The one thing that matters the most to a wrestler is having one’s hand raised by the referee to signify a victory and the accompanied sportsmanship speaks volumes to the sport.
Referees were very busy raising hands on four mats as grapplers battled for milestones as 14 teams including Moorefield and East Hardy competed at the Viking Smash this past weekend in Petersburg with one accomplishment hitting close to home as a new record was made for the Yellow Jackets.
Addressing the sportsmanship, every wrestler shakes hands before and after a match in addition to some advice given from experienced grapplers such as Grafton’s Garrett Ware sharing his knowledge with East Hardy’s Hinton Shifflett.
Moorefield Wrestling freshman Isaac Van Meter set a new school record for victories in a season at 40 wins after his first match on Saturday morning which broke former state champion alum Wil Schoonover’s number.
Schoonover is currently deployed in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
Van Meter finished undefeated at the Viking Smash going 10-0 to boost his season total to 44-2 and earned a first place trophy for the 160-lb. weight class plus All-Potomac Valley Conference Wrestling honors.
“It’s pretty exciting and a lot of fun. To be honest, I didn’t think about this at the beginning of the season. I just try my best to go out and win,” Moorefield freshman Isaac Van Meter noted.
“Keys to winning are practicing hard and working in the weight room definitely. I like to use a double leg and a half, just keeping it simple. I do go for cradles since I am long, so that helps. I hope to place at states this year. It is a lot fun competing here, because you know a lot of these kids coming up and it is like a big family knowing everybody.”
A stepping stone to success is winning the first match of a career and East Hardy Wrestling’s Emma Lutz, Nathan Phillips, Jasmine Abrell and Braden Orndorff accomplished that feat in Petersburg.
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The teams represented at the Viking Smash were host Petersburg (AA), Moorefield (A), East Hardy (A), Keyser (AA), Frankfort (AA), Philip Barbour (AA), Hedgesville (AAA), Berkeley Springs (AA), Hampshire (AAA), Fairmont Senior (AA), Robert C. Byrd (AA), Grafton (AA), Spring Mills (AAA), and the X-Team (comprised of extra wrestlers from other teams).
As a team, Moorefield garnered four wins and East Hardy earned two wins in ten total team matches with the Yellow Jackets taking the face-to-face battle on a tiebreaker rule for most pins.
“I’m very excited for our kids, with a young group a lot of people would use it as an excuse that in a physical sport like wrestling that they probably couldn’t win so young,” Moorefield Coach T.J. Van Meter commented.
“We have proven we can be competitive and has all been done through hard work and perseverance and teaching these kids the value of that hard work and trusting the process. We won’t get better over night, but making those slow progressions to get better. We’re 22-13 on the season, but we’ve been highly competitive and ranked inside the Top-10 in single A. I’m proud of all these guys and how hard they work. Tony [Weatherholt] is a great guy and has really been a friend to us and helping our program along. He has helped organize camps and matches over the years which have benefited the Moorefield kids. Being 15 minutes up the road, this is like a home match for us. We even have the home mats here. Petersburg always uses our mats and we’re happy to help them with that. It is exciting and this is like a home tournament giving the extended family an opportunity to watch the kids wrestle. There’s a lot of good kids, quality kids here.”
Coach Van Meter shared how proud he was of his son setting the record.
“It is big for Isaac, I am always proud of him as a father and coach. That puts him in select company, that record was previously held by state champion Wil Schoonover. If I remember correctly, Wil had that 39-win season his freshman year too. Wil obviously got better as he got went on and ran into some snowstorms. To win 40-50 matches, you have many factors, the weather has to cooperate to pull off that many wins. Fortunately for Isaac, we’ve been able to have a schedule to help him get these wins and you have to thank our athletic director Dennis Hill for making the schedule. You can’t expect much more out of a freshman when you get into those middle upper weight classes. He has been in the weight room, lifting hard and knew that to be the case in order to be successful. The work he has put in has shown up on the mat.”
Looking at other milestones achieved at the Viking Smash, Petersburg’s Jackson Moomau gained his 180th career victory, Frankfort’s Austin Pumphrey and Berkeley Springs’ Zach Davis earned 175th wins, Grafton’s Noah Hodges reached 150 victories and Hedgesville had three wrestlers hit the centennial mark: Noah Wahler, Josh Hylton and Czar Parrish.
Another notable feat was Berkeley Springs grappler Davey Mundey matching the all-time state record for wins at 217 which was set by a former Indians wrestler.
