Moorefield Wrestling landed in Front Royal slaying the William Monroe Dragons 42-27 before being sentenced by the John Handley Judges 55-12 and taloned by the Skyline Hawks 72-11 at Skyline High on Wednesday.
The Yellow Jackets garnered five pins in the victory against William Monroe to start the quad match duals and extended the most team season total wins in school history at 23 for an overall record after the duals at 23-18.
“The first match starting out against William Monroe, I think they are a 2A or 3A school in Virginia and as far as the number of kids they had and the number of kids we had from what I understand they are largely freshmen and sophomores as well,” Moorefield Wrestling Coach T.J. Van Meter commented.
“We matched up better with them. It was a good match for us to have. It was sort of equal playing field and nice for us to come out on top. Anytime you can get a pin in dual competition is big, that’s six points right there for your team. Anytime you can get a pin is all the better.”
Moorefield’s Vincent Cyrus got the duals started against the Dragons in the 152-lb. weight class, shooting for a single leg takedown by lifting William Monroe’s Josh Dillon’s right leg up before rotating around to his back falling to the mat.
Cyrus used a power half move and both wrestlers stood up, yet Cyrus refused to loosen the grip and took Dillon down again and maneuvered him to his back for a first period pin at 1:05.
Moorefield’s Isaac Van Meter battled against William Monroe’s Alex Hoffman in the 160-lb. weight class and went shooting first and Hoffman managed to spread out backing away.
Van Meter grabbed Hoffman’s right arm and yanked him to the mat and Hoffman attempted a head lock, but Van Meter spun out of the hold and wrapped his right arm under his chin to pull him down and tucked his other arm under the left leg for a cradle hold for back points.
Hoffman was rolled to the side and Van Meter’s head gear fell over his eyes, but Van Meter had a firm lock around the shoulder and under the left leg to put him on his back.
The wrestlers moved to the center of the mat after rolling out of bounds and Van Meter plowed into Hoffman holding his neck and created a cross-face cradle for the pin at the 1:58 mark of the first period to give the Yellow Jackets a 12-0 lead.
Moorefield’s Rodney Wratchford grappled against William Monroe’s Quinten Morris in the 170-lb. division for nearly two full periods before Morris got the upper hand with a pin at 3:59.
Morris made a shot and Wratchford stayed on top grabbing his left leg with Morris facing down and Wratchford spun around for a head lock before both rolled out of the circle.
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Wratchford looked for a cradle and couldn’t quite make the connection at first, then got his left arm under Morris left leg and right arm around the shoulder and grasped hands together.
Morris managed to stretch and stand up to escape the hold, then both locked heads standing up.
Morris lifted Wratchford up in the air and brought him down to the mat and Wratchford turned and was flat on the mat, then built his base to his knees with a hold of the right leg of Morris, while Morris had one arm around Wratchford’s neck and turned to hold Wratchford’s right ankle.
Wratchford made a reversal and locked his arms under Morris butt and left leg, while Morris held Wratchford’s right leg.
Morris made a reversal and got an arm lock twist for a pin just before the end of the second period.
Moorefield’s Allen Hardbarger was given a forfeit victory in the 182-lb. weight class for an 18-6 lead.
The Yellow Jackets extended the advantage to 24-6 as Joseph Palm garnered a pin at the 32-second mark of the first period over William Monroe’s Chris Bairigh.
Both grapplers were in a headlock momentarily before Palm used leverage with his arm around Bairigh’s neck pulling him down and used a power-half hold when positioning on top to pull down for the pin.
The Dragons notched two forfeit wins to cut the deficit to 24-18.
Moorefield’s Paxton Coby battled against William Monroe’s Jeremy Savoie in the 120-lb. weight class.
Both wrestlers grabbed wrists, then Savoie ducked to grab Coby’s left leg and Coby escaped.
Savoie knelt down and grabbed around both of Coby’s legs lifting him in the air and bringing him down, but on the edge of the boundary circle.
They locked arms in the middle of the mat and Savoie managed to kneel down and get a hold of Coby’s right leg and make a takedown, then Coby rolled over and Savoie held around his waist before Coby stood up and stepped out.
Coby worked on staying on his base flat and Savoie tried to slither his hands around the neck and arm.
