Big Red finishes eighth at Wheeling Park Duals
Trending
WHEELING -- Wheeling Park coach Brian Leggett learned just how resilient and competitive his squad could be over the last two days.
The Patriots went 7-1 over the weekend and captured third place in the 29th annual Wheeling Park Duals inside WesBanco Arena on Saturday.
Park's only loss came to first-time Park Duals champion Point Pleasant by a 48-21 count, Point Pleasant's closest match of the weekend.
Following that setback to Point Pleasant on Saturday afternoon, the Patriots finished the day strong with wins over South Garrett 42-33, Massilon Jackson 39-36 and Mayfield 42-31 in the third-place match. Park also started the day with a 47-28 triumph over Musselman.
"We wrestled Point, who I knew was the toughest team here," Leggett said. "(Point Pleasant) Coach (John) Bonecutter brings a good squad to the mat with a lot of intensity. They are tough on top but it's good to see that and wrestle that.
"We learned a lot from that match and ways to get better. To see them come from that adversity and rattle off a few more wins after that tough loss is pretty good for our team."
After falling behind early 25-4 in the third place bout with Mayfield, Park earned a win from Nate Shelek and falls from Stevie Mitchell, Billy Gooch and Canon Welker, before Adam Angel knotted the match at 25-25 with a triumph of his own.
Erick Brothers and Garret Parsons tallied wins by forfeit and Charlie Tamburnin removed all doubt with a win.
The nail-biting match with Massilon Jackson was deadlocked at 36-36 heading into the heavyweight bout.
In that round, Park's Matt Reinacher rose to the occasion and secured a 5-2 victory to lift Park to a three-point team win.
"Matt is a first-year heavyweight," Leggett said. "I told those guys 'we have to stop putting all the pressure on him.'
"He did it twice, actually. In two dual meets this weekend it was down to him and he had to win. For him to come through like that just tells you a lot about his character. He wants to go out there and compete and win. In his first year of wrestling there is a lot of weight on his shoulders."
Another key grappler over the weekend for the Patriots was Mitchell in the 145 class. He went unbeaten in the tournament, which included a 10-4 decision over Point Pleasant's Mackandle Freeman.
As for Point Pleasant, it was its tenth time competing in the Park Duals but its first time hoisting the first-place plaque at the end of the tournament.
"Our captains went out to dinner before the season and we wanted them to pick three team goals," Bonecutter said. "One of their goals was to win the Park Duals. We lost to Steubenville last year and got seventh place, so I'm proud of the boys. They worked hard for this."
Along with its win over Park, Point Pleasant defeated Massilon Jackson 70-6, South Garrett 65-6 and Carrollton 67-9 in the title round.
"There are always quality teams and traditional powerhouse programs here," Bonecutter said. "Anytime you compete against these guys it's tough and we are happy about the outcome."
Leading the Big Blacks to its championship were Parker Henderson (106), Derrek Raike (132), Logan Southall (170) and Juan Marquez (195), who all went unbeaten on the weekend.
"There were a lot of guys who did well for us," Bonecutter said. "There were a host of guys who only lost one match. It was a team effort. We'll enjoy it (Saturday) and get back to work tomorrow."
Two-time defending Park Duals champion Steubenville finished in eighth place this year, while Oak Glen was 11th and Buckeye Local finished 20th.