It was a battle of the Virginias in the inaugural Baker Brawl held at East Hardy High School as four teams from West Virginia and four teams from Virginia commandeered the gymnasium battling on two mats with the championship bout coming down to Martinsburg (WV) and Woodgrove (VA) with the Wolverines winning the title for the Old Dominion last Saturday in Baker.
Representing the Mountain State were Class A East Hardy, Class A Moorefield, Class AAA Martinsburg and Class AAA Hampshire; while teams from Virginia were Central (Woodstock), Page County, Strasburg and Woodgrove.
The Hardy County grapplers showcased their talent in this tournament as the Cougars and Yellow Jackets proved there will be representation at the state tournament in Huntington at the conclusion of the season.
“I am very happy with how the Baker Brawl went. The boosters, parents and staff at East Hardy all came together to make the day a success. My team keeps working hard to get better and it shows on the mat. I am very proud of them all,” East Hardy Wrestling Coach Stevie Miller remarked.
“It is great to see the sport grow in this area. The community is growing in support of us. Women’s wrestling is growing nationwide and in our area. We had ten females weigh in today. The local teams are all competing at a high level. We are glad to see it.”
East Hardy Wrestling was in Pool A along with Central, Page County and Woodgrove.
Moorefield Wrestling was in Pool B along with Hampshire, Martinsburg and Strasburg.
The Hardy County teams competed simultaneously on both mats throughout the Baker Brawl, but didn’t face each other.
“It’s always nice to get good quality matches close to home. Coach Miller and East Hardy put on a great tournament that we were happy to be a part of. All of our wrestlers are improving and wrestled hard throughout the day. Hopefully we can keep improving and stay healthy as the regional tournament approaches,” Moorefield Wrestling Coach T.J. Van Meter commented.
Woodgrove began the Baker Brawl championship run with a 54-28 victory over East Hardy to kick off the morning [private]session.
The Cougars had the largest squad with 22 wrestlers weighing in for the Baker Brawl, while Woodgrove fielded the second most at 18 grapplers.
East Hardy Wrestling earned five individual wins including four pins against the Wolverines: 138-lb. Damian Iman notched a third round pin (0:19) over Zach Yriart, 152-lb. Mason Miller won by major decision 11-3 against Chris Fernandes, 160-lb. Cole Pusl (0:15) and 285-lb. Dale Hockman (1:40) earned first round pins over Zach Merchant and Matt McKim and 113-lb. SierraMarie Miller finished with a second period pin (0:23) over Taylor Sisk.
Moorefield lost to Martinsburg in the opening match of the Baker Brawl by a score of 51-30.
The Yellow Jackets notched five individual wins including four pins in the match against the Bulldogs: 106-lb. Layne Spitzer first period pin (0:30) over Emily Earehart, 138-lb. Dominick Davis first period pin (0:30) over James McGuire, 152-lb. Ty Clayton third period pin (4:16) against Isaiah Salinas, 170-lb. Isaac Van Meter first period pin (0:30) over Isaac Levy and 285-lb. Grayson Miller took a forfeit.
East Hardy cruised over Page County 66-12 and Central 51-18 to finish pool play before starting cross-pool action with losses to Martinsburg 50-24 and Strasburg 53-24 in the consolation match.
East Hardy collected seven first period pins against Page County and added four forfeits to the score.
Iman (1:04), 138 Erin Riggle (forfeit), Mason Miller (1:18), Pusl (0:32), 170 Patrick Helsley (forfeit), 195 Dayton Miller (1:37), 220 Matt Harmon (1:25), Hockman (1:32), 106 Shane Riggle (1:05), 113 Madison Heishman (forfeit) and 120 SierraMarie Miller (forfeit).
Against Central, the Cougars had seven forfeit wins, one pin and an overtime decision.
Forfeits were given to Erin Riggle, Mason Miller, Helsley, 182 Miles Kidwell, Dayton Miller, Harmon and Iman. Hockman won with a first period pin at the 0:51 mark over Central’s Ben Mullins.
Shane Riggle was first awarded the overtime win 6-5 on a technical infraction as Central grappler Ryan Shoemaker had a loose shoelace, then the shoe was secured with tape and the referee decided the match could continue as it would just be a stalling warning and Riggle won with a takedown.
East Hardy picked up five wins against Martinsburg as Helsley won 18-5 in a major decision over Levy, Dayton Miller notched a pin at 1:29 over Kamaury Forrester, Hockman took a forfeit, Shane Riggle won by a technical fall at 16-nil against Earehart and Iman finished with a 7-4 decision over McGuire.
Mason Miller garnered a first period pin against Strasburg at 0:16 for the Cougars over Collin Reynolds, while forfeits were given to Kidwell, Hockman and SierraMarieMiller.
Strasburg’s Chuck Fake, Luke Jenkins, Bradley Ferrell, Richie Fransen, Jaylon Burks and Zach Asher each garnered first round pins against East Hardy.
East Hardy’s Braden Orndorff competed in one of the exhibition matches as his mother and sister cheered from the bench.
East Hardy’s Dale Hockman and Moorefield’s Isaac Van Meter and Ty Clayton all finished the Baker Brawl with undefeated records.
Moorefield lost a close match against Strasburg 38-30, then defeated Hampshire 46-21 to close out pool play before crushing Page County 54-12 and Central 52-12.
The Yellow Jackets earned four pins and one forfeit against Strasburg: Ty Clayton 3:55 pin over Reynolds, 160 Kevin Wetzel 0:22 pin Fransen, Van Meter 0:30 pin over Fake, 220 Matthew Delawder 1:38 pin over Ferrell and Grayson Miller forfeit.
In the win over Hampshire, Moorefield won five matches by pin, one by major decision and two were forfeits.
Moorefield siblings Maddy (126) and Ty Clayton (152) won by forfeits against Hampshire.
Moorefield’s Allen Hardbarger (182 – 1:08) pinned Hamsphire’s Raymond Buckler, Delawder (1:28) pinned Seth Dunham, Spitzer (0:27) pinned Miguel Elmer and Van Meter (0:21) pinned Luke Alkire all coming in the first period and Wetzel garnered a pin in the third period just before the final horn at 5:54 over Grant Landis.
There was some confusion in Hampshire’s Straub decision victory over Moorefield’s Ryan Hardbarger with a pin initially called just after time expired at the end of the second period. The referee started to end the match thinking it was the third period, but the clock operator fixed the issue and the match continued.
Moorefield notched six first period pins against Page County: Wetzel (1:14), Van Meter (0:43), Ryan Hardbarger (1:26), Miller (0:15), Spitzer (0:11) and Ty Clayton (0:17). Davis, Delawder and Allen Hardbarger took forfeit wins.
Moorefield was given seven forfeits against Central in the win to Ty Clayton, Van Meter, Allen Hardbarger, Ryan Hardbarger, Delawder, Spitzer and Davis. Wetzel won by major decision 14-2 and Miller garnered a first period pin at the 1:00 mark.
Some of the other scores from the Baker Brawl for the first mat were: Hampshire 60, Central 12; Hampshire 60, Page County 12; Woodgrove 75, Page County 6; Woodgrove 75, Central 6; and Page County 30, Central 30 (Page County won on tiebreaker rule).
Woodgrove defeated Martinsburg 48-36 to win the inaugural Baker Brawl Championship trophy.[/private]
There was enthusiastic cheering coming from the Moorefield and East Hardy sidelines during their respective matches throughout the Baker Brawl.
There was quality wrestling and positive vibes for the inaugural Baker Brawl as this new tradition takes a foothold in the hills of Hardy County.