Peninsula Catholic High School

PCHS Tournament

Captain Will Medick

          This past weekend the Tigers wrestled in the Peninsula Catholic Tournament. This was an individual tournament against 10 other VISAA teams in Newport News, VA. The wrestling team fielded competitors in 8 out of 14 weight classes and finished the tournament overall in 3rd place, a fantastic finish considering most of the other schools had full lineups!  Below is how each individual finished the day for their respective weight classes:

          Taft Gantt wrestled his best tournament of the year. In his last match of the day, Taft Gantt had a tremendous win for the Tigers and pinned his opponent from Norfolk Academy in the second period. Overall, Taft went 1-1 for the day and took second place at 106 lbs.

3rd Former Taft Gantt

          Senior Will Harris made great strides on the mat and placed sixth at 132 lbs.

6th Former Will Harris

          Senior Captain Will Medick wrestled an excellent tournament, seeded first in the 138 lb. bracket. Will entered the tournament with an unblemished record of 8-0. Will continued his success and effectively calculated every offensive and defensive move. In the second round of his finals match, Will hurt his elbow in a reversal. He pushed through  the remainder of the match and lost by a mere few points. Will took 2nd place at 138 lbs. for the day.

Captain Will Medick

Will Thomas had one of his best weekends of wrestling, upsetting the second seed in the semifinals in the tournament. He would go on to place second after a close match loss in the finals at 145 lbs.

Fourth Former Will Thomas

          Fifth Former Ward Bissell took fourth this past weekend at 152 lbs.

5th Former Ward Bissell

          Fourth Former Cameron Beck wrestled his hardest and faced some very good opponents. By the end of the day he placed 6th at 160 lbs.

4th Former Cameron Beck

 Davis Smith continues his dominance on the mat, earning a first place finish in the 170 lbs. weight class, pushing his overall record to 10-0. 

4th Former Davis Smith

 Bill Clark pinned all of his opponents on Saturday on his way to a first place finish in the heavyweight division. He placed first at HWT.  

4th Former Bill Clark

          The entire team had a solid weekend of wrestling and I am so proud of their hard work, commitment, and dedication to getting better every day.  Next up for the Tigers is the Atlee Raider Duals tournament, a public school tournament held in Richmond before everyone goes home for Christmas Break.  

Coach Budlong

                                   

Massanutten Invitational

Massanutten Invitational

        The Woodberry Forest wrestling team traveled to the Massanutten Military Academy, close to Harrisonburg, to compete in the annual Massanutten Invitational wrestling tournament this past Saturday.  

        There were 7 other teams at the tournament on Saturday and the Tigers, although only taking competitors in in 7 out of the 14 weight classes, finished up placing second overall as a team! There were many highlights over the course of the day, and the wrestlers' records from this weekend are as follows:

        Will Harris started the Tigers off at 138 lbs and wrestled one of his best tournaments ever. Will had a final record of 3-2 and took 2nd place overall in his weight class. He continues to work hard in the room and this commitment to improve daily is paying huge dividends for him. He has started off his senior season with  the best efforts I have seen from him.

   

Will Harris '17 and Captain Will Medick '17

        Captain Will Medick took 1st place and went 5-0 at 145 lbs. Will has now improved his season record to 8-0  and has quickly resumed the success of last season's state tournament.  Will is competing at one of the highest levels of anyone on the team and is certainly making a strong name for himself within the state of Virginia in both public and private schools.

        Will Thomas has earned the starting spot for the Tigers at the 152 lbs weight class. He had a solid day on the mat and finished up with an overall record of 1-3.  Will has begun to develop his wrestling package from all 3 positions while continuing to make consistent improvement every time he steps on the mat, whether at practice or in a match.  

        The Tigers started Junior Ward Bissell at 160 lbs, one of the toughest weight classes in the tournament. Ward earned a record of 3-2, and made it to the consolation finals of the invitational before falling to an opponent he had met on the mat earlier in the day. Ward's dedication to improving each repetition during practices continues to be evident in his overall growth and development as a wrestler.   

        Davis Smith, last year's 3rd place state finisher, continues to pick up well where he left off last year. Davis had an unblemished record of 5-0 by the end of the tournament, placing first in the 170 lbs weight class. Davis holds a current (and identical to Will Medick) record of 8-0, looking to be one of the top contenders in his weight class in the state.

Davis Smith '19 and Captain Will Medick '17

          One of the truly impressive competitors of the day was senior Connor Koch, a first year wrestler at the 220 lbs weight class. Connor, although having never stepped foot on the mat before this season, pinned 3 of his opponents and finished up the tournament with a 3-2 record, earning him a 2nd place finish overall. Connor has really taken to the sport of wrestling and he is going to be one of the top contenders in his weight class.

        Bill Clark is the anchor for the Tigers in the heavyweight division.  Bill wrestled good competition, and lost twice to one of the top wrestlers among the private schools (last year's 5th place finisher) but still fought his way to an overall record of 3-2, earning the second place medal. The score was very close in both of Bill's losses and he will continue to challenge the top wrestlers in the state.

