West Holmes wrestling shines at Liberty Classic

The West Holmes varsity wrestling team placed eighth at the 24-team Liberty Classic Dec. 20.

“This was a really good tournament for us overall,” Knights coach Scott Vaughn said. “There were some matches here and there that we would like to have back, but for the most part, it went well. Six placers and eighth place as a team is the best finish for West Holmes at the Liberty Classic.”

Bringing home runner-up honors were seniors Gabe Umstead (132 pounds), Louden Dixon (157) and Camden McCluggage (190). Fifth-place honors went to seniors Peyton Martin (126) and Dylan Sours (heavyweight) and sophomore Easton Ross (215).

“The finals couldn't have been more opposite than the fifth-place matches for us,” Vaughn said. “All three finalists lost, but all faced top-level competition.”

For Umstead (3-1, one fall), Dixon (3-1, three) and McCluggage (3-1, one), the end of their tournaments was disappointing after looking strong in the early rounds. All three went 2-0 on Friday’s opening day, then pocketed championship semifinal wins Saturday to reach the championship match.

Martin (3-2, two) and Ross (3-2, one) both suffered losses in their championship and consolation semifinal matches but rebounded to earn fifth-place wins.

Sours (4-2, four) fought back through the consolation rounds Saturday, getting back-to-back fall wins to put him in the medal rounds. He lost his consolation quarterfinals match by fall but came back in the fifth-place match with a fall win.

Vaughn named Umstead and McCluggage as co-winners of the Knights Varsity Wrestler of the Week. “Cam and Gabe earn the honors for their impressive runs to the finals and tournament runner-up finishes,” he said.

Junior varsity

Seven West Holmes wrestlers took advantage of their home mats Dec. 20, placing among the top nine at the West Holmes Junior Varsity Invitational Tournament.

Kaden Markley (190) led the way with a 3-0 record including two fall wins to notch his first high school tournament championship. He scored a 17-2 tech fall win and a fall win at 2:29 to reach the title match, where he pinned Carson Smith of Alliance at 3:47.

Runner-up honors went to Dylan Ferrebee (132, 3-1, two), Wade Miller (150, 3-1, one) and Finnegan McClintock (165, 3-1, two).

Logan Leyda (157) placed fifth with a 2-1 mark with one fall, Ashton Cornwell (106) finished eighth with a 1-3 record with one fall and Calvin Pendlebury (132) placed ninth with a 1-2 record with one fall.

“The boys wrestled some tough competition from some well-respected wrestling programs,” Knights assistant coach Tyler Masters said. “Each West Holmes wrestler was able to make it on the podium.”