The James River and Lord Botetourt wrestlers competed in the Shumaker Classic Wrestling Tournament last Friday and Saturday at Parry McCluer High School.
Rockbridge County High won the tournament for the second year in a row. This was the eighth annual Shumaker Classic in Buena Vista, named for former Natural Bridge High School head coach Bruce Shumaker, who gave out medals at the awards ceremony. Final team standings for the 14-school tournament had not been released at press time, but both River and LB had some strong performances.
“The team performed well overall,” said new River coach Bobby Stewart, who was in the River corner for the first time last weekend. “We are a young team, so I expected it not to be a perfect performance for our first competition. I was pleased with the tenacity and competitive performance our wrestlers showed.”
River placed six wrestlers. Junior Ian Hester took second at 126 while five others took thirds, Jesse Carter, Josh Ferguson, Levi Walker and two freshmen, Mason Stewart and Garrett McMillion.
“We gave up a few matches we should have won and we won several matches we were way behind on,” said Stewart. “Those come-from-behind wins are a big deal in confidence boosting for the wrestlers and show the grit these young men have at not giving up. I always stress to never quit moving and wrestle until the whistle blows, because if you relax for a split second it can cost you a match.”
Lord Botetourt had two champions, Luke Young and Jacob Brown, who posted 8-0 records. Young was named the middleweight “Outstanding Wrestler” by a vote of the coaches.
Hunter Sell finished 6-0 in his bracket and Jacob Booth, Nick Young and Josiah Grooten all went 5-1. Hayden Martin finished 6-3 wrestling up a class.
“All the wrestlers wrestled well for a first tournament,” said LB coach Chuck Burton. “There was a lot of wrestling over the two-day period and that’s what you’re looking for early in the season. Medals are nice, but they aren’t a goal early in the season. Getting as much mat time as humanly possible is the goal. I think we got all we could get in the allotted format and that’s all you can ask for. I think we’re where we need to be. We will continue to work and get better each week.”
LB will compete in the Titan Toughman Tournament at Hidden Valley High School this weekend. Wrestling begins at 2 p.m. Friday and goes into the evening. It picks up again Saturday morning at 10, with finals scheduled for 4 p.m.
River was scheduled to wrestle in a quad-match at Rockbridge County High School on Tuesday of this week. Then the Knights are idle until December 16, when they compete in a tournament at Madison County High School.
