Tigers go 2-1 at Home Quad

On Saturday, February 13, The Woodberry Forest wrestlers hosted three Prep League rivals—St. Christopher’s School, Fork Union Military Academy, and Collegiate School--in a quad meet. The day started with the Tigers taking on Collegiate, and earning a strong 48-16 win over the Cougars. Josh Trudgeon, Duke Pickett, Taylor Reuss, and Jeff Smith all had big wins, leading the team to victory. The Tigers continued to have success against FUMA, earning a 48-19 win. Josh, Duke, Taylor, and Jeff were all victorious again, and Cary Jones also added a big win. The last match of the day for the Woodberry grapplers was against St. Christopher’s School. The Tigers wrestled some very tough matches, but fell 58-3 to the state champion Saints. Chad Kolumber had a very close win over a tough opponent, in his first victory against a St. Christopher’s wrestler. Taylor Reuss had a very close match in a two-point loss to the eventual state champ. Taylor wrestled well all weekend, and earned the team’s weekly Hammer Award for his three very tough matches. Rogers Clark went into the weekend as a varsity starter for the first time. He wasn’t able to earn a win, but wrestled three tough opponents, and was very competitive with all three.

Tigers at The Gilman Duals

The Tigers traveled to Baltimore this past weekend to compete in the Gilman Duals. Our first match was against longtime opponent St. Benedict’s of Newark, New Jersey. Duke Pickett secured a big win over Chris Dowdy 6-0, who had defeated him last year at National Preps. Taylor Reuss prevailed over his opponent, 7-2, scoring three key takedowns to secure the win. Jeff Smith and Phil Rogers both had close losses, 3-7 and 2-4, respectively. Cary Jones picked up a hard-fought 7-3 victory, and Chad Kolumber secured a win by fall. Josh Trudgeon ended the match with a 2-0 win by decision. The Tigers were tough throughout the day, but in the end, St. Benedict’s prevailed, 24-42.

In the second match the Tigers dropped a decisive loss to Baltimore’s Gilman School, 12-54. Duke Pickett won by fall in the first period and Phil Rogers had a close 4-3 win. Cary Jones endured four overtimes, ultimately winning a hardfought match. Nick Cirillo, Raymond Fenstermaker, Taylor Reuss, and Pierre Courpron all had close losses.

In the final round of the tournament the Tigers faced a very strong team from Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts. Duke Pickett continued his strong performance with a first-round pin; Taylor Reuss contributed his own 9-2 win. Chad Kolumber also won a 3-1 decision. Despite these successes, the Tigers fell, 12-63, to the very tough NMH team.


Woodberry wrestles next at home on Friday, Jan. 29, at 4:00 p.m. in a quad against FUMA, Liberty Christian Academy, and Fauquier High School.

Chad Kolumber to Play Football at Kansas

Woodberry senior and heavyweight wrestler Chad Kolumber made a verbal commitment over the weekend to play football at Kansas next year. Chad is a 6'8" tackle and a future offensive lineman for the Jayhawks.

Tigers 4-0 at Home Matches

On Saturday the Tigers hosted a five-team round robin at home. Woodberry wrestlers came out on top, going 4-0 in the duals. In the first match of the day the Tigers defeated Potomac, 60-14. Nick Cirillo, who was filling in, won his first varsity match by pin.

George Sutherland also won by pin. In the second match of the day the Tigers defeated Western Albemarle High School, 67-6. Herbert Hernandez won his match by pin and Josh Trudgeon won a close 9-7 decision.

Will Choate and Jeff Smith each won by technical fall. Rogers Clark also won his first varsity match by pinning his opponent in twenty-five seconds. Next the Tigers defeated the Covenant School, 70-12. Herbert Hernandez got his second pin of the day by pinning his opponent in the first period. In the final dual of the day the Tigers defeated Wakefield High School, 66-14. Zach Hollander had an exciting match with a tough Wakefield opponent; Zach turned his opponent in the last few seconds of the match, nearly pinning him, but losing in the end, 12-6.

Josh Trudgeon, Duke Pickett, Taylor Reuss, Jeff Smith, Phil Rogers, Israel Arana, and Cary Jones finished 4-0 on the day. George Sutherland and Pierre Courpron were both 3-0 on the day.