Both were standing again and Savoie had his right arm wrapped under Coby’s right arm and pulled him down out of bounds, there was a penalty for an illegal hold by Savoie.
Coby grabbed around Savoie’s waist and attempted to shift the weight as Savoie pushed his arms down, then Coby wrapped his right leg up around Savoie’s thigh before an escape.
Coby tried for a double leg takedown, but Savoie grabbed around the neck and jumped up to send both of them to the mat in the third period.
Savoie won by a decision 11-4 which awarded the Dragons three points.
Andrew Puffinburger (126-lb.) took a forfeit win for the Yellow Jackets and William Monroe got a forfeit, 30-27.
Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel pinned William Monroe’s William Rupe at the 4:59 mark of the third period in the 138-lb. weight class.
Rupe attempted to shoot and Wetzel pushed down and away, then Wetzel grabbed Rupe’s right arm and tried to reach around the top of his head with his left arm as Rupe squatted.
Wetzel pulled down and Rupe was practically upside-down in his lap and Rupe shifted to the side and with Wetzel’s left arm around the side of his head loosely.
Rupe moved to the top and got a half-nelson and took his left arm under Wetzel’s left leg for a cradle pulling him back.
Wetzel managed to turn over and back to his base as the horn sounded.
Wetzel stood and wrapped both arms around Rupe’s torso as Rupe reached back with his left arm across to Wetzel’s right arm and Rupe pulled down spinning for a headlock.
Wetzel was on a cradle again and was able to break free with his head down and using his power to force the right hand out.
Wetzel made a reversal and was on the top of Rupe’s head with arms wrapped around top, then Rupe slipped out and rolled over Wetzel.
At the start of the third period, Wetzel placed his left arm around the head and took his right arm locked around the left leg of Rupe turning him upside-down before flipping around trying to push him to his back.
Wetzel grabbed hold on top as Rupe was on one knee, then wrapped both hands around Rupe’s right leg as Rupe reached around Wetzel’s left leg and they both turned around on the mat.
Rupe made a reversal and Wetzel countered with another holding Rupe around his upper torso and applying weight to try and bring the shoulders down and Wetzel successfully got the pin at 4:59.
Moorefield’s Matthew Wright faced William Monroe’s Blaise Van Dyke in the 145-lb. and won with a pin at 1:24.
Both grapplers held wrists before breaking loose and making headlocks, then Wright shifted with his right arm around the right leg of Van Dyke for a single leg takedown.
Wright used a power half to hold Van Dyke down on his back and slid around to make both shoulders touch on the mat for the pin which was Wright’s 35th victory of the season and lifted the Yellow Jackets to a 42-27 win.
“I don’t know the age of their team, but tonight we had everyone who competed was a freshman with the exception of one. We are very young. Basically your guys out-toughed us in a couple of matches. My 138-pounder had a seven point lead with 48 seconds to go and had the Moorefield kid on his back and I thought we would finish it, but didn’t have hip pressure and the kid didn’t want to get pinned and flipped my over and stuck him. A lot of my kids is the lack of believability. They don’t believe in what they can do. They look better in a room than on a mat. They are afraid to shoot for a takedown, because of what could happen. They don’t know how to handle opponents yet. They are all good kids and have a ton of upswing, it’s just a matter of believing,” William Monroe Wrestling Coach Mike Sizemore noted.
Moorefield had two very tough matches ahead in Front Royal with the next bout against John Handley.
The Judges capitalized on five pins and two decisions, while Moorefield managed to get one pin by Van Meter and a default injury win for Palm.
Van Meter began the match with what looked like a football tackle, but in the wrestling world is called a double leg takedown against John Handley’s Brian Gonzalez.
Van Meter slid up to wrap his right arm around Gonzalez neck and intertwined his left leg around the right leg of Gonzalez.
Van Meter put his left arm under the right leg of Gonzalez and had his right arm firmly around the neck to shift for a pin at 0:24 mark.
John Handley’s Tyler Heglas grabbed Moorefield’s Wratchford’s left leg and lifted up and over for a takedown early in the 170-lb. match.
Wratchford turned to get on his stomach and was held in an arm lock and Heglas took the right leg and pulled together for a cradle and a pin at the 1:32 mark with Wratchford’s legs up in the air.
