Note: This report is not a set of predictions, but rather a report on what I've seen, heard, or read so far this year. In each weight class I'll list a few wrestlers who have shown some success on the mats in the month of December, and highlight some of the key rivalries that may exist within those weight classes. Just because a wrestler's name appears first on the list doesn't necessarily mean he is my "pick" for the top spot in his weight class. Also, as I've stated before, I only report what I know. If I fail to mention a wrestler whom you think is worthy of mentioning, it may be because his or her team's results haven't been reported to this website or to a newspaper that I've seen. Please call any mistakes and/or oversights to my attention.
103
Ashley Gandee of Ravenswood has only one loss to date, and
that was a 6-4 overtime decision to AAA defending state
champion Alex Reed of Point Pleasant. He should meet up
this weekend (at the Braxton Pizza Hut Tournament) with a
couple of tough opponents in Braxton's Bub Yurkovich, whose
only loss has been to Calhoun's Chris Morris. Morris' only
AA loss has been to Ryan Bumgardner, whose only losses have
been to Gandee and Chad Snider of Tyler Consolidated (no
losses at 103). Joining Gandee, Yurkovich, and Morris to
make the Pizza Hut field a tough one will be Grafton's Cory
Auvil. Cameron's Tucker Brown is enjoying a lot of success
in his first year of high school wrestling, as he carried
an 18-1 record into the new year (the one loss was
out-of-state). Possible wrestlers to watch for are Oak
Glen's Zach Zubay, Shady Spring's Scott Harvey, and Webster
County's James Lane.
112
Another Cameron freshman, Roger Kupfer, is also storming
through the season with an undefeated (20-0) record as of
the first week of January. 1998 103-lb Champion Ash
Wenmoth of Williamstown boasts a 14-1 record, with the one
loss coming to a wrestler from powerful Walsh Jesuit of
Ohio. Travis McCartney of Calhoun was undefeated until
this past weekend when he suffered his first loss at the
hands of AAA wrestler Robbie Williams of Huntington.
Wenmoth and McCartney will meet early next month at the LKC
tournament, but Kupfer will have to wait until the regional
tournament to face Wenmoth. Kupfer and McCartney are not
scheduled to face each other in the regular season.
Braxton's Dustin Culverhouse has only suffered one loss, a
two-point decision to McCartney. Clay-Battelle's Tommy
Stiles' only in-state loss has been to Kupfer. Other
wrestlers to watch in this class are Oak Glen's Jason
Roberts (runner-up to Wenmoth in 1998), Grafton's Travis
Boyce, Ritchie's Andrew Hosey, and Wirt County's Joey Sharp.
119
Two-time state champion Jimmy Johnson of Calhoun got his
first taste of defeat this past weekend as he, like his
teammate McCartney, lost a close decision to a Huntington
wrestler (Ryan Fullen). Johnson has handed Braxton's James
Harris his only loss on the year, and the two may stage a
re-match at Braxton County this weekend. Weir's Eric Noel
has only lost twice this year, and both losses were to AAA
wrestlers. Willie Westbrook of Williamstown has only one
in-state loss, that being to Wirt County's Nathan Miller,
who has lost to McCartney and Joel O'Neil of Cameron. Add
to this list of fine wrestlers Chase Coleman from
Frankfort, Adam Leach from Grafton, Troy Morello from
Greenbrier West, Gaelen Lowers from Oak Glen, and Corey
Reed from Berkeley Springs (who is expected back soon), and
you've got a strong group of challengers who will see if
they can get in the way of Johnson's third state title.
125
Ravenswood's Scott Bush defeated Ritchie's Jason Hayhurst,
a defending state champion, in their first head to head
match this year, and hasn't looked back since. Bush has
gone undefeated (either 18 or 19 wins without a loss),
recently claiming a title in his home gym at the Jackson
County Invitational with a win over Greenbrier West's
Dennis Blankenship (which I believe was Blankenship's first
in-state loss on the year). Hayhurst hasn't done too
poorly either, though, as he has won every match since
falling to Bush. Weir's Matt Valles has not lost to an
in-state opponent, as his only loss to-date has been a
one-point decision. South Harrison's Matt Jones is right
up there with these guys as his only losses have been to
Bush and Hayhurst. Chris Leach of Grafton and Justin
Butcher of Braxton have only two losses apiece, and
Butcher's have come at 130. The talent doesn't stop there,
as Berkeley Springs' Billy McCann, Calhoun's Bobby
Ledbetter, Cameron's Tyler Hughes, Frankfort's Sean
Junkins, Oak Glen's Justin Graham, Petersburg's Matt Dolly,
Shady Spring's Scott Lynch, and Wirt's Derreck Shearer are
some other wrestlers off to good starts at this weight.
130
According to the information I received last week, there
are at least two undefeated wrestlers in this weight class.