        I would also like to thank Philip Williams for taking the videos of all of the matches throughout the day.  Although currently injured, he continues to be an integral part of the wrestling program.  We look forward to his return to the lineup in a few weeks.

The team after the tournament

        I am very proud of the efforts of each and every one of the wrestlers who competed this past weekend and thank everyone who came out to support the Tigers! 

Coach Budlong

WCDC Invitational

"Melee at the Metro'

                   Saturday, February 13, the Woodberry Forest wrestling team participated in the inaugural WCDC (Washington Coalition District of Columbia) Invitational. 'Melee on the Metro' was held at Trinity University in DC and featured some of the best wrestlling teams from Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia! The Tigers brought wrestlers to the tournament to compete in their respective weight classes, and although it was not a full lineup the Woodberry ended up placing an impressive 7th out of 22 teams. Due to the high number of participants, wrestlers were limited to five matches those who lost before the semifinals could only wrestle back to 5th and 6th place. Although there was a two match loss limit, six wrestlers ended up placing sixth or better.This achievements of this weekend's tournament showed incredible effort and development of each Tiger. Recognition of the team's hard work is visible in the overall standings, where Woodberry Forest finished as the highest placing Virginia school out of all twenty-two participating teams!

Clayton Noyes '17

Captain Andrew Holmes '16

 

Will Harris '17

                                                             

                                                                          Mack Daniels '19

   

 








 
Mack Daniels had his best tournament yet going 4-1 on the day and taking 5th place in the tournament.  Mack won all 4 of his matches by pinning every single one of his opponents he faced, dominating the matches from start to finish!

           

Captain Will Medick '17
2nd Place

Captain Will Medick '17

    

Will Medick had his best weekend of wrestling so far this year and took 2nd place overall at 132 lbs! Will wrestled his way to the finals by going   3-0, winning both by decisions and pinning his opponents in his weight class.

            Team Captain Andrew Holmes wrestled well this past Saturday giving up very few points and only one loss. Andrew fought back from his loss in the semifinals by pinning his opponent from Landon in the second period in the consolation finals! Overall he placed 3rd overall in a very competitive weight class of 152lbs

            Davis Smith had a great return from an injury (which kept him out of the lineup for 2 weeks) and placed 6th overall in the 160lb weight class.  Davis defeated wrestlers from both Bishop Ireton and Woodrow Wilson schools by decisions.

Roy Toston '16
5th Place

Roy 'En Fuego' Toston pinned 3 of his opponents on his way to earning 5th place in the tournament at 170lbs.  Roy lost a close first round match by decision before wrestling all of the way back to 5th place in his 'En Fuego' fashion.  

Captain Darby Henagan '16
3rd Place

             The anchor in Woodberry's lineup, Darby Henagan,.  Darby earned 3rd place in the tournament by winning a close consolation finals match by a score of 2-0 against his opponent from Bullis School. 

  The Tigers will next square off in the VISAA state meet, held at Deep Run High School in Richmond on Friday and Saturday. 

Virginia Prep League Tournament

               The Woodberry Forest Tigers competed in the Virginia Prep League Wrestling tournament, hosted by Norfolk Academy, on Saturday Feb 6th. The Tigers wrestled the following teams in the Virginia Prep League throughout the tournament:

1. Norfolk Academy
2. St. Christophers
3. Trinity Episcopal
4. Collegiate
5. Fork Union Military Academy

              Woodberry Forest brought wrestlers filling thirteen of the fourteen weight classes for this tournament.Woodberry crowned 2 Virginia Prep League Champions: Roy Toston and Darby Henagan, at their weight classes of 170 and 285 (Heavyweight). Over the day, nine wrestlers placed either third place or better! Roy Toston, a senior, won his first Prep League title and is the new 170 lbs. Prep League Champion. As a second year participant in the tournament, Darby finished the day undefeated and is now a 2X Prep League Champion! Congratulations Darby!!!

Roy Toston '16

           Mack Daniels wrestled back from a tough loss to pin his final opponent from St. Christopher's in the 3rd period, earning himself a strong 3rd place finish in the tournament! Will Medick had a deep 132 pound weight class. Will started of the day wrestling at a very high level skill set and finished the day placing 2nd in the Prep League Tournament. Kent Walker finished up wrestling one of his best tournaments of the year so far! Kent finished third in his (145 lbs.) weight class. Andrew Holmes also faced some really good competition at the 152lb weight class.  Andrew faced a similar opponent from Norfolk Academy in last week's State Prep Duals, and Andrew earned the same result.  Andrew pinned the Norfolk Academy wrestler while wrestling to a 2nd place! Roy 'En Fuego' Toston is back on the mat after a concussion. Roy worked his way through the 170lb weight class in less than 2 mins over the course of the day.  Roy pinned a FUMA wrestler in 56 seconds while then St Christopher's opponent in 59 seconds. Overall, as one of the most dominant wrestlers out on the mat, at 170 lbs. Roy Toston became a new Prep League Champion! Both Clayton Astore and Clayton Noyes had solid tournaments as well.  They both finished up placing 3rd overall in the Prep League for Woodberry! For both of their first seasons participating at VA Preps, both Noyes and Astore were impressive. Jackson 'Legs' Case earned second place in the Virginia Prep League Wrestling Tournament.  He wrestled a good match against Trinity where he was able to pin his opponent, but was unable to beat his opponent from St. Christopher's in the next round.  Jackson had a good tournament at Norfolk Academy where he finished up in second place! Dominic Pinion, Catesby Jones, Will Harris, and Caleb Simmons also competed for the Tigers at the Prep League Tournament.  Even though none of these individuals placed within the top three of the tournament, all had good matches for the Tigers and learned a lot from this experience.  