Justin Menjivar of the Judges garnered a 14-1 major decision over Moorefield’s ALlen Hardbarger in the 182-lb. weight class.
Both were in a headlock, then Menjivar pushed Hardbarger’s arms up and and shifted for a takedown, then tried to flip him and both were out of bounds.
Menjivar reached under Hardbarger’s arms, then Hardbarger turned on his knees and was able to grab Menjivar’s right leg and stand up.
Menjivar grabbed around the user torso and pulled Harbarger to the mat freeing the grip, then turned for a hold around the back for points with Hardbarger making a bridge.
There was an caution point on the hold and both wrestlers started over in the middle.
In the third period, Menjivar reached his left arm across Hardbarger’s chin and held his right arm over his chest to get back points and eventually took the major decision.
There was a double forfeit at 195 and the Judges took six points on a forfeit at 220.
Plum locked heads with John Handley’s Nathan Carter in the 285-lb. division for a full minute dancing, then Plum got power half and made the takedown.
Plum rolled over on top and there was an injury timeout for Carter, then Carter wasn’t able to finish the match giving Plum the default victory.
John Handley took a forfeit win at the 106-lb. class and there was a double forfeit at 113-lb.
The Judges’ 120-lb. wrestler Dean Holloway took a 9-0 lead and a second round pin at 3:42 over Moorefield’s Paxton Coby.
These wrestlers locked together and shifted all the way out of bounds, then back to the middle.
Holloway reached down to grab Coby’s left leg and drove him to the mat and reached around his neck with Coby trying to pry the arm loose on his stomach.
Holloway managed to flip Coby, but they were close enough to the boundary line for Coby to slip out.
Coby went for a double leg shot and Holloway spread out, then Holloway shifted around for a cradle and Coby’s tried to break loose getting both of his legs sticking straight up in the air.
Holloway moved around to grab Coby’s waist putting him on his back and pulled an arm down for the pin at 3:42.
Moorefield’s Andrew Puffinburger lost to John Handley’s Hunter Thompson in a first period pin at 0:42 during the 126-lb. bout.
Thompson attempted to shoot for the left leg and Puffinburger pushed away, then both got into a headlock.
Thompson went for the right leg and Puffinburger grabbed Thompson’s head going down on top, but Thompson flipped Puffinburger over his shoulder and pulled both arms behind forcing Puffinburger on his back for the pin.
After a forfeit for John Handley, Judges 138-lb. wrestler Web Bentley battled against Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel and made a pin at the 56-second mark of the first period.
Bentley wrapped his right arm under the right arm and neck of Wetzel and put his left arm on his back to make the initial takedown with Wetzel face down on the mat.
Bentley held the neck firmly and put his left leg around Wetzel’s left leg to flip him to his back and held down for the pin.
Moorefield’s Matthew Wright lost in an 8-5 decision to John Handley’s John Delaney.
After a headlock, Delaney grabbed Wright’s right leg while on his knees and Wright put his left arm down to prevent a fall before shifting to grab the head of Delaney.
Both stood up for headlocks again, then Wright did a spread on a shoot by Delaney and wrapped his arms for a lock before Delaney shifted from his knees to his stomach under the pressure.
They were up again and Delaney put his left arm around Wright’s neck as Wright wrapped his arms around his waist going down to their knees with Wright on top.
After a whistle for the period, Wright grabbed around Delaney’s waist and Delaney shifted around pulling Wright’s right leg up and went down to the mat with Wright putting his arms under the armpits around to the back of Delaney’s neck.
Wright pulled one arm back as Delaney was face down on the mat.
Later they were standing and Delaney grabbed Wright’s right leg and made a takedown.
Wright spun to his base and was able to stand up holding under the arms and tried to reach down for Delaney’s right leg, but Delaney turned holding Wright’s right leg causing him to be off-balanced and fell to the mat.
Delaney twisted legs and had Wright on his back, but Wright made an escape.
Both wrestlers grabbed each other’s legs as the third period ended with Delaney taking the 8-5 win.
Moorefield’s Vincent Cyrus (11-11) faced John Handley’s Cesar Abac in the 152-lb. weight class for the final match with Abac notching a pin in the second period to give the Judges a 55-12 victory.
