Panthers grapple in five tournaments in two weeks
~ PVN staff report
SHENANDOAH — It’s been a busy January for the Page County wrestling team. Coach Greg Martin’s scrappy bunch has traveled from Clarke County down to Allegheny County to grapple in five tournaments in about two weeks. While it’s hard for the Panthers to be competitive on a team level — typically fielding only about eight of 14 weight classes — several individual Panthers are truly showing their prowess on the mat.
Bri Bracken has gone 10-0 at the 120-pound weight class over three of the last four matches, with perfect marks at Alleghany (6-0), Clarke (2-0) and Stonewall Jackson (2-0). Earlier in the season, Backen went undefeated (5-0) at the Madison Invitational on Jan. 3 and took third place at the competitive Buffalo Gap Invitational on Dec. 20.
Seniors Michael Shifflett (144lb) and Cameron Deneal (132lb) have posted 14-1 records over the last five tournaments Page County has wrestled in. Sophomore Logan Richards (157lb) has gone 12-3. Shifflett sits just six wins away from reaching 100 for his Page County career.
The Panthers opened up action in the Bull Run District on Jan. 7 at Central, where they lost all three matches as a team, but had Shifflett, Deneal and Richards all go undefeated (3-0).
Then came their toughest challenge during this stretch, a 10-team, dual format tournament at Alleghany High School on Jan. 10. Despite only taking eight wrestlers (thus, effectively forfeiting six weight classes), the Panthers still went 3-3 as a team and finished in fifth place. They posted team wins over Buffalo Gap (45-18), Bath County (35-27) and Charlottesville (42-18). Losses came to much bigger schools such as Lynchburg’s E.C. Glass.
Individually, Bracken went 6-0, Shifflett and Deneal went 5-1, juniors Kayla Pence (138lb) and Christian Bowman (165lb) went 4-2, and junior Jordan Roberts (150lbs) went 3-2.
“I thought the team wrestled well, all the team losses came to 4A schools,” PCHS head wrestling coach Greg Martin said of his 2A Panthers. “I thought 190-pound Wyatt Roudabush [3-3] wrestled the best he has all season.”
About a week later Roudabush would go 2-0 at Stonewall Jackson High School on Jan. 22, along with Bracken, Deneal, Pence, Shifflett, and Richards. The Panthers went 2-0 as a team that day, defeating Randolph-Macon Academy (41-24) and Stondewall (39-35).
The day before, on Jan. 21, Page competed against Clarke and Madison and went 0-2 as a team (including a two-point loss to Clarke), but still had four grapplers go 2-0, including Bracken, Deneal, Shifflett abd Richards.
The only other tournament during the January run was at Central on Jan. 14 to compete with the Falcons and Stonewall Jackson. The Panthers went 1-1 as a team, beating the Generals (36-33) and losing to the Falcons (44-30). Four Panthers would go undefeated at 2-0, including Deneal, Richards, Shifflett and freshman Branson Campbell (165lb).
Up next, Page County is scheduled to travel to the Riverheads Invitational at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 (weather permitting, snow is forecast this weekend). The Panthers are also scheduled to host East Hardy at 6 p.m. on Monday Feb. 2, which is also in danger of cancellation.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Page County grapplers wrestling well against tough competition
Be the first to comment