The Patrick County Wrestling Team were the Class 2C Wrestling Tournament Runner-Ups at James River High School this past Saturday, February 11th. They entered 12 wrestlers out of a possible 14 and 9 wrestlers earned the opportunity to compete in the Class 2 State Tournament, February 17th -18th at the Salem Convention Center.
“One of this year’s team goals that we set at the beginning of the season was to win the Regional Championship,” Head Coach Tim Lawson said. “We knew going in on paper that the teams to beat were Glenvar and James River. We knew we would need a few breaks and a few close matches to fall our way to make this happen. Any time you are competing in a tough situation you need a few things to go your way. Everything just didn’t line-up and we had a few matches that normally go our way come up short Saturday. Going in we were not full strength with a couple wrestlers at 150 and 157 unable to compete because of minor injuries and scheduling conflicts with the State Beta Club Convention. This hurt us a little, but we still had opportunities that just didn’t go our way.
“Glenvar, the tournament champions, entered a full team and were definitely the better team on Saturday. As these young men have done all season, they did an awesome job of competing hard and representing themselves, their families, their team, their school, and community well,” Lawson said. “Our wrestling coaches and athletic department are proud of them and their effort. Finishing 2nd behind a strong Glenvar team is no small feat and is the best postseason finish by a team in a while. We still have not reached our potential and feel like with a good week of practice, we could surprise some people at the state tournament.”
Ethan Cobbler (120), Juan Pablo Gutierrez (126), Trent Alexander (138), Paul Pascale (215), and Ricky Mejia (HWT) all finished second in their respective weight classes. Jonathan Culler (106), Jackson Iacovone (132), and Stephen Spencer finished third in their respective weight classes. Ben Knight (113) finished 4th while Rawl Mabe (175) and Tristan Hardy (190) both finished 5th.
With his two wins on Saturday, Tristan Hardy moved into second place for the most wins in a single season (45) and finished his wrestling career with over 100 wins.
“Tristan Hardy and Rawl Mabe, both seniors and captains, have won a lot of matches and are a big reason for our success over the last couple years,” Lawson said. “They just came up a little short Saturday. These two young men are two of the most dependable that I have had the pleasure of coaching over the last 41 years. You can count on them being there and giving a great effort no matter the circumstances. They both worked hard and were two great leaders for our program. I tell our kids all the time, the best ability is dependability, and these two are great examples of that. I am sure they will be at practice this week helping us get ready for the state tournament. The thing about wrestling, and a big thing that separates it from all the other sports, is there is a very small margin for a mistake. You make a technical flaw or turn the wrong way the match could be over within 2 seconds. This is what happened to these two Saturday and it happened on the wrong day.”