Cyrus made the first move shooting for Abac’s left leg with his right arm, but Abac countered pushing down on his neck and shoulder.
Cyrus grabbed Abac’s left wrist and went in for a bear hug with both legs around Abac’s right leg, but Abac was able to spin out of the move.
Cyrus wrapped his left arm around Abac’s neck and tried to pull him down near the outer circle.
Back in the middle, Cyrus was on his right knee and hugged the waist of Abac to move him down to the mat despite Abac trying to brace with both hands on the mat.
They both stood back up and Cyrus wrapped his hands around Abac’s right leg and lifted it up for a drive down to the mat.
Cyrus put his right arm around his neck and attempt to reach around with his left arm for a cradle, but Abac shifted around to his knee and was able to flip Cyrus upside-down and rode to the buzzer.
Cyrus sort of got a piggy back ride and crashed to the mat, then Abac locked arms and Cyrus moved to his stomach.
Abac made a reversal and headlock into position for a pin at the 3:22 mark as the Judges won 55-12.
“John Handley and Skyline are much bigger schools. They are able to fill out all of the weight classes and that makes it tough when you have holes to compete against that. Not to take anything away from Skyline and John Handley, they have very good wrestlers. I’ve watched some of those kids grow up through the youth ranks. I knew we would have a tougher time with them. Obviously, the score indicates that. We had some good matches,” Coach Van Meter remarked.
“Kevin [Wetzel] wrestled well and Vincent [Cyrus] was in his match up until he had his injury to fault out. Isaac [Van Meter] had a tech fall and pins. That kid he tech falled in the end, that was smart since he was a senior and a good wrestler. It is hard for a freshman to be on an equal playing field from a strength standpoint. It was good for him to work on his feet and use it to his advantage. Matt Wright had two matches that didn’t go his way, but he is figuring some things out and wrestled good matches overall. Takedowns win matches and you hear coach Larry Schoonover say the way to Huntington is on takedown turnpike. When you hear him say get on the turnpike, it means to pick up the pace and get the takedowns. Our younger guys need to embrace that and no one likes to have their face mashed to the mat. This was a last minute addition to our schedule and I know Coach Keel from working in the youth program. I saw he had an opening and he was very good to extend the invitation to us. It would have been a long stretch from the Viking Smash without any live matches until the region tournament. We are a little banged up and I am going to give them a long weekend off and come back on Monday in full intensity to get ready for regionals and see what happens.”
Cyrus was injured during that match and was replaced in the Skyline match by Owen Hartman.
Skyline utilized seven pins and five forfeits to manufacture a 72-11 victory over Moorefield, while the Yellow Jackets earned a second period pin by Kevin Wetzel and a 20-3 tech fall by Isaac Van Meter.
The Hawks set a school record with 25 dual wins in a season and had their first perfect dual meet in school history having swept each opponent.
After the captain’s meeting, the wrestling began at the 170-lb weight class pitting Moorefield’s Rodney Wratchford (22-24) against Skyline’s Derrick Coleman.
It looked like Coleman was giving Wratchford a hug which was nice at first, but it was merely a disguise for a takedown out of bounds.
Coleman shot for both legs as Wratchford wrapped his arms around Coleman’s waist and Coleman shifted around to make a takedown.
Wratchford twisted to his base as Coleman put his left arm under Wratchford’s left arm across the chest and was able to flip Wratchford around.
Wratchford moved off his back flipping over and Coleman tried to counter before they went out of bounds.
Coleman made a headlock on his knees and turned Wratchford upside-down and over on his back on top of him.
Wratchford was able to spin around for a reversal and put his right arm around the head and right arm of Coleman to shift him to his back.
A few moments later, Coleman was back on top and got an arm bar lock for the pinning victory at 2:14.
Skyline’s Jacob Grady battled Moorefield’s Allen Hardbarger (20-25) in the first period of the 182-lb. weight class en route to a pin at 1:21.
Grady tried to bring Hardbarger down by pulling his head and Harbarger ended up landing on top and Grady pulled out and stood up while pushing down.
Grady went for a wrap around the waist and made the takedown, then rolled Hardbarger on his back but they went too far beyond the circle.
Another takedown was made by Grady and held his right arm around the neck of Hardbarger, who was on his back making a bridge before an escape.
