Junior High Report
The Majority of the State's action occurred in Morristown, Ohio where feeder schools into the OVAC (Ohio Valley Athletic Conference) participated in a Jr. OVAC tournament. This was the second year that West Virginia teams were allowed to particpate and Oak Glen made a good run of things as they finished fourth overall. Only thirteen points seperated first from fourth place, as all of them had a chance to claim the crown. Follensbee finished a respectable fifth place out of the 30 teams wrestling.
We will be taking our final team ranking poll after the Harpers Ferry Duals. Some of the voters have asked for overall team records. If you feel your team is worthy of being ranked, these records will help others in their rankings. E-Mail myself and I will forward to the voters or update your team page through Doc and he will post the updated teams on the front page. I will also be updating the final Who's Who List next week. So if I have any oversights, make sure I get the corrected ones by Sunday evening.
Every year, someone eventually asks who are the top Jr High Wrestlers advancing to High School. The Who's Who List started out to answer that question, as in the beginning it was a "Top 8 per Weight". The "Top 8" list was excluding to many wrestlers that had won tournaments, and no matter what the quality of a tournament is, nothing should be taken away from an individual claiming a title. So we expanded the Top 8 to be a Who's Who. Over mixed feelings, I decided to take the Who's Who list and recognize the top eight per weight class. After talking with several coaches and parents, I realized that some kids peak at different ages in their lives. Some kids will be champions all through their careers while others peak early and this may be their only chance at 15 minutes of fame. Still others may not peak until later in their lives. Making this list does not guarantee success at the next level or even next year for those who will be returning to the Jr High/Middle School ranks.
This list is only my opinion and excludes many wrestlers whose results have not been posted to WVMAT. I do not know the grades of a lot of these wrestlers and do not know who will be wrestling High School, JV, Freshmen or returning to Jr High/Middle School. But for the 1999-2000 season, these were the best performances.
75 Pounds: The elite of the paperweights are Sean Meade of Beckley-Stratton (22-1) and Colby Painter of Western Greenbrier (29-0). Sean has victories at the Clash of Champions, the Richwood Duals, the Andrew Jackson Invitational, the WSAZ and the Raleigh County Championship. Colby sports an undefeated season with championships from the Eastern Greenbrier Duals and the Panther Duals.
Jacob Stanley of Barboursville (They ought to rename the town Stanleyville. How many Stanleys are in Barboursville') was borderline of being in the elite. His one lost came to Meade of Beckley-Stratton in the finals at Andrew Jackson. An injury occurred after Jacob's lost that kept him from finishing out the year.
East Fairmont's Chris Greynolds and Cameron's Tim Cumpston have exchanged victories this year at local tournaments. Finishing out the top eight are Brandon Miller, Oak Glen; Scooter Myers, Jackson; and Brandon Patton, Blennerhassett.
83 Pounds: Blennerhassett's Felix Osuna Cotto and Wellsburg's Matt Smith are the top eighty-three pounders in the state. Felix had an early season injury that kept him out of action but bounced back in time to win the WSAZ and owns a small but impressive undefeated record (11-0). He is a two time Wood County Champion and I believe he is undefeated in his two year, Jr. High career ('25-0').
Matt Smith of Wellsburg claimed a championship at the tough Buckeye-Mountaineer Conference Tournament to qualify for his elite status. His other titles include the Warwood Duals and the Indian Creek Tournament.
Other contenders making the top eight in alphabetical order are Todd Davis, Buckhannon-Upshur; James Kelly, Cammack; Alex Lee, Moundsville; John Neal, Shady (23-3); Brian Snuffer, Independence; and Tyler Wilson, Beckley-Stratton (30-5).
90 Pounds: JJ Flint, East Fairmont; Corey Porter (Anthony), Blennerhassett: and Jonathan McFarland, Wellsburg are the mighty of the mighty mites. JJ and Corey have won every Tournament they have entered with JJ winning the Cameron Touranment, the Mannington Holiday Tournament, the South Morgantown Duals and the Mason-Dixon Championship. JJ finished the season undefeated with a 27-0 record.
