger said. “It's been nearly two weeks since our last competition, and I think the uninterrupted time in the room has really paid off. This is a great time of the season to be peaking since we are competing in the region championships next week.”
The Cougars started the day against PH-Glade Springs. Xavier Ramsey pinned Braeden Nichols to start things off. Gavin Warner won a technical fall 17-1 against Hunter Jones. Nicholaus Golden pinned Ben Hahn. Molly Keller suffered a rare loss by pinfall to Jacob Olinger. Austin McNeil pinned Jacob Stillwell. Evan Alger pinned Ronald Horner. Thomas Head was pinned by Gavin Burke. The final score for the match was Pulaski County 47, PH-Glade Springs 18.
Next up was the Galax Maroon Tide. The Cougars fell as a team by a final score of 35-42. Golden won a 17-1 tech fall over Brian Davis. Kolton Knowles was pinned by Edward Morales. Austin McNeal pinned Ayden Stiltner. Carson Hall pinned Lance Tate. Patricia Eubanks was pinned by Gavin Crouse. Damien Ledbetter was pinned by Nester Camaro. Alger pinned David Espinoza. Shawn Head was pinned by Austin Ashworth. Thomas Head was pinned by Riley Jo Vaught.
A rematch with Radford was up next for the Cougars. Unlike the previous meeting between the two teams, the Cougars had Alger ready to take the mat. The end result was a Cougar win, 36-33. Warner pinned Darren Buckland. Keller pinned Jacob Lewis. McNeil pinned Jackson Gilbert. Hall was pinned by Taven Martin. Eubanks lost a 4-10 decision to Margaret Page. Ledbetter was pinned by Lance Duncan. Alger pinned Charlie Davis. Thomas Head was pinned by Zeb Martin. Ramsey earned another pinfall win over Kathryn Price.
Next up was George Wythe. The Cougars defeated the Maroons 36-27 overall. Golden lost a 2-7 decision to Sam Mello. Knowles was pinned by Zane Perkins. Hall was pinned by Tyler Horton. Eubanks was pinned by Logan Ward. Ledbetter was pinned by Trey Sparks. Ramsey pinned Daelo Hall for his fourth win of the day. Warner pinned Logan Ward to close things out.
In their final matchups, the Cougars fell in the tie breaker criteria after finishing with a 42-42 score after all the matches. McNeal pinned Edgar Bal. Eubanks fell to Chris George. Ledbetter was pinned by Jordan Crisanto. Alger pinned Isaiah Dancy. Shawn Head was pinned by Doss Ethan. Thomas head was pinned by Nate Hahn. Ramsey pinned Jaxson Guinn. Warner pinned Aaliyah Johnson. Golden pinned Kevin Shumate to end the event.
“We’re excited to head into the post season and we’re looking forward to some great competition,” Coach Alger said. “We think we have some wrestlers that have come a long way this season. Last year we had a few make a run at the state meet but came up short. We’re hoping to go further this year.”
The Cougars will now compete in the Class 4, Region D meet at Orange High School. That meet was to take place Saturday, February 4. Those who finish high enough at the region meet will travel to the State meet Friday, February 17, at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. The finals of that meet will be Saturday, February 18.