The first is Ritchie's Justin Wince, who has won all nine
of his matches so far, and Big Creek's Scotty Hale, who was
8-0 as of last week. A number of wrestlers will be out to
hand these guys their first losses, as returning champion
Logan Glass of Oak Glen, Matt Valles of Weir and Mark Lowe
of Wirt only have one loss apiece (although I could be
wrong about Lowe). Although I don't have complete
information on them, Cameron's Caleb Lucey, Clay County's
Mike Minger, Winfield's Nick Prather, and Shady Spring's
Matt Perdue (currently out with an injury) should make
things interesting as well.
135
Oak Glen's Ed Weible has managed to win 15 of his 16
matches, despite wrestling Oak Glen's ever-tough schedule.
He faces some tough regional opponents in Williamstown's
Justin Wenmoth, who has no in-state losses, and St. Marys'
Terry Childers. Wenmoth and Childers will meet up with
their LKC counterparts, Todd Snider of Ritchie (6-2) and
Josh Cross of Wirt in a few weeks at their conference
tournament. Wenmoth has already handed Cross a 9-0 defeat,
which may have been his first in-state loss of the year.
Big Creek's Paul Prater, Greenbrier West's Aaron Ransom,
Independence's Tim Toney, and Richwood's Levi Bragg should
be ones to watch also.
140
It's been six years since West Virginia has crowned a
four-time state champion, and Mike Miller wants to end that
drought by becoming only the sixth wrestler in the 52-year
history of the tournament to accomplish the feat. As far
as I know, his only loss this year was a 3-1 decision that
came at the hands of a top-ranked Maryland wrestler in the
Max Horz Invitational. Meadow Bridge's Bobby Martin has
racked up an impressive record of his own, going 18-1 as of
last week. Ritchie County's Rhett Koslosky's only loss has
been to an Ohio wrestler. Grafton's Jody Cunningham,
Greenbrier West's Brian McClung, and Oak Glen's Andy
Wharton are all off to good starts. South Harrison's
Justin Wright was also off to a pretty good start, but is
out with an injury and may have to sit out the rest of the
season. Other wrestlers to look for are Big Creek's Josh
Williams, Cameron's Jeff Hughes, Fayetteville's Allen Poff,
Frankfort's Phillip Kesner, Shady Spring's Sam Lilly, and
Webster County's John McElwain.
145
As far as I know, three wrestlers in this weight class
(returning state champion Nat Smith of Ritchie County, Drew
Toth of South Harrison, and Jason Seville of Berkeley
Springs) have only one loss apiece. Seville's loss has
come against a wrestler from Maryland, Smith's loss came to
Tyler's Jason Snider at 152, and Toth's loss came to Smith.
Jason Litten of Frankfort could fall in that category too,
as I have only read about one loss, and that was
out-of-state. Dave Green of Bishop Donahue has not lost to
any of his current 145-lb opponents as he sports an 8-2
record. Rob Lamb of Oak Glen missed last year's state
tournament due to an injury if I'm not mistaken, but he's
bounced back with an 11-3 record for the Golden Bears so
far this year. Other wrestlers to take note of are
Ravenswood's Jon Dauch, St. Marys' Terry Kimball, Shady
Spring's Shannon Wiseman, Webster County's Cory Tharp, and
Winfield's Justin White.
152
Eric McCartney is storming through the 152-lb weight class
this year as he boasts a 22-0 record so far. Although
McCartney is off to a fantastic start, there are several
others in this class who are doing very well in their own
respect. Jason Waugh of Berkeley Springs' only loss has
come against Chip Kimble of Frankfort, who may not have any
in-state defeats yet. Braxton's Brian Justice only has two
losses, one of which was to McCartney. South Harrison's
Jayson Byrd is undefeated, but started the season late and
hasn't got a whole lot of matches in yet. Tyler's Jason
Snider only has two losses. I know one of them is
out-of-state, but I'm not sure about the other. Snider
will face some tough regional opponents in Oak Glen's Matt
Holdsworth, Weir's Vince Magnone, and Williamstown's Zac
Johnson, who is fighting an injury again this year.
Fayetteville's J. R. Farnsworth could be one to watch,
although I haven't seen a lot on him.
160
South Harrison's Andrew Richards has gotten his season
started on the right foot, compiling an 8-0 record so far.
One of those wins has come against 1998 152-lb state
champion Chad Purpura of Bishop Donahue, which has been
Purpura's only loss to date. The two will probably not
face each other any more in the regular season. However,
these aren't the only two tough wrestlers in this weight
class. Berkeley Springs' Tommy Widmeyer has not lost a
match while wrestling at 160, and Braxton's Tony Hardway
has only had one loss (to Frankfort's Chip Kimble, who is
at 152). Clay-Battelle's Mike King has only one in-state
loss, and that was to Berkeley Springs' Ben Godman, who is
at 171. Three wrestlers only have a couple of losses on
their records, and they are Greenbrier West's Russell Sims,
Oak Glen's Jason Jones, and Weir's Brent Zuccolotto.
