THE SPORTS DESK
Prep Battlefield District Wrestling Meet: Cyclones whirl around rivals
EASTERN VIEW DOMINATES
IN DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
THE FREE LANCE–STAR
Eastern View junior wrestler Austin Jenkins turned toward the crowd at Chancellor High School and flexed his muscles.
The 145-pound standout had just captured the third Battlefield District championship of his career.
Jenkins wasn’t the only Cyclone with a reason to celebrate at the district meet Saturday.
Eight Eastern View wrestlers won individual championships and 13 out of 14 advanced to the Region I meet as the Cyclones dominated the competition en route to their second-straight district team title.
“I was just caught up in the moment,” Jenkins said of his gesture to the crowd. “I was really happy to get my third district title. It just felt good.”
The rest of the field wasn’t quite as merry, but there were some standouts outside of Eastern View. Chancellor finished in a third-place tie with Courtland, one place behind Culpeper. The Chargers had three individual champions.
Chancellor junior Joe Cafiero became the first non-Eastern View grappler to win a crown when he defeated the Cyclones’ Bret Shurina 4–2 in overtime in the 120-pound match.
Cafiero said before the championship bouts began the other Battlefield wrestlers got together and said “it’s everybody against Eastern View.” The Cyclones had a finalist in 13 of the 14 matches.
“Our first two people got destroyed,” Cafiero said. “So I figured I’d go out there and give it my all.”
Mark Weinstock (126 pounds) and Brandon Gallahan (195) also earned titles for Chancellor. King George’s Jacob Tucker (170), Caroline’s Donald Harris–Smith (182) and Culpeper’s Dakota Brackenridge (220) won championships, as well.
“My match was tough,” said Weinstock, who defeated Eastern View’s Nathaniel Aldiva 4–3. “But I just stayed strong, went with the flow and got the victory.”
That was one of only a few matches that didn’t go Eastern View’s way. Yarhoski Aldiva began the onslaught with a victory at 106 pounds. The meet was capped with a win by James Layher in the 285-pound division.
In between, Bryan Ramey (113), Kevin Willems (132), Tony Pritt (138), Jenkins (145), Brandon Layher (152) and Logan Shurina (160) won championships.
“Our kids are growing up,” Eastern View head coach Eric Brown said. “It all kind of falls back to our youth program and us putting the time in. I’ve got a bunch of coaches that work with our young guys and getting them started at a young age. It’s exciting to see the accumulation of your work. You’re starting to see the fruits of your labor.”
The Cyclones, who had just one senior reach the finals Saturday, will see if that continues at the regional meet next Saturday at King George. The top four individual wrestlers in the district meet will advance to regionals.
Brown said depth is the key factor in having a successful regional meet. So with 13 wrestlers on hand Eastern View could compete for a title.
“If you can carry big numbers to regionals,” Brown said, “you’ve got a chance.”
Team scores:
- 1. Eastern View 292.5; 2. Culpeper 151; 3 (tie). Chancellor and Courtland 133.5; 5. Spotsylvania 108.5; 6. Caroline 108; 7. King George 100.5; 8. Southampton 50.
Championship finals: 106—Yarhoski Aldiva (EV) p. DJ Ahalt (Ct) 3:03; 113—Bryan Ramey (EV) p. Douglas Palacios (Ct) 3:40; 120—Joe Cafiero (Ch) d. Bret Shurina (EV) 4–2 (OT); 126—Mark Weinstock (Ch) d. Nathaniel Aldiva (Ch) 4–3; 132—Kevin Willems (EV) d. David Counts (Cu) 7–4; 138—Tony Pritt (EV) p. Jacob Wishon (Ch) 3:16; 145—Austin Jenkins (EV) p. Josh Stacy (Sp) 5:17; 152—Brandon Layher (EV) p. Nick Monetta (Cu) 6:42 (OT); 160—Logan Shurina (EV) d. Dartagan Dwyer (Cu) 19–8; 170—Jacob Tucker (KG) d. Kaleb Weaver 7–6; 182—Donald Harris–Smith (Ca) d. Bryce Willems (EV) 5–0; 195—Brandon Gallahan (Ch) d. Sam McDonald (South) 15–4; 220—Dakota Brackenridge (Cu) d. Cullen Burnett (EV) 3–1 (OT); 285—James Layher (EV) p. Shawn Saffy (Ct) 4:38.
Consolation finals: 106—Ronnie Murphy (Cu) p. Ryan Heavener (KG) 3:04; 113—Josh Turbyfill (Ch) d. Michael Shook (Ca) 10–7; 120—Terry Evans (Sp) p. Andrew McIntyre (Cu) 2:32; 126—Tim Bailey (Ct) p. Trevor Smith (KG) 3:49; 132—Benjamin Crawford (Ca) p. Jon Hokenson (Ct) 4:07; 138—Tristen King (Ct) p. Tyler Frazier (Cu) 4:05; 145—Bryson Howard (KG) d. Luke Price (Ca) 4–3; 152—James Anderson (Sp) d. Devine Fenner (South) 9–2; 160—Alon Clipper (KG) p. Zach Teeple (Ct) 1:15; 170—Cody Vick (Cu) d. Cody Kidd (Ca) 4–3; 182—Josh Thomas (Sp) p. Dmitri Dwyer (Cu) 2:41; 195—Thomas Campbell (Sp) d. Aaron Teague (Ca) 6–2; 220—Connor Sullivan (Ch) d. Joe Tyson (Ct) 5–2; 285—Wyatt Carroll (Cu) p. Seth Turner (KG) 4:40.
Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
tcoghill@freelancestar.com
