The Lord Botetourt wrestlers were in Fishersville last weekend for the “Hornet Quad” at Wilson Memorial High School and the Cavaliers went up against some strong competition to open the season.
LB dropped the first match to defending Class 2 state champion Strasburg High, 52-24. The Cavs then won their second match against host Wilson Memorial, 54-30, and took the third match against Western Albemarle, 48-20.
“The match against Strasburg is a great measuring stick, first thing in the season,” said first year LB head coach Paul Craft. “It lets us know where we’re at against an elite program. We also got good looks at Class 3 Wilson Memorial and Class 3 Western Albemarle, so we know what to expect if we run into them in the state tournament. We still have three starters out due to the weight control program but we should have them in the lineup this Friday as we kickoff the two day Titan Toughman.”
Individually, 157-pound junior Cooper Roberts, 165-pound senior TJ Piluso, 190-pound sophomore Aaden Thomas and sophomore heavyweight Gabe Glenn all went 3-0 on the day. LB’s “Unsung Hero” from Saturday was Ty Hensley, a junior at 215.
“Ty weighed in at 187 pounds but we bumped him to 215,” said Craft. “He never complained once. He knew it was best for our team. He had some success on Saturday. The kid is a workhorse in practice.”
This weekend the Cavaliers will wrestle in the annual Titan Toughman tournament at Hidden Valley High School. It begins at 2 p.m. Friday and picks back up at 10 a.m. Saturday to conclusion.
“Since the season started we have really pushed conditioning and wrestling aggressively,” said Craft. “It was apparent to anyone watching that we were in better shape than our opponents. Not the wrestling shape we want to be in yet but we’re on our way. We’re not as aggressive yet as I’d like us to be, but it’s a good start. There was a lot of blood time on Saturday and we weren’t on the receiving end of it.”
