Regional wrestling tournament sees multiple standouts

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

There was an electricity in the air at Powhatan High School’s gymnasium as the Class 4, Region B wrestling finalists walked on the lone mat surrounded by spectators and fellow wrestlers. A single overhead mat light was all that surrounded the top wrestlers in the region as they looked to solidify their placing in the upcoming Class 4 state tournament that is rapidly approaching later this month.

It was a tight race until the end that was decided in one of the final matches of a two-day tournament on Feb. 10 and 11, but the Spotsylvania Knights claimed the region title in a thrilling tournament that saw the winners and fifth place Atlee separated by just 34 team points.

The Raiders finished regionals with 145 points and one region champion in 113-pound senior Eric Ludwig, while Mechanicsville was close behind with 142.5 points in sixth. Patrick Henry also finished eighth with 127 points and Hanover closed out its season in 10th with 90.

Ludwig (36-8) earned his ticket to states with a 3-0 record in his last regional tournament as a Raider, first winning his quarterfinals and semifinals matchups with pins and later winning in a 15-5 major decision against Courtland’s Chance Picard to claim the region crown.

Ludwig’s first pin in the quarterfinals took just 1:18, with the Atlee star defeating Ethan Nolton from Eastern View and setting up a meeting with Patrick Henry senior Blake Deschamps.

Ludwig was a constant threat to pin Deschamps for the entirety of the match, which lasted 3:24. He recorded a pair of near falls before finally getting his Patriots opponent on his back to finish the match. Deschamps (30-14) still ended his day strong with a third place finish after beating King George’s Kaleb Inzana with a 90-second pin in the top consolation match.

Atlee had six more wrestlers place within the top-5 to round out a solid team performance, including third place finishes from 138-pound Brayton Crews, 144-pound Tyler Bosher and 165-pound Benji Collawn. Brodie Gibbs, 106 pounds, placed fourth to extend his season while 126-pound Alex Donaldson and 157-pound Tristan Torres took fifth place in their respective weight classes.

While Deschamps had to settle for third place after a tough semifinals loss against a Capital District foe, Patrick Henry freshman Ryan O’Keefe would not be denied on his way to a region title. The young Patriots star who holds a 42-6 record needed less than a minute to pin his first two opponents on the way to the final round, where he outclassed Varina wrestler Jayon Moore in a 13-6 decision complete with 7-1 start in the first period.

144-pound Chase Glenn after his fifth place result.

For Mechanicsville, seven of their nine competing wrestlers were able to place within the top-5 led by victories in the 175-pound class from Jacob Koenig (16-4) and in the 150-pound class by Kevin Bagby (37-10).

Koenig pinned all three opponents on his way to the region title, with his toughest challenger being Eastern View’s Nick Ramsey in the finals. Koenig led 9-1 before pinning Ramsey, but Ramsey survived up until the final moments of the second period, where Koenig ended the match in 3:25.

View’s Brett Clatterbaugh in the 215-pound final, who escaped with a 3-2 decision.

Those Mustangs will also be joined at states by 126-pound Mason Santini after his fourth place showing and 138-pound Ryan Magill and 165-pound Chris Drozdowicz after their fifth place finishes.

The 10th place Hanover Hawks will have three wrestlers in states with 138-pound Robert Owens entering that tournament with a region title under his belt.

O’Keefe was close to ending the finals early with a threepoint near fall in that first period to push him to a big lead early, and while Moore was able to fight back and make it a full match, it was too much ground to cover against the disciplined Patrick Henry freshman. Joining O’Keefe and Deschamps at the state championship will be 132-pound Dylan O’Keefe and 215-pound Jason Cooper with their fourth place finishes and

Bagby’s title run was much more intense, with the Mustangs dynamo winning in a decision in all three matches during the tournament. His first was a 9-4 win against Patrick Henry’s William Vila followed by an even closer 6-4 win against King George’s Jack Landauer, but the closest battle of all came in the final with Dinwiddie’s Quentin Mankin. An early takedown gave Bagby a 2-1 advantage coming out of the first period, but an escape from Mankin in the second period set up a thrilling final two minutes that ended with Bagby winning with a late escape to win the regional final by a hair in a 3-2 finish.

The two Mustangs were nearly joined in the winner’s circle by teammates Drew Kozubal and Joe Elaal, but they had to settle for the second spot on the podium after tough finishes in the finals.

Kozubal cruised to the championship with two dominant wins, but was pinned in the waning moments of a matchup with Spotsylvania’s Kyle Csikari in the 157-pound class, while Elaal couldn’t power past Eastern

Owens (43-6) opened his tournament with a late third round pin in the quarterfinals, followed by two decision wins in the final two rounds, including a 4-0 victory in the finals over Powhatan’s Gavin Utley. A first period takedown and a third period reversal were all Owens needed against Utley, and he never allowed the Powhatan star to generate any kind of momentum as he finished a region champion.

In the class directly above Owens, 144-pound David Hart (3812) was close to taking the first place medal, but had to settle for second after losing to the unstoppable force that is Powhatan senior Britton Proffitt. Hart won his first three matchups in convincing fashion, including a lightning quick 35-second pin in his first matchup on Friday, but Proffitt never let Hart get to his best moves, and he lost 8-3 in the final.

Emmons Tewalt, 106 pounds, will be joining his Hawks teammates in states after a third place showing in his bracket.

Those standout performers will get to continue their season when they travel to the Virginia Beach Sports Center for the Class 4 State Championship on Feb. 17-18.