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HUNTINGTON -- Sweet redemption.
After coming up short in the Class A team race during the 2021 state wrestling tournament, Cameron wasn't about to let it happen again this year.
After an outstanding first two days put the Dragons way ahead of the field, they completed their climb to the top Saturday night inside Mountain Health Arena.
"It felt good going into the finals with the title all sewed up," Cameron head coach Tim Jones said. "We preached to the kids coming down here that it was all business. We made a statement in the first round."
Jones was voted the Class A Most Outstanding Coach by his peers. With senior Ian Bush (182) defending his state championship and junior Adam Angel (170) finishing as a runnerup, Cameron piled up 116.5 point to easily outdistance second-place Greenbrier West's 62.
The Dragons' point total also tied Fairmont Senior for second place in Class A-AA. Bush, who was also the Class A Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second consecutive year, didn't waste any time in taking down Winfield's Logan Howell in 1:31.
"This one (title) feels better because it's my senior year and our team is also state champs," Bush revealed. "Everyone contributed to this. We brought seven guys and six placed. That's great."
Jones said it was nice to see Bush repeat, but also a little bittersweet.
"I'm so proud of Ian," he said. "I'm also a little sad because it was the last time he will wrestle at Cameron. He's had an outstanding career."
Angel suffered a tough-luck, 4-2, reversal to Colton Caron of Independence in overtime.
"I feel bad for Adam," Jones said. "But what are you going to do. He had a great season. The Dragons also had place winners in freshman Slaton Pettit (106, fifth); sophomore Ashton Hoge (126, fifth); junior Payton Neely (fourth); and junior Gunnar Bryan (fourth).
"He's a great kid. We knew he was going to be good. He just had to adapt to high school wrestling, and I think he really has," Jones said of Pettit. "He lost a couple of matches that we thought he should have won, but he is already hungry for next season. "
Ashton lost in the blood-round last year and he was determined to not let that happen again," Jones noted. "He wrestled well on his way back through (the consolation bracket).
"Payton finished right where he did last year," Jones added. "He couldn't quite on what he did last year, but fourth in the state isn't anything to hang your head about.
"Gunnar is the driving force behind this team right now," Jones continued. "Once he got his weight down he was a a real force. He wrestled a great regional and then backed it up down here with a fourth."
The state title is the first in the smallest of the three divisions for the Dragons.
The championships won from 1991-94 were in Class A/AA.
Oak Glen sophomore Logan Davis (106) dropped a 7-5 decision in overtime to Independence's Dillon Perdue who was the 2021 titlist.
Davis trailed 4-0 after two periods before tying the match with time running out in regulation. Perdue secured a takedown with eight seconds left in the extra session for the win.
It was the second time that Perdue had defeated Davis, who was third last year. He defeated him in the semifinals last year.
Other Golden Bears reaching the awards podium were freshman Hayden Lamb (113, fifth); senior Clayton Lamb (120, fifth); and junior Braxton Dlugopolski (152, fifth). Tyler Consolidated junior Trenton Huffman (160, third) and sophomore Kaden Huffman (113, sixth) rounded out the local placers.