The Hargrave Tiger Wrestlers had yet another weekend of warrior challenges on the mats. This past weekend the Tiger grapplers attended the VISAA State Tournament at the Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond. The Tigers’ lone state place winner from last year, Cameron Spangler, was excited to be back in action at the state tournament and brought last year’s excitement into the Tiger locker room as he motivated the newcomers to the tournament with a chance at state medals.
Just as the Tigers have done all season, they didn’t fail to impress in their last and final matches of the year. The Tigers as a whole finished 12th at the tournament and well ahead of their 20th position from last year. This eight-place improvement was certainly a team effort and required that all of the Tiger wrestlers really step up on the mat and “pull their weight.” As the team saw great improvement in their placing it certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the herculean efforts of the five Tiger grapplers who brought home a little “state metal!” Kevin Pedersen, 132lbs, started off the second day of the tournament by winning the first medal of the day. The medals would continue as the Tigers continued to wrestle, and by the time big man on campus Andrew Scott wrestled, the Tigers had amassed another four medals. In all, five Tigers would go on to place at states: Pederson at 132lbs (6th place), Mize at 152lbs (8th place), Spangler at 182lbs (6th Place), Galloway at 195lbs (5th place), and Scott at Heavyweight (6th place). While the tiniest grappler, Gabe Medlin, fell short of the medal stand, he showed great promise for advancement next year as he finished 10th overall in his weight class out of twenty-nine total wrestlers.
Until next season, wrestling fans and supporters remember to Fight On!
