Photo by Brian Hoffman
The Lord Botetourt wrestling team finished 16th in Class 3 and put three wrestlers on the podium at the state Class 3 tournament at the Salem Civic Center last weekend. Fellow Blue Ridge District member Staunton River won the tournament for the second straight year with 230 points, easily outscoring runner-up New Kent with 153.
Botetourt’s best finish was a fourth place by junior Aaden Thomas at 215. He won his first two matches by pins before losing in the semifinal to the eventual state champion. He then battled back to make the consolation final where he lost to Joseph Spriggs of Magna Vista, 7-2. Aaden finished the season at 29-4.
“Aaden only weighed 185 pounds,” said LB coach Paul Craft. “He’s giving up 30 pounds day in and day out and still earned a fourth place spot in the state. Any other sophomore giving up 30 pounds, I don’t like those odds. He’s going to continue getting bigger and stronger and grow into the 215-pound weight class.”
At 157, junior Cooper Roberts was fifth, going 3-2 on the weekend. He finished his season with a 25-10 record.
“Cooper was a number four seed and knocked off a number one seed in the first round and a number two seed in the quarterfinals,” said Craft. “Cooper peaked at the right time. He did his best wrestling from his feet in the last two weeks. A strong off season puts him as a contender next year.”
LB’s third place winner was senior TJ Piluso with a sixth at 165. He won his first two matches before losing to Jacob Robbie of Christiansburg in the semifinals. He then dropped two close matches in the consolation bracket by scores of 5-4 and 6-4 to finish the season at a robust 38-5. TJ was undefeated for much of the season and finished his LB career with over 100 wins.
“TJ told me that he didn’t think he wrestled his best on Saturday,” said Craft. “Sometimes wrestlers have off days, his just happened to be Saturday. But even on an off day TJ is one of the best 165-pound wrestlers in the state of Virginia in any class. He’s been a great leader and team captain and we’re gonna miss him.”
Also competing in the state tournament were Jacob Spence at 113, James Dean at 120 and Gray Arnold at 150. Arnold, a senior, won his first match but suffered a concussion during the quarterfinals and had to medically forfeit out of the tournament. He finished the season at 27-5.
“He was very upset as any athlete and competitor would be,” said Craft. “That’s not how you want to end your senior season and especially since he would’ve probably placed high in the tournament. The VHSL trainer made the call to sit him, and it was the right call.”
Spence, a freshman, finished the season at 11-12 and Dean, a sophomore, was 21-9.
“We took six guys and placed three of them,” said Craft. “We’re happy with that finish but we can do better. We’re off a couple weeks and then back at it for next season.”
