WILLIAMSTOWN - Belpre, Caldwell and host Williamstown each posted a victory here Wednesday evening in a wrestling triangular.
The Yellowjackets of first-year head coach Ryan Scott, who won the Ritchie County Duals last weekend, had six grapplers go undefeated. Heavyweight Alex Rauch was the only 'Jacket to register two pins as the hosts fell to Belpre, 42-36, and knocked off Caldwell, 43-34. In the opening match of the tri, Caldwell squeaked past the Golden Eagles, 40-39.
"We were missing David (Hastings at 170) and he would've made the difference," said coach Scott, who noted Hastings will be out of the lineup for a while after having gallbladder surgery.
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Photo by Jeff Baughan
Belpre's Derek Davis controls Caldwell's Kale Rayner in their 182-pound match Wednesday in Williamstown. Rayner got the upper hand later and scored a pinfall at the 3:19 mark.
Aside from "Big Cat" Rauch, the only other wrestler to record a pair of mat slappers was Caldwell's Jared Leasure, who pinned Belpre 195-pounder Dakota McDaniel in 55 seconds and needed 89 ticks of the clock to do the same to Williamstown 182-pounder Cody Smith.
Brye Mullenix (113), Brett MacIver (120), Dalton George (126), Austin Raines (132) and Jake Tracewell (152) collected two wins each for the 'Jackets, who wrestle in a Friday quad at North Marion with Grafton and Herbert Hoover.
"That's big because Hoover is in our region now," added Scott, whose team had its closest individual match result in a 7-6 victory for 'Jacket 145-pounder Logan Lindsey versus Belpre's Ethan Wiggers. "The kids are pumped to wrestle North Marion, but actually Hoover is more important for us."
Fact Box
Caldwell 40, Belpre 39
106: Gavin Stalnaker (B) won by forfeit
113: Jordan McCutcheon (B) wbf
120: Kolby Rayner (C) wbf
126: Tyler Wiley (C) wbf
132: Michael Haga (C) wbf
138: Kameron Rayner (C) md. Robby Postlewaite 16-5
145: Ethan Wiggers (B) wbf
152: Cody Martin (B) wbf
160: Matthew Colvin (B) d. Austin Cobb 8-6 (OT)
170: Caleb VanMeter (C) p. D.J. Leftwich 3:33
182: Kale Rayner (C) p. Derek Davis 3:19
195: Jared Leasure (C) p. Dakota McDaniel 0:55
220: Jamie Barrett (B) p. Chance Rucker 0:29
285: Hayden Lowe (B) wbf
Williamstown 43, Caldwell 34
106: Dalton Smith (W) wbf
113: Brye Mullenix (W) wbf
120: Brett MacIver (W) md. Kolby Rayner 9-1
126: Dalton George (W) wbf
132: Austin Raines (W) d. Wiley 9-4
138: Joel Swisher (W) p. Haga 1:11
145: Kam. Rayner (C) md. Logan Lindsey 11-2
152: Jake Tracewell (W) wbf
160: Cobb (C) p. Trevor Anderson 3:17
170: VanMeter (C) wbf
182: Leasure (C) p. Cody Smith 1:29
195: Kal. Rayner (C) wbf
220: Tyson Cartell (C) wbf
285: Alex Rauch (W) p. Rucker 0:34
Belpre 42, Williamstown 36
106: Stalnaker (B) p. Smith 2:46
113: Mullenix (W) p. McCutcheon 5:44
120: MacIver (W) wbf
126: George (W) wbf
132: Raines (W) wbf
138: Postlewaite (B) p. Swisher 0:51
145: Lindsey (W) d. Wiggers 7-6
152: Tracewell (W) md. Martin 12-0
160: Colvin (B) p. Anderson 0:45
170: Leftwich (B) wbf
182: Davis (B) p. Smith 4:44
195: McDaniel (B) wbf
220: Barrett (B) wbf
285: Rauch (W) p. Lowe 4:57
Note: Williamstown lost one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Next matches: Belpre at Jackson Invitational on Saturday; Williamstown/Herbert Hoover/Grafton at North Marion quad on Friday.
W.Va. Coaches Association
wvmat.com wrestling polls
Class AAA
1. Huntington (6) 60
2. Ripley 54
3. Parkersburg South 47
4. Point Pleasant 42
5. Parkersburg 37
6. Wheeling Park 30
7. Washington 24
8. Musselman 16
9. Buckhannon-Upshur 12
10. Brooke 5
Others receiving votes: John Marshall
Class AA/A
1. Clay County (5) 59
2. East Fairmont 51
3. Greenbrier West (1) 47
4. Independence 45
5. Wirt County 35
6. Fairmont Senior 32
7. North Marion 19
8. Calhoun County 13
9. Williamstown 11
10. Oak Glen 9
Others receiving votes: Braxton County, Liberty (Raleigh)
Belpre head coach Scott Adams' squad, which heads Saturday to the Jackson Invitational, had 2-0 efforts from 106-pounder Gavin Stalnaker, 160-pounder Matthew Colvin and 220-pounder Jamie Barrett. Barrett had the quickest pin of the tri when he stuck Caldwell's Chance Rucker in 29 seconds.
"We're getting there," Adams said. "We should be back to almost full strength on Saturday. The boys are working hard in practice. They are grinding out here in the matches and aren't giving up.
"I think we've got a good shot at this tournament coming up. I'm looking forward to wrestling. There will be a lot of TVC teams and sectional teams there."
Joining Leasure with 2-0 records for Caldwell were Kameron Rayner (138/145), Caleb VanMeter (170) and Kale Rayner (182/195).
Rauch had the second quickest pin of the night, needing just 34 seconds to defeat Rucker.
Colvin had the only overtime match and posted an 8-6 victory thanks to his takedown just seven ticks into the extra session against Caldwell's Austin Cobb.
WHS 138-pounder Joel Swisher took a quick 2-0 lead against Belpre's Robby Postlewaite just 15 seconds into their match, but the Golden Eagle quickly turned things around and registered a mat slapper with 1:09 still left in the first period.
