Eagles’ Blayne Jarvis earns Most Valuable Wrestler honors
Three of the top AA wrestling teams in the state took the top three team trophies in the Braxton Wrestling Tournament Friday and Saturday. After Point Pleasant in first place, Keyser took second and Berkeley Springs third. Braxton finished fifth out of the 23 teams which competed.
The Eagles had seven wrestlers who placed among the top six in their weight classes. The only first place finisher for the Eagles was Jarvis at 157. Connor Facemire, 285, was Braxton’s second place winner. Placing third were Paxton Smith at 144 and Eliah Moore at 190. Cody Stout, 126, earned fifth place. Sixth place went to Braydon Helmick, 126, and Jadyen Wheeler, 215.
Braxton coach Sterling Beane pointed out that the tournament featured “excellent teams and excellent wrestlers.” He also noted, “The top three in the Braxton tournament will be the top teams in the state tournament along with Fairmont Senior. Except for Fairmont Senior, it was probably the closest to the state tournament as you can get.”
In addition to the Braxton wrestlers who placed in the tournament, Coach Beane gave the records of the other Eagles who wrestled in it. First, he pointed out that his two girls who wrestled and who competed against other girls, both did well. Lillie Fitzwater, 132, finished at 4-1, and Emily Brown, 120, finished at 3-1.
In a closing statement, Coach Beane said, “I would like to thank GoMart for sponsoring our tournament and all the moms, dads and volunteers who worked at and donated to the tournament to make it a great success.”