The Lord Botetourt wrestlers competed in the Old Dominion Cup wrestling tournament at Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg last Saturday and won two of five dual matches in a very strong field.
The Cavaliers lost their first match to Frank W. Cox High School, the two-time defending Class 5 state champions, 57-17. LB then bounced back to defeat Brooke Point, 39-34.
“That was a huge win for us,” said coach Paul Craft. “They placed third in 6A state last season.”
Botetourt had two wrestlers get injured in that match and had to forfeit those weight classes for the rest of the day. The Cavs beat King George, 39-30, but lost to Woodbridge, 50-18, and Powhatan, 46-36.
“We were already giving up one forfeit,” said Craft. “We lost to 4A Powhatan by 10 and if we’re healthy we win that one. It was a long day against some extremely good competition.”
The Cavaliers are at Northside tonight, Wednesday, for a tri-match with the host Vikings and Franklin County. That will begin at 6 p.m. with Franklin and LB wrestling in the opening match, followed by the Eagles and Northside and LB and Northside in the finale.
This weekend Botetourt’s starters will be at the “Big Orange” at William Byrd High School in Vinton on Friday and Saturday. That’s the longest running tournament in the valley and always a highlight of the season. This year’s teams entered include Bassett, Blacksburg, Brookville, Charlottesville, Christiansburg, Floyd County, Franklin County, Giles, Glenvar, Heritage, Hidden Valley, Liberty, LCA, Martinsville, Northside, Parry McCluer, Riverheads, Roanoke Catholic, Rustburg, Salem, Western Albemarle, William Fleming, host Byrd and the Cavaliers.
The LB backups, or “Gray Team,” will be at a duals tournament at Carroll County on Saturday. The girls’ “Pink Team” will be at Stuarts Draft on Saturday.
“We’re split up into three different parts of the state,” said Craft. “It can make it hard on the coaching staff being worn thin on these weekends but it’s a great opportunity for the kids and the program as a whole.”