The following nine Tigers placed in the Virginia Prep League Tournament for Woodberry Forest:
Mack Daniels '19-3rd
Will Medick '17-2nd
Kent Walker '18-3rd
Andrew Holmes '16-2nd
Roy Toston '16-1st
Clayton Astore '18-3rd
Clayton Noyes '17-3rd
Jackson Case '16-2nd
Darby Henagan '16-1st
                                                                         Team Score:

St Christopher 278

Norfolk Academy 206

Woodberry Forest 154

Collegiate 117

FUMA 55

Trinity Episcopal 26

Jackson Case '16
3rd Place

Captain Andrew Holmes '16
2nd Place

Clayton Astore '18
3rd Place

Clayton Noyes '17
3rd Place

Captain Will Medick '17
2nd Place

  

                                                         

                                                                     Captain Darby Henagan '16
                                                                   1st Place

Woodberry Forest School vs. Episcopal High School

                 "The Dual"

Kent Walker '18

       
      Last Tuesday, February 2, the Woodberry Forest Tigers hosted the EHS Maroons in what is being increasingly labeled and called by many as 'The Dual.'  This was the final home match for Woodberry seniors-Andrew Holmes, Keeling Wood, Roy Toston, Jackson Case, Darby Henagan- and in front of one of the best crowds all season long, the Tigers did not disappoint and came away with a resounding 60-14 victory against the school's rivals.

Andrew Holmes '16

Roy Toston '16

        Wins for the Tigers came early in the match and continued throughout the entirety of the whole meet.  After drawing for the beginning weight class prior to the meet, the dual match began at 182 lbs. with Clayton Astore who lead the team off with a victory by decision, 4-3. EHS recieved their first win of the night with their 195 lb. wrestler over the Tiger's Clayton Noyes, dropping a decision 5-2.  That win would be the last for EHS for quite some time as Woodberry won the next 8 matches (Sy Duke, Mack Daniels, Dominic Pinion, and Will Harris all accepting forfeits) with Jackson Case, Darby Henagan, Catesby Jones, and Will Medick winning their matches. Kent Walker wrestled well against a tough opponent but ended up losing by fall. Andrew Holmes and Keeling Wood claimed the next two victories for the Tigers, and both by pins! Roy Toston was the last to wrestle in 'The Dual' after being off of the mat due to a concussion which lasted multiple weeks. Although Roy lost by a technical fall, it is great to have him back and competing again!

              The energy in the room was incredible and hearing everyone cheer for the Tigers was at an all time high! It was a fantastic atmosphere and the entire team truly appreciated everyone's enthusiasm and support throughout the entire dual match! The Tigers looked impressive and wrestled at an optimistic level entering tournament season.

VA Prep Duals

                  On January 30, the Woodberry Forest wrestling team travelled to St. Christopher's in Richmond, Virginia to compete in the Virginia Prep Duals against five other teams in five consecutive dual meets. Here, Woodberry went face to face with St/ Christopher's, Norfolk Academy, Covenant, Benedictine, and Norfolk Collegiate.  Throughout the day the Tigers wrestled challenging teams collecting a day's record of 2 wins, 3 losses.

The night before the VA Prep Duals, Woodberry spent the evening at dinner and then a movie.

                 St. Christopher's School was the first team to meet Woodberry Forest out on the mat. Going into this dual meet, the Tigers knew that defeating St. Christopher's was not going to easy. Woodberry Forest began the day with a tough dual meet loss finishing 69-6 against the Saints earning only one victory at the hands of team captain Darby Henagan.

                                                 
                 Determined to come back after this, Woodberry would wrestle Norfolk Academy. Early forfeiting two weight closes the Tigers would not let this hold them back from victory. Beginning with the momentum of team captain Andrew Holmes second round win, the team went on to win four back to back matches each from pin amassing a 48-33 victory.

                 Feeding off of the dual meet win over Norfolk Academy, Woodberry would then face Covenant. Back and forth, both teams exchanged almost alternating individual wins and losses.
Although the team ended with an upsetting loss at 285, Woodberry still overcame Covenant 37-36. The last two teams that Woodberry wrestled were Benedictine and Norfolk Collegiate. Woodberry would wrestle well against both Benedictine and Norfolk Collegiate. Unfortunately the overall score did not represent the accomplishments achieved by individual wrestlers as Benedictine would defeat WFS 76-0 and Norfolk Collegiate narrowly escaped with a victory of 35-30.