Berkeley Springs won the Viking Smash team championship, followed by Hedgesville and Fairmont Senior.
Petersburg’s Jackson Moomau was selected as the Viking Smash Most Outstanding Wrestler in addition to finishing in first place for the 195-lb. division and All-PVC recognition.
Each weight class had an All-PVC Wrestler recognized: 106 Eli Nazelrodt, Petersburg; 113 Tyler Staggs, Keyser; 120 Joseph Fracasso, Keyser; 126 Cole Morris, Berkeley Springs; 132 Brandon Shaw, Berkeley Springs; 138 Austin Pumphrey, Frankfort; 145 Zach Davis, Berkeley Springs; 152 Davey Mundey, Berkeley Springs; 160 Isaac Van Meter, Moorefield; 170 Shayden Daughtrey, Keyser; 182 Alec Burgess, Petersburg; 195 Jackson Moomau, Petersburg; 220 Doug Morral, Petersburg; 285 Steven White, Keyser.
The Viking Smash champions in each class were: 106 Michael Dolan, Spring Mills; 113 Noah Hodges, Grafton; 120 Keith Skaggs, Grafton; 126 Tanner Hoskinson, Fairmont Senior; 132 Brandon Shaw, Berkeley Springs; 138 Austin Pumphrey, Frankfort; 145 Zach Davis, Berkeley Springs; 152 Davey Mundey; Berkeley Springs; 160 Isaac Van Meter, Moorefield; 170 Shayden Daughtrey, Keyser; 182 Alec Burgess, Petersburg; 195 Jackson Moomau, Petersburg; 220 Doug Morral, Petersburg; 285 Zach Frazier, Fairmont Senior.
The fastest pin award was given to Hedgesville’s Daniel Sherrard for a five second pin, but Moorefield captain Matthew Wright garnered a pin in six seconds during an exhibition match.
When walking around the gymnasium, one could see the veteran wrestlers such as Petersburg’s Jackson Moomau and Frankfort’s Austin Pumphrey talking with younger grapplers from other squads. The bonds formed in matches go beyond just the mat circle as the sport of wrestling becomes a family of brothers and sisters encouraging one another each step of the way.
Take for instance the ninth round match of the Viking Smash featuring East Hardy and Grafton.
As East Hardy’s Hinton Shifflett stepped into the circle, he stated out loud how this wasn’t fair as his opponent was state third ranked Grafton’s Garrett Ware.
Ware’s mother told him Garrett was in his shoes before and that he would learn from each match.
This held to be true as Ware instructed Shifflett on various things during the match, telling him to get wrist control and when to get back on base and let him make a takedown during more educational tips shared. This match lasted almost one full period before Ware gently held Shifflett down for a pin with four seconds left.
Sharing the knowledge showed just how much sportsmanship is a factor in this sport and it is more than just shaking hands.
The Yellow Jackets had to weather the storm of the Golden Tornado to begin the Viking Smash as Keyser won 58-18 on Friday afternoon.
Moorefield’s Vincent Cyrus won by pin at the 3:30 mark of the second period in the 152-lb. weight class against Kitzmiller.
Van Meter collected a pin in 13 seconds against Keyser’s Caden Biser in the 160-lb. weight class.
The final points for the Yellow Jackets came by forfeit for Allen Hardbarger.
Moorefield captain Matthew Wright battled for three periods, losing in a 12-1 decision to Keyser’s Tyler Mason in the 145-lb. division.
Keyser star Shayden Daughtrey used five takedowns in the first period, but Moorefield’s Rodney Wratchford made four escapes before being pinned at the 1:42 mark.
East Hardy’s first match of the Viking Smash was a 54-22 loss against Petersburg.
The first major decision victory for East Hardy was completed by Sierra Miller in the 113-lb. weight class against Petersburg’s Eli Nazelrodt, 12-3.
The referee complimented Sierra on her match victory.
Miller did an exceptional job in making an escape in the first period, then notched a takedown of her own. Miller managed to get around to Nazelrodt’s back and made an arm lock and wrapped her legs around his waist to secure near fall points.
Miller kept the pressure in the third round with a similar hold clutching for near fall points to secure the win.
The three other wins for East Hardy came by forfeit for Sky Spell, Emma Lutz and Dayton Miller.
Petersburg’s Ethan Swick and Doug Morral had two different length of matches as East Hardy’s Blake Miller fought into the third period before being pinned at 4:46 and Hinton Shifflett was pinned by Morral in 18 seconds.
