By Shirley Shuman
In the WV State Wrestling Tournament, Braxton’s team finished fourth among AA teams. The Eagles earned 127 points, the most points a Braxton team has ever earned at the state tournament. Six Braxton wrestlers placed in the tournament held Thursday through Saturday in Huntington. That, too, was a record for BCHS wrestling. Coach Sterling Beane said that his teams had had five placers in five different state tournaments, but this year was the first they have ever placed six.
Of the six placers, Blayne Jarvis, 144, led the team with a second-place finish. Jarvis lost 6-4 to Colby Hamilton of Fairmont Senior in the championship match. This is Jarvis’s third time placing at the state level. As a freshman he finished fourth at 120 lbs. and last year he finished third at 138.
Jackson Davis, 175 placed third in the competition. Davis came back from a first-round loss to earn third. Last year he placed fifth at states. At 132, Paxton Smith earned fourth place. Smith is only a freshman, Coach Beane pointed out.
Logan Bennett also placed fourth. This was Bennett’s third time of placing in the state tournament. He placed fifth as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore, and now fourth as a senior. Also earning fourth was Bryce Leegan at 190. Leegan finished fifth at 182 last season. Tyler Cox, the Eagles’ sixth state placer, finished sixth.
Although the team will lose several wrestlers to graduation this year, Coach Beane noted that he is “looking toward a good season next year.”
See Photographic Review on page 9 of this issue.
