Moorefield Wrestling dominated Frankfort and East Hardy during the trimatch in the Hive and reined in the Hardy Hammer trophy for a third consecutive season last Tuesday night in the regular season finale.
“The kids really seem to enjoy it. I was just glad to have a couple more kids healthy and in the lineup, so we could be competitive as a team,” Moorefield Wrestling coach T.J. Van Meter remarked.
“Our guys are wrestling really well, but we’ve had to overcome some illness and minor injuries lately. Hopefully we can continue to get healthy and peak at the right time. The atmosphere was great. We had a nice crowd and they were really vocal during some of our big matches. Our wrestlers really responded well and turned in a great performance.”
The Cougars beat Moorefield for the first time in program history just three days earlier, but sudden illness and revamped numbers created an advantage for the Yellow Jackets.
East Hardy Wrestling opened the trimatch defeating the Falcons 48-30, then the Yellow Jackets beat Frankfort 42-22 and the Hardy County grappling session belonged to Moorefield 48-30.
East Hardy’s Hunter Ames (220-lb.) began the trimatch with a pin with five seconds remaining in the first period over Frankfort’s Xander Parsons.
An initial headlock turned into a cowboy move by Ames attempting to flip[private] Parsons to no avail.
Ames readjusted and put his weight on top of Parsons, then shifted around and managed to grab one arm and wrapped around the neck to spin unto his back for a pin.
The next three grapplers for East Hardy won by forfeit: Dale Hockman (285-lb.), Shane Riggle (106-lb.) and Madison Heishman (113-lb.) creating a 24-nil advantage.
In the 120-lb. weight class, Frankfort’s Iryll Jones beat East Hardy’s SierraMarie Miller with a second period pin at the 2:57 mark.
Jones made a takedown, then Miller countered with an escape.
Responding to that escape, Jones notched a double-leg takedown and tied up Miller’s arms forcing her on her back for additional points going up 6-1.
Jones made another takedown and garnered the pin for the Falcons during the second period.
Frankfort’s Dan Hyde (126-lb.) took forfeit points cutting the deficit to 24-12 and there was a double forfeit in the 132-lb. division.
East Hardy’s Victoria Ames (138-lb.) grappled against Frankfort’s Kristopher Sherman.
Sherman managed a takedown and Ames countered with an escape, this sequence happened again in the first period.
A third takedown by Sherman with a cross-face move put Ames on her back and a pin ensued with 25 seconds left in the first period.
Sky Spell (145-lb.) was given forfeit points for the Cougars in the next match, 30-18.
Frankfort’s Noah Kiszka (152-lb.) defeated East Hardy’s Cole Pusl with a second period pin at 3:20.
Kiszka toppled Pusl for a takedown and Pusl managed an escape, then Kiszka flipped Pusl for back points.
Pusl grabbed Kiszka’s leg and Kiszka reacted by pushing down on Pusl’s head.
A penalty point was given to Pusl, then Kiszka lifted Pusl and slammed him to the mat just outside the circle.
In the second period, an illegal hold was called on the Kiszka before wrapping around for Falcons pin.
East Hardy’s Mason Miller (160-lb.) executed a single-leg takedown on Frankfort’s Tristan Fink and shifted around the arms pinning with 1:09 left in the first period.
Frankfort’s Jacob Logsdon (170-lb.) built a 12-4 lead over East Hardy’s Ryan D’Amico prior to finishing the match with a pin having 3 seconds remaining.
Logsdon locked up with D’Amico trying to work out timing to release the hold around the head to shoot for the legs, then made the move for a takedown.
D’Amico twisted out of the hold for an escape and was tied up again with a shoelace tackle and broke free again.
During the second period, Logsdon executed a takedown and D’Amico managed to escape moments later.
Logsdon pulled D’Amico down and flipped him over for back points.
In the third period, a Falcons takedown and pin sealed that match win.
East Hardy’s Miles Kidwell (182-lb.) pinned Frankfort’s Nathan Armentrout at the 1:32 mark of the first period creating a takedown and spinning Armentrout over to his back.
The final match was a forfeit for Dayton Miller giving the Cougars 48-30 victory.
The Yellow Jackets faced Frankfort in the ensuing match with Layne Spitzer kicking off the series with a forfeit win.
Frankfort’s Jones, Hyde and Sherman garnered forfeit points for rallying to an 18-6 lead.
A forfeit was awarded to Moorefield’s Dominick Davis as the score was cut to 18-12.
Frankfort’s Noah Kiszka earned a 12-4 major decision win against Moorefield’s Ty Clayton in the 152-lb. class.
Kiszka recorded two takedowns in each of the three periods, while Clayton managed an escape in the first two periods and escaped twice in the third period.
Kiszka couldn’t force a cradle in the third period, then changed strategy lifting Clayton up and slamming to the mat.
Kiszka slammed Clayton again in the final seconds and held tight which caused tempers to flare up as the final horn sounded.