Corey owns an undefeated season with wins at the Southside Duals, the Clash of Champions, the WSAZ and the Wood County Championship. Jonathan has bounced around weight classes with the differences between Ohio and West Virginia and has captured crowns at the Buckeye-Mountaineer Tournament, the Steubanville Invitational and the Jr. OVAC Championship.
Rounding out the top eight are Josh Bailey, Jackson; Justin Chapman, Shady (23-2); Logan Hartle, Moundsville; Andrew Mazzella, Follansbee; and Timmy McCoy, Wirt County.
95 Pounds: Jacob Frerichs, Hayes (28-0); Brian Humphreys, Warwood; and Jason Koontz, Moundsville are the elite of the ninety-five pounders. Jacob is undefeated and was on my OW ballot at the WSAZ. His other titles include McKinley Duals, Hayes Invitational and Kanawha County Championship.
Warwood's Brian Humphrey won the Jr. OVAC Championship to add to his titles at the Warwood Duals, the Cadiz Invitational and the PAC-8 Championship. The ever smiling Jason Koontz, Moundsville won a title at the Cameron Tournament and was a Clash of Champions All-Tournament selection.
Other ninety-five pounders to watch are Justin Ashley, Wirt County; Ryan Bostic, Park; Andy Eaton, Edison; Jared Garvin, South Morgantown and Drew Munson, Blennerhassett.
102 Pounds: Shane Grogg, David Campbell and Kurt Shumate are the elite of 102. Blennerhassett's Grogg finished his Jr. High career undefeated (23-0, 37-0 for 2 years). Shane captured two County Championships, a WSAZ title, Clash of Champions title and Southside Duals winner.
Cheat Lakes' David Campbell captured crowns at the South Morgantown Duals and the Mason-Dixon Championship. Mannington's Kurt Shumate won titles at the Cameron Tournament and the Mannington Holiday Tournament.
Other top 102 contenders are R.J. Clegg, Jackson; Evans, Nitro; Baxter Fullen, Cammack; Scarbro Shady and G. Stipetich, Union.
110 Pounds: Shawn Moore of East Fairmont and Braden Shaw of Follansbee top the list of 110 pounders. Shawn's tournament victories included Cameron, Mannington, South Morgantown and Mason-Dixon. Braden's titles include Warwood, Buckeye-Mountaineer, Steubanville and a second place at the Jr. OVAC.
Just missing on the elite status were Wirt County's Matt Dye and Blennerhassett's Shaun Smith. Matt and Shaun split four matches this year. Matt won the Southside Duals and Wood County title and Shaun won the WSAZ and Wood County Regular season. Shaun's other title came at the Clash of Champions.
Other top contenders at 110 are Zach Evans, Beckley-Stratton (29-5); Cody Gustines, Charles Town; Steve Reynolds, Harpers Ferry and Johnny Rexroad, Buckhannon-Upshur.
116 Pounds: Daniel Evans and David Kuhn are the elite at 116. Evans of Triadelphia won at Warwood and the PAC-8 Championship. Moundsville's Kuhn finished the year undefeated (28-0) with victories at Cameron and the Clash of Champions.
Other top contenders at 116 are Mathias Hickman, East Fairmont; Tommy Jackson, Harpers Ferry; Bryce Pickens, Edison; Caleb Stricker, Herbert Hoover; Jay Thomas, Beckley-Stratton (32-3) and Alan Tracewell, Williamstown.
123 Pounds: The elite at 123 are Mitch Smith, Ripley; Jesse Mestrovic, Bridge Street; and Jasin Whipkey, Cameron. Mitch has been relatively untested, sporting a perfect record at 27-0. He has championships from Barboursville, Hayes and the WSAZ. Jesse is the top dog in the panhandle winning the Warwood Duals and the PAC-8 Championship. Jasin victories have come at Cameron, Mannington and the Mason-Dixon Tournament.
Other contenders rounding out this tough weight are Casto, Ripley; Derrick Knapp, Hamilton; Chad Pauley, McKinley; Shawn Simmons, Moundsville and Seth Young, Blennerhassett.
128 Pounds: Williamstown's Shane Smith and Cameron's Casey Hughes are the elite at 128. Shane had impressive victories enroute to his WSAZ Championship to accompany his Wood County Championship. Casey's championships came at Cameron, Mannington and the Mason-Dixon Tournament.