Forfeits were awarded to Petersburg’s Alec Burgess, Jackson Moomau and Ethan Vanmeter.
East Hardy’s Cole Pusl was pinned by Petersburg’s Jacob Cruz-Perez in the second period at 2:19.
East Hardy’s Nathan Phillips, Patrick Helsley and Hunter Ames were each pinned in the first round.
“There’s a lot of talent here at the Viking Smash. Our kids have wrestled really well and we’ve made a lot of improvements since the beginning of the year,” East Hardy Coach Steve Miller remarked.
“I’m happy with them. It is amazing how far they have come and how much they have stepped up. I am really proud of them. We put two hours of work in the weight room every night. I know where these kids are for two hours and it is paying off on the mat.”
Moorefield won its second match against the X-Team by a score of 42-36.
Five of the Yellow Jackets garnered pins during this match: Paxton Coby (2:00), Kevin Wetzel (1:19), Matthew Wright (5:14), Vincent Cyrus (0:49), Isaac Van Meter (0:17).
Rodney Wratchford and Allen Hardbarger took wins by forfeit for Moorefield.
East Hardy edged Frankfort by a score of 30-29 with the difference coming down to a technical fall.
Every Falcons wrestler picked up victories, but East Hardy had five forfeit wins to take the match: Shifflett, Orndorff, Helsley, Phillips and Sierra Miller.
East Hardy’s Sky Spell lost in a tech fall 16-0 against Parrish, which was a five point match.
Frankfort’s Austin Pumphrey made two takedowns and back points before pinning East Hardy’s Cole Pusl at the 48-second mark of the first period.
East Hardy’s Blake Miller forced a third period with escapes and reversal, only to be pinned by Logsdon.
Kiszka pinned East Hardy’s Dayton Miller in the second period and Bland took a forfeit for the Falcons.
The third match of the Viking Smash pitted East Hardy against Moorefield and it finished in a 36-all tie with the Yellow Jackets picking up the victory on the fifth criteria of most pins 3-2, 37-36.
Forfeit wins were given to East Hardy’s Phillips, Spell, Helsley and Shifflett, while Moorefield’s Cyrus, Van Meter and Hardbarger also received forfeits.
East Hardy’s Sierra Miller (120) pinned Moorefield’s Andrew Puffinburger at the 42-second mark of the first period.
Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel (138) pinned East Hardy’s Cole Pusl at the 2:18 mark of the second period.
Moorefield’s Matthew Wright (145) pinned East Hardy’s Blake Miller in the second round at 3:09.
Moorefield’s Rodney Wratchrod (160) made a reversal out of a head lock into a position to pin East Hardy’s Dayton Miller at the 3:47 mark of the second period.
The Yellow Jackets lost their minds screaming in excitement, knowing how close the match points were at the time.
“Matthew [Wright] is relentless, that word describes his personality perfectly. He didn’t start wrestling, until he was a freshman. He is one of only five wrestlers in Moorefield history to have 30 wins in a season and that is amazing. In practice, he is the first to go up and grab Isaac. He embraces a challenge, he wants to be challenged and understands that is what makes you better. He’s not afraid of losing and wants those tough matches, because he set some lofty goals and in order to achieve them, he needs to be battle tested. When you have kids with experience coming up in the youth ranks, it really helps. Rodney Wratchford has improved leaps and bounds, he was the difference in our win against East Hardy getting that pin after being down 8-0. What he did there was equivalent to hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to win a game. He was the reason we lost our minds there,” Coach Van Meter stated.
East Hardy’s Hunter Ames (285) pinned Moorefield’s Joseph Palm at the 2:25 mark of the second period which tied the match, but the fifth criteria for a tiebreaker gave Moorefield the win on pins.
The Yellow Jackets defeated Frankfort 42-18 on Friday and Robert C. Byrd 54-6 (all forfeits) on Saturday.
Van Meter earned wins on forfeits in both of those matches for Moorefield.
There were mostly exhibition matches after the forfeits against Robert C. Byrd with Moorefield’s Matthew Wright and Allen Hardbarger winning by pin in the second round.
Against the Falcons, Moorefield’s Matthew Wright (4:17) and Rodney Wratchford (3:01) both notched pins during the win.
Moorefield’s Paxton Coby, Andrew Puffinburger, Van Meter, Allen Hardbarger and Joseph Palm took forfeit wins against Frankfort.
Moorefield lost to Petersburg 45-27 to finish the Friday session and lost to Berkeley Springs 66-12 to begin the Saturday morning session at the Viking Smash.