The Yellow Jackets netted 30 consecutive points to earn a 42-22 victory over Frankfort starting with Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel (160-lb.) pinning Falcon grappler Tristan Fink in the first period at 1:20.
Wetzel lifted Fink up and put him down on his head softly before shifting around on top to secure a pin.
A forfeit was given to Moorefield’s Isaac Van Meter in the 170-lb. class.
Moorefield’s Allen Hardbarger commandeered a second period pin at the 3:28 mark over Frankfort’s Logsdon in the 182-lb. division.
Logsdon scored the first points on a reversal and garnered back points.
Hardbarger was on his back in the first period, but was able to shift around and twist out of the hold for a reversal.
During the second period, Hardbarger eluded the grasp for another reversal and executed a power-half to create the pin.
Moorefield’s Matthew Delawder (195-lb.) garnered a takedown on Frankfort’s Parsons and flipped him over twice with a cross-face move to a pin with 44 seconds on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets capped off the victory with a forfeit given to Levi Howard in the 285-lb. division.
It was the Hardy County Wrestling rematch of the season pitting the Yellow Jackets against the Cougars to finish the night.
Moorefield erased any doubt with a convincing 48-30 win over East Hardy to claim the Hardy Hammer.
Moorefield’s Layne Spitzer grappled against East Hardy’s Shane Riggle managing a takedown and two sets of back points with an escape allowed in between before finishing with a first period pin with 19.3 seconds left.
Spitzer made a move forcing Riggle’s arms back underneath and Riggle tried to make a bridge.
East Hardy grabbed a 12-6 lead as Madison Heishman and SierraMarie Miller took forfeit points.
The Yellow Jackets evened the match as Maddy Clayton stopped writing in the scorebook and went to have her hand raised for a forfeit in the 132-lb. class.
Moorefield’s Dominick Davis wrestled against East Hardy’s Victoria Ames in the 138-lb. class.
Davis sandwiched two takedowns around back points before wrapping around Ames neck applying pressure for a pin with 2.2 seconds to go in the opening frame.
East Hardy’s Sky Spell took forfeit points in the next match.
Moorefield’s Ty Clayton (152-lb.) pinned East Hardy’s Cole Pusl in the fist period at the 1:34 mark.
Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel kept the momentum going and got the crowd pumped with a second period pin with just 1.3 seconds remaining over East Hardy’s Mason Miller.
Miller made the initial takedown and locked around Wetzel’s head, then Wetzel countered twisting around and avoided being hooked underneath getting an escape.
In the second period, Wetzel flipped Miller on his head and positioned on top when down on the mat with Miller shifting and flipping out of bounds.
Wetzel manuevered for a cross-face hold and put Miller down for a pin with one second remaining.
Moorefield’s Isaac Van Meter (170-lb.) earned his 160th career victory pinning East Hardy’s Ryan D’Amico in the first period with 38 seconds left going for a cradle hold.
Moorefield’s Allen Hardbarger (182-lb.) pinned East Hardy’s Miles Kidwell in the second period at 3:50.
Hardbarger started the match with a takedown and Kidwell countered with a takedown.
A point for an escape was given to Hardbarger, then Kidwell garnered a takedown to tie the period.
During the second period, Kidwell managed an escape and Hardbarger responded with a takedown and tucked under the arms to move in for a pin.
East Hardy’s Dayton Miller took forfeit points as the Yellow Jackets lead was now at 42-24.
Moorefield’s Matthew Delawder pinned East Hardy’s Hunter Ames in the second period of the 220-lb. class at 2:59 (1:01).
Delawder executed a takedown with a lock around the neck, then Ames notched an escape.
This was countered with a power-half move by Delawder shifting on top for back points in the first period.
Ames grabbed Delawder’s leg in the second period and Delawder shifted around underneath his backside attempting to turn him for a cradle and both shifted out of bounds.
Delawder managed to flip Ames for a pin with about a minute left.
In the 285-lb. division, East Hardy’s Dale Hockman lifted Moorefield’s Levi Howard and drove him out of the circle slamming down off the mat.
Howard was injured on the impact to the floor and both wrestlers shook hands as Hockman was given the victory by injury default.
The Yellow Jackets celebrated the 48-30 win over East Hardy by hoisting the Hardy Hammer up high.
Moorefield Wrestling’s individual season records entering the regional are: Layne Spitzer 35-10, Dominick Davis 25-17, Ty Clayton 39-8, Kevin Wetzel 26-13, Isaac Van Meter 38-2, Allen Hardbarger 9-11, Ryan Hardbarger 22-7, Matthew Delawder 33-18, Grayson Miller 14-16 and Levi Howard 9-8.
“I was pleased with the fan support and the overall team effort,” East Hardy Wrestling coach Stevie Miller commented.
“We will keep working hard to accomplish our goals.”
The six female wrestlers for East Hardy have one more test before regional action participating in the girls state championship in Parkersburg last Saturday.[/private]
Moorefield and East Hardy Wrestling squads look to punch tickets to the state tournament in Huntington on February 27-29 with placement at the Region II tournament in Braxton County coming up this weekend.