Photo courtesy of JRHS wrestling
Hidden Valley High School will be the site of the annual “Titan Toughman” wrestling tournament this weekend and both Lord Botetourt and James River are included. The tournament includes most of the high school teams in the greater Roanoke Valley area.
This will be the second event for both Botetourt County teams. LB opened with a duals affair at Wilson Memorial last Saturday and went 2-1. The Cavaliers defeated Wilson Memorial, 48-33, and Western Albemarle, 43-30, but lost to annual Class 2 state contender Strasburg, 44-36.
“We had to give up 12 points on average all day with forfeits, but once we get our full lineup together I think we’re gonna be just fine,” said LB coach Chuck Burton, who is still tweaking the lineup with boys who joined the team after football season.
“Several kids got their first ever wins and almost every single kid we took got a match in on the day,” said Burton. “That’s what you look for in an opening weekend, get everyone some mat time and give your kids a chance to compete. Most have been in the room since November 7, so they were chomping at the bit.”
The James River wrestling team kicked off the season with a road trip to the Blues Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista. That was a 13-team individual tournament that covered Friday and Saturday.
River came away with a fourth place finish as a team behind team champion Heritage, runner-up Fort Defiance and third place Glenvar. The Knights crowned one champion, three runners-up, one fourth place finisher, three fifth place finishers and three sixth place finishers. Xaiden Wynn won the 106-pound class and also making the finals were Brayden Forbes at 113, Josiah Merchant at 132 and Jayden Delp at 132-B.
“We had a surprisingly good weekendperformance,” said coach River coach Bobby Stewart. “My coaching staff and I are very pleased and saw some very promising futures individually and for the team. Our team is comprised of two seniors who have never wrestled before, two returning sophomores who were state placers and 17 freshmen with limited to no experience. To finish with a fourth place team finish was a great performance.”
