James River had wrestlers on the first, second and third steps of the podium at the Class 2 wrestling tournament at the Salem Civic Center last weekend. Strasburg High won the tournament with 205 points, 41 more than second place Poquoson.
River had 69 points, all from three individuals, as the Knights finished eighth among 37 teams participating. River had a state champion in Xadien Wynn at 106 while Nathan Stewart was second at 144 and Brayden Forbes was third at 120. Coach Bobby Stewart calls them his “power three.”
“My trifecta of Wynn, Forbes, and Stewart is a trifecta that coaches salivate about,” said Stewart. “To have high level performers every year is a thing a lot of coaches envy. These guys are producers and have been since they entered the program. They started this sport young and that is what it takes to succeed in this sport. It doesn’t have to be the only sport you do but you must devote time to it year in and year out, even if it is one day a week that makes a difference.”
After receiving a first round bye as the top seed Wynn won by tech fall, then scored pins in the semifinal and finals. He pinned Kam Harrell of Poquoson in the championship match in 3:24. It was his second state championship as Xaiden finished 30-2 on the season and didn’t lose to a Class 2 wrestler.
Xaiden is now only one of three individuals in James River wrestling history to win two individual state titles. Wynn follows behind Chance Craft, a three-time state champ, and Carder Miller, a two-time state champ. During the state tournament semifinals match Xaiden also earned his 100th career high school win and now sets a goal to accomplish his 100th high school career pin in his senior season for the Knights next year.
Photos by Brian Hoffman
Forbes finished third at 120 after coming up short in his bid for an undefeated season. He lost a one-point decision to Brayden Owsley of Central in the semifinals, 7-6, for his first loss. He then finished out with two consolation matches to take third and finish the season at 33-1.
“Brayden faced Owsley in an earlier season tournament called the Bobby Bates Wrestling Classic,” said Stewart. “He defeated Owsley in overtime for the championship title. Saturday morning’s semifinal was, quite arguably, the rightful state championship match.”
Indeed, Owsley went on to win the state championship at 120. Brayden was the champion of all five in-season wrestling tournaments entered and is now a three-time state placer as a junior.
At 144, sophomore Nate Stewart made it to the state championship match for the second year in a row, and for the second time he had to settle for second. Nate finished the year at 27-4 after losing to Reed Booth of Poquoson in the championship match, 8-0.
Nate’s match in the Saturday morning semifinal was one of the most exciting of the tournament. Down 7-6, he scored on a reversal in the final seconds on the edge of the mat to beat Andrew Boyd of Richlands, 8-7, to punch his ticket to the finals.
“Nate has nothing to hang his head about,” said coach Stewart, who also happens to be his dad.
Nate finished all in-season tournaments with three second place finishes, two first place finishes, a Three Rivers District champ, and he’s a two-time Region C champ as a sophomore.
“With another two years of high school remaining he looks to add to his resume of accomplishments,” said coach Stewart.
River’s other wrestler, Caiden Martin, lost his first match at 113 before receiving a bye and a win by medical forfeit in the consolation bracket. He then lost to Glenvar’s Alan Vu and finished his season at 5-5.
“We entered only four wrestlers in the state tournament,” said Stewart. “Unfortunately, our numbers for wrestling were way down this year. We had an unprecedented nine wrestlers not return this year. We lost them to other winter sports for some reason; maybe because our room is hard, maybe for other reasons. Either way, our numbers directly impact our starting lineup and potential to advance kids to the state tournament.
“We were made up of, effectively, first year wrestlers who were thrown to the wolves as varsity starters. Most of these kids only started wrestling in the eighth grade and rolled right into high school to a culture shock. We can do the best we can in these situations but team accolades are tough to achieve when you do not have depth in the lineup.”
The season is not totally done for the Knights. Georgia Miller will travel to Garfield High School in Woodbridge for the VHSL All Female Open State Tournament on Friday and Saturday of this week. All six classes of females are combined for competition.
