Nathaniel Bryan 6 Report post Posted December 19, 2008 http://sundaygazettemail.com/Sports/PrepSports/200812110856Top teams on hand for St. Albans DualsThe West Virginia high school wrestling season enters its second week of competition with St. Albans playing host to some of the state's top southern wrestling programs at the St. Albans Duals.By Nicholas HaynesThe West Virginia high school wrestling season enters its second week of competition with St. Albans playing host to some of the state's top southern wrestling programs at the St. Albans Duals.The two-day event gets underway at 6 p.m. today at St. Albans High School and will continue through Saturday, when the second round begins at 10:30 a.m.The 12-team event will divide the schools into two six-team pools, with each team facing the other five teams in its pool. After today's first round, the top three teams from each pool will advance to the winners-bracket round-robin finale to decide the overall team champion, while the bottom three schools are paired off for further consolation competition.No individual champions will be crowned, but each wrestler is guaranteed eight matches (barring forfeits). The only individual honor awarded will be the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, decided by team coaches.Filling each of the 14 weight classes is paramount to success in dual competition.A resurgent Nitro team under the tutelage of first-year coach Lisa Shultz benefited from filling each of the weight classes in its first competition last week at the Hurricane Invitational. The Wildcats, led by the Dunbar brothers, Sam (130 pounds) and Matt (112), took third place at Hurricane.Riverside returns five state tournament qualifiers and fills all but the 103-pound weight class. The Warriors are anchored by returning state runner-up Alex Buckley (135) and will look to improve on their third-place showing at last year's St. Albans Duals.Handicapped by fielding just nine wrestlers, host St. Albans will look to gain maximum points from four undefeated wrestlers in Cody Keeney (189), Joel Blevins (160), Justin Hundley (215) and Ian Webster (119), who went over the 100-win mark for his career last week in Hurricane.Herbert Hoover's Patrick Nary should garner some Outstanding Wrestler attention. The sophomore went 37-3 at the 215-pound weight class as a freshman last year, finishing fifth at the state tournament. The Huskies return three other state tournament qualifiers in Matt Rector (171), Darryl Deleire (145 and Luke Ozalas (285).Sissonville will be making its season debut at the Duals. The Indians return three state qualifiers from last season in Ronnie Burdette, Curtis Lynch and Chuck Lynch.Point Pleasant, last year's Class AA-A state tournament runner-up, will try to overthrow Huntington, which looks to capture its 10th straight St. Albans Duals team title. In last year's decisive dual, Huntington edged out Point Pleasant by just six points.Also competing will be Woodrow Wilson, Greenbrier West, Sheldon Clark (Ky.) and Williamstown. In addition, Parkersburg South, perennial contender for the state title, will send its "B" team. ==========================================http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/200812120238MANY AREA teams open competition this weekend, including some at the St. Albans High-sponsored Red Dragon Duals.Twelve teams are scheduled to compete in the two-day event, which begins at 6 p.m. today and resumes at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.Participating schools are: St. Albans, Beckley, Riverside, Point Pleasant, Herbert Hoover, Greenbrier West, Parkersburg South's 'B' team, Nitro, Sissonville, Sheldon Clark, Ky., Huntington and Williamstown.Host St. Albans wrestled at Hurricane last week and had four of its wrestlers go undefeated, including senior Ian Webster, who picked up his 100th career win.==========================================http://wvgazette.com/Sports/PrepSports/200812130000Huntington, Pt. Pleasant shine at St. Albans DualsAfter three of the scheduled four rounds on the opening day of the St. Albans Duals, some clear favorites emerged at the top of the two six-team pools late Friday.By Nicholas HaynesAfter three of the scheduled four rounds on the opening day of the St. Albans Duals, some clear favorites emerged at the top of the two six-team pools late Friday.Huntington was one of three teams to win each of its three first-round duals, but the only such squad in Pool A, showing every bit the dominant form that has garnered the Highlanders 10 straight St. Albans Duals team championships.Point Pleasant, last year's Duals runner-up, remained undefeated after three rounds in Pool B, as did Sheldon Clark (Ky.). Those two met in the final dual of the night Friday.Just two unbeaten teams will remain for today's fifth round that kicks off at 10:30 a.m. before a reshuffling of the pools. The top three teams in each pool face off in a six-team round robin to decide the overall team champion, and the other six participating schools continue in a consolation round.Herbert Hoover sits at 2-1 in Pool A with victories over Williamstown and host St. Albans. The Huskies are tied for second with Parkersburg South's B team, which also boasts a 2-1 record, which should be good enough to see both teams through to the winner's pool today.The only other area team with a shot at the winners Pool is Riverside, which amassed a 2-1 record with wins over Nitro and Beckley. The Warriors' only stumble came at the hands of last year's Class AA-A state runner-up, Point Pleasant.The Warriors face Sheldon Clark in the opening dual today, with one of the most anticipated bouts of the tournament expected. Two candidates for the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament award will face off at 140 pounds.Matt Slone of Sheldon Clark will face last year's AAA state runner-up, Alex Buckley of Riverside, in a match that will put the first blemish of this season on one of the combatants' record.Other candidates who have set themselves apart from the other 168 participating athletes for the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award include Point Pleasant's Phillip Allan (130), who defeated Sam Dunbar of Nitro 6-3 in one of the most-hyped matches Friday and Huntington's undefeated Jacob Dempsey (189).==========================================http://wvgazette.com/Sports/200812130559Point Pleasant captures St. Albans Duals crownPoint Pleasant broke a 10-year streak of team titles won by Huntington at the St. Albans Duals Saturday.Point Pleasant broke a 10-year streak of team titles won by Huntington at the St. Albans Duals Saturday.Point defeated Huntington 52-19 in the clinching match. Riverside took third place and Herbert Hoover fourth. Matt Slone (140) of Sheldon Clark (Ky.) was declared the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mathound 4 Report post Posted December 19, 2008 Congrats matt on a very good win Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