Hardbarger was standing up and Grady grabbed his right leg and toppled him over to his back leading to a pin at 1:21.
The Hawks picked up forfeit wins for Ethan Gue and Taja Showers.
In the 285-lb. weight class, Moorefield’s Joseph Palm (13-20) lost to Skyline’s Patrick Slate in the first period by pin at 1:24.
Palm and Slate were in a headlock as most of these matches normally begin, then Palm was able to get around to Slate’s back for a hold and Slate broke free.
Slate got a firm hold on Palm’s neck and was able to shift the weight over and create the takedown finishing with a power half move leaning across Palm’s neck and chest with Palm fighting for a bridge and the hold wouldn’t budge leading to the pin.
Skyline went up 42-0 with forfeits given to Tyler Davis and Brandon Ahlemann.
The next match was the 120-lb. division for Moorefield’s Paxton Coby (5-11) against Skyline’s Logan Maiatico.
Maiatico made three takedowns and three near fall point, while Coby had two escapes before the Hawks wrestler got the pin in the third period at 5:02.
Both wrestlers tapped heads before making a headlock, then Maiatico wrapped his arm around Coby spinning to lift up Coby’s left ankle and Coby jumped out of the grasp.
Coby wrapped his right arm around Maiatico’s chest as he reached back around Coby’s neck, then Maiatico went down to his knees with Coby stretching his hands down on the mat.
Coby reached over for a headlock as both stood back up with Maiatico’s head upside-down at Coby’s chest reaching his arm up to the neck again.
Maiatico maneuvered around to pull Coby down on his knees and they both tossed around out of the circle.
In the middle, Maiatico turned a power half into a cradle, but Coby managed to get back to his base.
There was a brief injury timeout, then they went back to wrestling.
Maiatico made a tight headlock and leaned down over Coby as the period ended.
Coby was on his stomach a little bit later with Maiatico sitting on top trying to fold an arm back, then flipped Coby to his back before Coby managed to turn over to the top.
Maiatico grabbed both of Coby’s legs from his kneeling position and tried to turn Coby over on his back, but Coby twisted around.
Coby was back to his knees prying Maiatico’s arm off his neck, then Maiatico shifted around to grab a leg and go to the mat.
Coby managed to stand up, but Maiatico’s hold around the neck forced a trip to the mat and wasn’t able to break free with the pin at 5:02.
Skyline’s Morgan Robinson faced Moorefield’s Andrew Puffinburger (9-13) in the 126-lb. weight class.
Robinson has state tournament experience and used seven takedowns as Puffinburger garnered five escapes and two caution points before Robinson made then pin at 2:26 in the second period.
Robinson’s first takedown was by holding up Puffinburger’s left leg and driving him to the mat.
A penalty point on a hold was called, then Robinson grabbed both legs for a takedown and allowed an escape.
Puffinburger eluded a potential hold, then they were back in the middle and Robinson was able to stand up out of the top-bottom position.
Robinson grabbed Puffinburger’s right leg and pulled it up as Puffinburger put his hands down on the mat.
Both went down on their knees and Robinson was able to flip Puffinburger on his back for the pin.
After a forfeit for Maxim Keel, Skyline was now up 60-0 over the Yellow Jackets.
The shutout was denied as Moorefield’s Kevin Wetzel (29-21) garnered a pin at the 2:59 mark of the second period over Hawks wrestler Wyatt Spiker for the 138-lb. weight class, 60-6.
Wetzel reached towards Spiker’s head, but Spiker grabbed his arm and shifted it down.
Wrist control is important in matches as Wetzel snatched the right wrist of Spiker and was able to lower him to his knees leaning over his back with head down.
Spiker shifted around to Wetzel’s back as he was on his knees, then wrapped around the waist and knocked him down.
Wetzel made a reversal to get back on top and hold Spiker’s stomach.
Wetzel crouched over Spiker putting his arm around his neck and sliding his right leg around left leg of Spiker for a cradle before turning his weight on him for back points and the period buzzer came before a pin.
Spiker grabbed both legs of Wetzel and rolled him to the mat, but Wetzel countered and lifted Spiker upside-down throwing him over his shoulders.