The Tigers travel to Baltimore next Saturday to wrestle in the Gilman Duals.

Tigers Travel To Richmond

The Tigers traveled to Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond for a quad on Friday. Woodberry faced Prep League opponent Collegiate in the first match of the night. The Tigers prevailed over the Cougars, 57-18, with wins by Zach Hollander, Josh Trudgeon, Will Choate, Duke Pickett, George Sutherland, Taylor Reuss, Phil Rogers, Pierre Courpron, Cary Jones, and Israel Arana. George’s 8-4 win was his first varsity victory this season!

In the second match of the night the Tigers faced a tough Midlothian High School team. Josh Trudgeon started off the dual with a pin. While the Tigers struggled a bit at the middle and lower weights, Duke Pickett got us back on track with a pin and Taylor Reuss continue to improve our position with a 15-0 technical fall. Jeff Smith had a very solid 12-1 win by major decision. Phil Rogers lost a heartbreaker, 4-6, in the last few seconds, and Pierre Courpron lost a 4-6 match in overtime. Cary Jones and Zach Hollander closed out the dual with two tough close wins. In the end the Tigers fell short, 27-42. The Tigers then faced longtime rival Douglas Freeman High, a team Woodberry had not beaten in four years. Raymond Fenstermaker earned the Tigers their first win of the match with an exciting pin after an injury scare. Duke Pickett continued his strong performance with a pin, and Taylor Reuss followed him with a 10-1 major decision win. Phil Rogers took a close match and turned it into a win by fall with an exciting take down and pin. At 215 Israel Arana won by pin and put the Tigers in a good position to take the dual. Cary Jones moved up to heavyweight and faced an opponent to whom he had lost last year. Cary wrestled a tough and smart match that he won by pin in the third period. Josh Trudgeon finished off the dual with a major decision win, 13-0. In the end the Tigers had bested Douglas Freeman, 50-30.

The Tigers showed great improvement in toughness and technique from the previous week.

Woodberry will host a five-team round robin on Saturday against Potomac, Covenant, Wakefield, and Western Albemarle. Come out and cheer them on!

Woodberry goes 4-3 at home duals.

The Woodberry wrestling team competed in seven home duals this past weekend—three on Friday night and four on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers recorded four wins and three losses. On Friday night the team picked up a solid win over Prince George High School, 57-21, and local rival Orange County, 47-30.

The Tigers had a very tough dual match against a solid team from Sherando High School, finally succumbing 52-19. Gordon McAlister, Nick Cirillo, Will Choate, and Phil Rogers each recorded a win on the weekend. For Gordon and Nick, it was their first varsity win. Zack Hollander, Josh Trudgeon, Adam Silva, Jeff Smith, and Cary Jones were all 2-1 on Friday night. Duke Pickett, Taylor Reuss, and Chad Kolumber were 3-0 on Friday evening. The fighting Tigers put forth a good effort against some tough public school competition. Adam Silva worked through several tough matches, as did Phil Rogers, who contributed points throughout the weekend. Jeff Smith, along with solid efforts from Cary Jones and Chad Kolumber, put Woodberry in winning positions as Friday’s matches came to a close.

The Tigers opened a full Saturday program, besting Norfolk Academy in a 57-13 victory, and following up in a battle with South Lakes High School, which Woodberry won, 43-27. Herbert Hernandez earned his first varsity win over his opponent from Norfolk, winning a close 5-2 match. At 145 lb., Taylor Reuss had an exciting match with his South Lakes opponent. Taylor was ahead 10-0 in the second period, when he found himself on his back fighting out of a head lock hold. He managed to break free and continued wrestling tough, finally pinning his opponent in the third period. Cary Jones earned wins over tough opponents from Norfolk and South Lakes, finishing 12-6 and 12-5.

