The Indians notched a third-place finish at the VHSL wrestling tournament, trailing Grayson and Grundy on Saturday.
Rural Retreat placed two grapplers in their familiar place atop the podium, one for the second time in as many years.
Sophomore Caleb Gibson notched his second crown in as many years with a first-place run at 113 pounds. After pinning Elijah Rosenfeld of Galax, Brynan Hildebrand of Buffalo Gap and Cole Dipietro of Holston all in the first round, Gibson hung on to best Grundy’s Bryce Looney 4-3 in the finals.
At the other end of the weight classes, Rural Retreat placed Odell Stroupe on top of the podium. Stroupe, the 165-pounder, pinned Gavin Gonzales in 32 seconds to kick off his tournament. Afterward, he picked up an 11-1 victory over Tanner Melton of Grayson and an 8-3 win over Fabian Cardenas of Mathews before wresting the crown from Brody Ford in a 6-3 finals match.
Gabe Crewey was one of four to make the finals for the Indians, and one of two to come home with silver.
Crewey opened his 120-pound tournament with a first-period pin over Fort Chiswell’s Jeramia Caviness before hanging a 17-0 tech fall on Benjamin Harrison of Franklin. In the semifinals, Crewey edged Mathews’ Salvador Cardenas 2-1 before falling 7-2 in the finals to Grundy’s Talen Hall.
Chaz Penwright brought home silver, too. After a pin over his 138-pound opponent Nathan Meberg of Lancaster, Penwright rolled up an 11-5 win over Eddie Sherlinki of Grayson. In the semis, Penwright took a 10-1 win over Dionysius Pittman of Cumberland and then fell 3-2 to Castlewood’s Slade Castle.
Freshman Houston Bear took third for the Indians. After pinning Mathews’ Zac Salvadori, Bear lost a 1-0 match to eventual champ Bo Anders in his second bout. On the back of the bracket, Bear shut out Colton Clevinger of Grundy, 9-0, before claiming third with a 6-0 win over Parry McCluer’s Clyde Vassar.
At 144 pounds, Hunter Pennington gave Rural Retreat a fifth-place finish. After pinning River Diaz of Lancaster, Pennington fell by pin to George Wythe’s Sam Mello. On the backside of the brackets, Pennington battled to a 7-3 win over Eastside’s Braxton Freeman before losing by pin to Andrew Daggins of Northampton. In the fight for fifth, Pennington picked up a 9-4 win over Izaya Terpening of Essex.
Sarmont Badziev took sixth for the Indians at 132 pounds. Opening with a 6-2 win over Mathews’ James Gray, Badzieve lost to Merrick Buchanan of Holston, 14-2. In the consolations, Badziev fell by pin to Jeremiah Cline of Fort Chiswell and Ashby Russell of Lancaster.
At 126 pounds, William Rose fell by pins to Jack Hughes of Fort Chiswell and Jordan Brokenbrough of Parry McCluer. In between, Rose pinned Buffalo Gap stuck Devyn Simmons.