Other wrestlers to watch are Casto, Nitro; David Farley, Beckley-Stratton (27-6); Mike George, Jackson; Moles, Herbert Hoover; Steve Morrison, Edison and Brian Williamson, Hamilton.
135 Pounds: Tim Cashdollar, Oak Glen; Mike Davis, Harpers Ferry and Kyle Walters, Edison head up the best of the 135 pounders. Tim won the tough Buckeye-Mountaineer, Warwood Duals and Indian Creek Tournaments and finished second at the Jr. OVAC. Mike (22-0) and Kyle (14-0) had perfect seasons. Mike won the McKinley, Sherrard and Spencer Duals. After coming off an injury, Kyle won the WSAZ and Wood County Championships.
Another tough weight class which includes Justin Boyden, Beckley-Stratton (33-2); J.R. Morris, Herbert Hoover; Jude, Cabell-Midland; Jay Shell, Buckhannon-Upshur and D.J. Yoders, Cameron in it's top eight.
145 Pounds: Gerald Blake, Cameron; Carr, Point Pleasant and Mark Smith, Western Greenbrier are the top wrestlers at 145 pounds. Blake won tournaments at Cameron, Mannington and the Mason-Dixon conference. Carr won the WSAZ and finished first at the Ohio-West Virginia Super Duals. Mark finished the season undefeated (24-0) winning the Eastern Greenbrier and Panther Duals.
Other top competitors are Josh Evans, Beckley-Stratton (34-1); Lee Lauderman, Williamstown; McGhee, Hayes; Sayre, Ripley and Evan Whalen, Harpers Ferry.
155 Pounds: Four grapplers top the 155 pound list. Hensley, Riverside; Daniel Lemley, East Fairmont; Matt McKinney, Moundsville and Cody Potts, Oak Glen. Hensley won the WSAZ, Hayes and Kanawha County Championships. Daniel finished first at South Morgantown Duals and the Mason-Dixon Conference Championship. Cody won the Buckeye-Mountaineer Tournament, Indian Creek Tournament, the Warwood Duals and finished second at the Jr. OVAC.
Other top 155 pounders are Bayes, Stonewall Jackson; Matt Cozart, South Middle; Jordan, Cabell-Midland and Jeremy Lott, Wirt County.
165 Pounds: Dan Carpenter, Edison and Matthew Delligatti, Miller stands atop the 165 pound list. Gym Rat Dan pulled double duty as he started on the school's basketball team and went undefeated (13-0) on the mat with nothing but pins at the WSAZ and Wood County Championships. Matthew had victories at Mannington, South Morgantown and Mason-Dixon Tournaments.
Other top eight wrestlers at 165 are J. Cochran, Riverside; Mark Freed, Blennerhassett; M. Postlewaite, Triadelphia; Chad Tincher, Western Greenbrier (19-1) and Dennis Warner, Harpers Ferry.
190 Pounds: A tough weight class to figure out since some tournaments do not carry this weight class and some of its better wrestlers may not have competed where they are stuck in the heavyweight class. Artie Badger, Harpers Ferry; McCord, Bridge Street and Phalen, Ripley has excelled at this weight. Artie won the Sherrard and Spencer Duals. McCord titles came at Warwood and the PAC-8 Championships. Phalen proved to be a top competitor with his win at the WSAZ.
Other notable 190 pound wrestlers are Casto, Ripley 9th; Emerson, Cabell-Midland; Aaron Kirby, Jackson; Justin Scott, VanDevender and Zac Williams, Blennerhassett.
250 Pounds: Not necessarily saving the best for last, but heavyweight Holmes of Stonewall Jackson gets my vote as the Outstanding Jr. High Wrestler of the Year. Nobody ran with this big dog as I watched him pin his way through the WSAZ while barely working up a sweat. Holmes never got a chance to show me his technical ability that the lighter weights might possessed more of, because he easily dispensed some of the top heavyweights with ease.
Filling out the rest of the top eight are Dooley, Beverly Hills; Huffman, Bridge Street; Lance McKeever, Tyler (9-2); Chris McDowell, Harper's Ferry; Richards, Dupont; J. Talcoberry, Triadelphia; and Wesley Young, Edison.