In the third match the Tigers found themselves locked in a tough dual against Paul VI, which they ultimately lost, 28-40. The final dual of the day matched the Tigers with rival Episcopal High School. The Tigers mounted a late rally against the Maroon, but finally fell short in a 28-39 defeat. Despite the team score, the Tigers matched well with Episcopal, losing in closely contested matches in each weight class. Will Choate, Zack Hollander, Will, Phil Rogers, and Cary Jones all performed impressively. A promising effort from Jeff Smith and Josh Trudgeon and stellar contributions from Duke Pickett and Taylor Reuss almost captured the win. Raymond Fenstermaker and Cary Jones went 2-2 on Saturday, while Jeff Smith, Zack Hollander, Josh Trudgeon, and Chad Kolumber each went 3-1. Duke Pickett and Taylor Reuss each went 4-0.



The Hammer Award for the week goes to Taylor Reuss for his defeat of two wrestlers who had previously beaten him. Taylor won 9-2 and 7-2 decisions over his opponents from Sherando and Paul VI.
Look for more wrestling action on Friday in Richmond at Douglas Freeman, where the Tigers challenge Collegiate, Douglas Freeman High School, and Midlothian High School in a quad. On Saturday the Tigers host Potomac School, Western Albemarle, Covenant School, and Wakefield High School.

Tigers compete at Beast of the East

During the Christmas break, Duke Pickett and Taylor Reuss competed in Delaware in the Beast of the East, a 64-man bracket with more than 120 teams represented. The Beast is touted as the toughest tournament in the country.

Taylor Reuss went 1-2 on the weekend with some very hard-fought matches. Duke Pickett went into the tournament unseeded, defeating the 10th-, 7th-, and 3rd-seeded wrestlers on his way to a 5th-place finish. Duke defeated Robinson High School's Roman Perryman, who is the #1 ranked 140-pound wrestler in the state of Virginia. Duke also defeated Taylor Walsh of Camden Catholic, the #5-ranked wrestler in the country.

Duke received the Hammer Award for his performance.

Two Champions at NOVA Classic

Woodberry took 2 wrestlers to the the Nova Classic, a large, 32-team tournament featuring mostly AAA public schools. Two of our teammates earned prestigious honors. Featured in the photo above are both Duke and Taylor with their fathers and Coach Close.

Duke Pickett 1st - Outstanding Wrestler Award
(voted on by coaches)
Taylor Reuss 1st place

Duke Pickett received the Hammer Award for his performance in the NOVA Classic tournament.

Tigers place 4 at Harisonburg Tournament

On December 11th and 12th the Tigers competed in the Harrisonburg Tournament, a 16-team tournament featuring mostly AA public schools. The team placed 8th and there were four Woodberry wrestlers who placed:

Josh Trudgeon 4th
Phil Rogers 2nd
Pierre Courpron 4th - his first varsity tournament
Cary Jones 4th Chad Kolumber 3rd

Phil Rogers was received the Hammer Award for his gutsy performance in this tournament.

Forest Park Duals

The Tigers opened their season at the Forest Park Duals. In our first match Woodberry dropped a close 30-42 loss to Woodbridge High School. Amos Jones scored his first varsity win with a second-period pin. Josh Trudgeon, Duke Pickett, Taylor Reuss, Adam Silva, and Cary Jones also recorded wins in the first dual.

In our second dual of the tournament we faced Kempsville High School, a very tough team from the Virginia Beach area. Woodberry’s inexperience hurt us in the match, which ended in a 20-55 loss. Taylor Reuss dropped a very close match at the buzzer, losing 5-6. Adam Silva won in an impressive 21-6 technical fall. Duke Pickett, Cary Jones, and Herbert Hernandez also recorded victories in this tough dual.

Finally, the Tigers faced Manassas Park High School, dropping a 36-37 loss in a very close match. Israel Arana, wrestling at 215 lbs., won 15-6, and Cary Jones continued his winning streak with an overtime win. Gordon McAlister had a hard-fought 2-7 loss to his opponent. Taylor Reuss won with a 16-1 technical fall.

We were not able to attend the matches on Saturday due to the snow and road conditions.

The Hammer Award for this week goes to Cary Jones for wrestling at 285 lbs. (up from his usual 215) and going 3-0 this weekend.

Next week Woodberry wrestlers will compete in the NOVA Classic tournament at Fairfax High School and at the Harrisonburg Tournament at Harrisonburg High School.