Petersburg collected five forfeit wins for Nazelrodt, Ethan Vanmeter, Jacob Landis, Moomau and Morral, while the Yellow Jackets took three forfeits for Andrew Puffinburger, Vincent Cyrus and Rodney Wratchford.
Wratchford surpassed the 20-win mark this season at the Viking Smash, 22-21.
Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel pinned Jacob Cruz-Perez in the third period at 4:24.
Petersburg’s Ethan Swick edged Moorefield’s Matthew Wright with a 3-0 decision.
Moorefield’s Isaac Van Meter edged Petersburg’s Zachary Wampler with a 3-2 decision using a takedown and escape point to win.
Petersburg’s Alec Burgess pinned Hardbarder in nine seconds.
Petersburg’s Austin Locklear pinned Palm in 31 seconds.
The Yellow Jackets lost to Spring Mills 48-30, Fairmont Senior 65-18 and Hampshire 48-24.
Wright made his exhibition six second pin during the match against Spring Mills and jumped up enthusiastically pumping up his teammates with arms flexed.
Van Meter earned a pin in the first period again the Cardinals at the 1:18 mark using two takedowns including a fireman’s carry style takedown.
Coby, Wetzel, Puffinburger and Wright took forfeit wins against Spring Mills.
Wright made a pin in the third period at 5:36 against Fairmont Senior.
Van Meter pinned Runyon in the first period at the 50-second mark with a cradle.
Hardbarger took a forfeit win against the Polar Bears and needs just one more victory to reach the 20-win plateau on the season (19-23).
Van Meter and Palm took forfeit wins against Hampshire.
Wright pinned Hampshire’s Buckler in the second period at 2:20 using takedowns and near fall points before getting the lock for the pin to extend his season record to 34-13.
Wetzel pinned Armstrong in the first period at 1:31 with an cross face move to improve his record to 27-20.
Moorefield’s Paxton Coby lost to Hampshire’s Sierra Powell in a third period pin at 4:35.
Coby stayed on his stomach as much as possible, but was flipped a couple of times for back points and managed to make one escape point during the match.
East Hardy lost to Keyser 72-12 to end the Friday session, then regrouped to win against Robert C. Byrd on Saturday 60-6 with all points coming on forfeits.
The Cougars points against Keyser were on forfeits for Cole Pusl and Patrick Helsley.
East Hardy’s Marina Stotlemyer picked up a forfeit win against the Eagles along with Sierra Miller, Phillips, Pusl, Blake Miller, Jasmine Abrell, Dayton Miller, Helsley, Ames and Shifflett.
East Hardy lost to Philip Barbour 54-24, Hampshire 56-10, Grafton 42-36 and Berkeley Springs.
Spell recorded a major decision with a 14-2 win against Hampshire and Shifflett took a forfeit victory for the ten total East Hardy points.
Spell made a takedown and a pair of back points in the first period, then a reversal in the second period and another takedown with back points in the third period.
East Hardy’s Blake Miller lost a 13-8 decision against Hampshire’s Buckler.
Hampshire’s Sierra Powell pinned East Hardy’s Nathan Phillips in 43 seconds.
Pusl was pinned by Thomson in eight seconds, while Dayton Miller and Helsley were pinned in the second period against the Trojans.
East Hardy’s Sierra Miller, Sky Spell and Patrick Helsley garnered forfeit wins in the loss to Philip Barbour, while Cole Pusl earned a win by pin at 1:31.
Philip Barbour’s Tanner George pinned East Hardy’s Blake Miller as time expired in the first period.
East Hardy’s Nathan Phillips lasted to the third period before being pinned by Brady Phillips at 4:22.
East Hardy’s Dayton Miller, Hunter Ames and Hinton Shifflett each took first round pin losses against Philip Barbour.
Grafton edged East Hardy 42-36, despite five forfeits given to Abrell, Dayton Miller, Helsley, Ames and Phillips.
Sky Spell gave the Cougars a victory in the first period with a pin at the 1:01 mark over Grafton’s Mayle.
Shifflett learned valuable advice from Grafton’s Garrett Ware during a first period battle that showed tremendous sportsmanship.
Moorefield and East Hardy showed amazing focus and determination during the Viking Smash.
The Yellow Jackets travel to Skyline High School in Front Royal tonight and the Cougars visit Frankfort tomorrow (Feb. 1).
The Region II Tournament will be held February 9-10 at Braxton County High School in Flatwoods.
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