Wetzel turned and got a power half and leg tucked for a cradle into a pin for the Yellow Jackets victory in that match.
Skyline’s Talon Keel (145-lb.) pinned Moorefield’s Matthew Wright (35-15) at the 1:34 mark of the first period.
Keel went for a shot at the legs and Wright spread out, but still had grasp of the left leg.
Keel stood up holding Wright’s leg underneath him before hoisting Wright up with his other toe just above the mat.
They returned to equal footing with headlocks, then tumbled to the mat with Wright on Keel’s back.
Keel spun around with a power half and land over Wright’s chest holding down for the pin.
Moorefield’s Owen Hartman (5-10) battled Skyline’s Anthony Domino in the 152-lb. division with Domino garnering the pin at the 1:09 mark.
Domino went underneath of Hartman holding one leg, while on his knees and leaned to a sitting position with Hartman in tow on his back before shaking him off still holding the ankle.
Hartman got his foot free and was on one knee trying to turn back toward Domino stretching his arm around his neck, but Domino countered with arm under the chin and right one around his back driving Hartman to the mat.
Hartman was underneath with a smile on his face despite the hold around his neck, then was able to shift to his knees, but Domino didn’t let go.
Domino wrapped his arm around Hartman’s head and put him on his back with Hartman trying to kick out and making a bridge before twisting to the side.
Hartman was on his stomach for a moment before being turned over for a pin.
The final match of the night featured Moorefield freshman Isaac Van Meter (47-2) against Skyline senior Sam Brown in the 160-lb. weight class.
Van Meter made five takedowns and two near fall points during a 20-3 tech fall win to cut the deficit to 72-11 in the Hawks favor.
Van Meter knelt down on one knee and grabbed both of Brown’s legs and lifted him up and sent him crashing to the mat.
Van Meter let Brown get up for an escape point, then locked heads.
Van Meter went on his knees and grabbed Brown’s left leg and lifted him over his shoulder, then let him back down on his feet.
They got into a headlock and moved around before eventually going out of bounds.
Van Meter hugged around Brown’s chest as Brown put his arm on top of Van Meter’s head and Van Meter tried to pull him down near the outer circle.
Back in the middle, Van Meter went for a wrap around his torso and made the takedown and pulled on his leg from behind to the out of bounds area.
Van Meter spun around from the bottom of the top-bottom position and leaned down to grab Brown’s right leg and he slipped out.
Brown was leaning over Van Meter, who was on his knees at this point and Van Meter stood up hoisting Brown off his shoulders to the mat.
Van Meter rode on top to the end of the period.
Van Meter was on the top put his right arm around Brown’s right shoulder as he was starting to stand top and stretched down to grab his right leg.
Van Meter hoisted Brown up by the leg and drove him toward the mat with Brown putting his hands down to prevent the initial fall, then Van Meter shifted Brown on top of his knee and launched forward for the takedown.
Van Meter earned back points leaning down across Brown’s abdomen and shifted over out of bounds before a short break in the action.
Van Meter put one arm across Brown’s shoulder and kept him down for a bit.
Van Meter lifted Brown on his shoulder from his knees and brought him down to the mat.
Van Meter stretched out for a cradle as Brown tucked his legs inside and lifted him up again and rolled him on his back.
Brown turned on his stomach as Van Meter looked up with his headgear straps covering his eyes.
Van Meter grabbed around Brown’s neck and flipped him around and held him with his back arched and arm back near the end of the third period and eased him over for the final tech fall point.
Skyline finished the perfect duals match with the 72-11 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
“They are an up and coming team. I am aware of Van Meter, knows he works out with one of the clubs around here and he is a good kid. Whenever we wrestle a West Virginia team, it doesn’t matter the skill level they are tough. They are fighters and will keep coming at you. They certainly brought that attitude toward wrestling, so that was cool. One of our goals was pace, because we have the postseason coming up. We just wanted to keep coming, cut a lot and do a lot of different moves. Our whole goal tonight was pace and our overall theme win or loss is just excellence. Win or loss, are you doing a good thing,” Skyline Wrestling Coach Matt Keel stated.
Moorefield plans to take lessons from theses matches into practice preparing for the Region II Tournament coming up next weekend at Braxton County with hopes of punching numerous tickets to the state tournament in Huntington.
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