The Lord Botetourt wrestlers took sixth place in the “Big Blue” wrestling tournament in Christiansburg last weekend.

The host Blue Demons easily won the tournament over a talented field, finishing 101 points ahead of second place Poquoson.

“Our kids wrestled well,” said LB coach Chuck Burton. “We’re still working to get back to full strength, so a sixth place team showing is pretty good considering we were without five scoring wrestlers.

Jake DuVall wrestled a great tournament and narrowly missed pinning and beating a two-time state champ in the 126-pound finals. DuVall had to settle for second, falling to Patrick McCormich of Poquoson in the championship. It was just the second loss of the season for Jake, who is 30-2.

Two Cavaliers took third places, Luke Young at 138 and Eric Reynolds at 220. Luke is now 24-3 after defeating Byrd’s Hunter Kemper in the consolation final. Reynolds is 27-6. He pinned Andy Smith of Christiansburg in the consolation final.

Ethan Young returned to action last week and took a fourth place at 132. Ethan went 4-2 in the tournament.

“Getting Ethan back on the mat felt really good,” said Burton. “He’s got a ways to go with his conditioning to get back into top form, but technically, he didn’t miss a beat.”

Others who placed for LB included Jesse Hanson with a fifth at 285, Jacob Booth with a sixth at 160 and Hunter Sell with an eighth place finish at 145.

Botetourt also hosted two Blue Ridge District schools for a Senior Night “Tri-Match” last week in Daleville. The Cavaliers beat Staunton River, 45-30, and Byrd, 57-12.

Tonight, the Cavaliers will play host to Northside in another district match. Then, it’s off to Vinton this weekend for the annual “Big Orange Classic.” Wrestling begins on Friday afternoon and continues through Saturday.

“I’m happy with where we are at,” said Burton. “I think our best wrestling is still yet to be done in February.”