Meadow Bridge's Jeremy Lester, Williamstown's Howard
Melrose, and Wirt County's Danny Drennen shouldn't be
counted out.
171
Liberty Raleigh's Steve Kinley is the defending 171-lb
state champion, and so far his only loss this year was
decided on a slam call earlier in the year. It has been
speculated that he could face the AAA 171-lb state
champion, Mike Thompson of Shady Spring, but so far
Thompson has stayed at 189. Ben Godman of Berkeley Springs
has not lost to an in-state opponent this year. Other
wrestlers who could make things interesting at this weight
are Greenbrier West's Bob Ailstock, Iaeger's Daniel
Blevins, Meadow Bridge's Neil Hanshew, Petersburg's Ryan
Dingess, Ravenswood's Jeremy Nester, Ritchie County's
Clifford Underwood, and South Harrison's Billy Miller.
189
Cameron's Brandon Kupfer returns to defend his state title
at the same weight class where he won it all a year ago.
With several individual tournament titles under his belt
already, I'm not sure if he's even lost a match yet. If
Mike Thompson of Shady Spring stays at 189, this could be
one matchup that fans from both divisions would want to
watch. Thompson, who is 6-0 but injured at the moment,
faces tough opponents in both the 171-lb and 189-lb
classes, as both Kinley and Kupfer are determined to retain
their titles. But for those of you not familiar with
Thompson, he made a name for himself last year as he pinned
Jefferson's top-rated Ryan Zombro in the AAA 171-lb finals.
But this is by no means a two-man class as Richard Stotler
of Berkeley Springs (12-1) has not lost to an in-state
opponent yet, and Addam Lewis of Liberty Raleigh (7-1) has
only a 1-0 loss to Thompson staining his record. South
Harrison's Jeremy Wright was off to a perfect start before
being sidelined with Mono, but should return to action by
the Petersburg Smash tournament. Arnold Houser of St.
Marys has only one loss in 11 matches, and that was to
Williamstown's Ryan Delebreau. Braxton's Bobby Hart has
only one loss, and that was early in the season at 171.
Other wrestlers who could make an impact are Clay County's
Bo Miller, Grafton's Ben Taylor, and Wirt County's Kris
Villers.
215
The two undefeated wrestlers in this weight class, Robert
Busick of Weir and Dan Lahman of Petersburg, could find
themselves remaining that way until the state tournament,
as the two are not scheduled to face each other during the
regular season. Busick, who was the 189-lb runner-up in
1998, started the season late due to being on Weir's state
championship football team, but breezed through the
Wheeling Park Duals without a loss to start his season at
10-0. Busick could face another tough Panhandle wrestler
in Bishop Donahue's Brendan Welsh when the OVAC tournament
rolls around in a couple of weeks. Welsh is 10-1 on the
year, with his only loss coming to an Ohio wrestler. In
the same neck of the woods is Oak Glen's Greg Six, who is
off to a 12-3 start. Ritchie County's Justice Smith has
only two losses, one to Welsh and the other to Magnolia's
Richie Hobson. Traveling farther south, one will find that
Big Creek's Wesley Payne, Shady Spring's Andrew Kincaid,
and Winfield's Joe Baxter could turn some heads.
275
Ravenswood's Luke Salmons won the AA heavyweight title last
year, and is well on his way to defending that title as he
has at least 13 or 14 wins now without a loss. He knows
it's expected that he'll meet up again for a re-match with
his 1998 runner-up, Alex McClung from Oak Glen, who is off
to his own powerful start at 15-0. Both wrestlers are
starting off the year confident that they can claim this
year's title, but they need to be careful not to look past
the other talented wrestlers in the field. Ritchie
County's Thomas Naylor hasn't tasted defeat yet either, as
his record is 9-0. Braxton County's Justin Ritter has only
suffered one loss, a one-point decision to Calhoun's Jeremy
Laughlin. Laughlin's three losses (against 16 wins) have
come against Clay County's Jamie McDonough (twice) and
Naylor. Buddy Hawkins of Williamstown has not lost to a
West Virginia opponent.
Acknowledgements (a couple of them belated AAA acknowledgements): Joe Altobello, Eric Ammons, Cory Auvil, Wayne Bennett, Rusty Burwell, Nick Busick, Jeff Givens, Ed Fields, Joel Harris, Jason Hayhurst, Arnold Houser, Jason Jackson, Matt Jones, Nathan Kinsley, Mike McCartney, Tim Miller, Emil Nardone, Michael Nogay, Bob Pickens, Larry Richie, Jason Seville, Larry Shaw, Tom Shuman, Jeremy Wright, The Beckley Register-Herald, The Grant County Press, The Jackson Herald, The Martinsburg Journal, The Parkersburg News, The Parkersburg Sentinel, The Tyler Star-News, The Wheeling News-Register, The Wirt County Journal.
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Updated January 12, 1999