BUCHANAN, Va. – The Class 2 Region C wrestling tournament finals had the feeling of a dual meet.
Host James River against the best of the rest.
The Knights of second-year head coach Bobby Stewart put eight wrestlers in the finals and took home five titles. Included in the Knights' run to gold was Chase Cuddy's front headlock to a stack for a fall at 106 pounds. Wesley Ferguson added a wild 8-6 decision with a gutsy third period rally at 120 pounds. At 132-pounds Mason Stewart delivered a first period fall and with the associated flex celebration. We saw a stunning reversal of fortune by 170-pounder Caleb Shipwash for a fall in 4:00. Levi Walker moved to 42-1 on the year with a pin in 42 seconds at Heavyweight. James River wins the team title going away and sends 12 to the state tournament next week.
"When I was applying for the head coaching job I saw a lot of growth opportunity here. The kids and the fans have all adopted my style, they really are working hard and they believed in their mind they can achieve it and that's what we're seeing him today. In our second year to achieve a region title is pretty amazing," Stewart said.
The tournament's most outstanding wrestler goes to Fort Chiswell's Jacob Turpin at 160 pounds, and Floyd County takes home team silver. They edged Dan River by 12.5 points.
The VHSL State Wrestling Tournament opens Friday in Salem for classes 1 through 3.
Here are the team totals from the Region 2C tournament:
James River 197
Floyd County 104.5
Dan River 91
Chatham 90
Fort Chiswell 89
Appomattox 83.5
Radford 65
Glenvar 49-5
Martinsville 19.5