Virgil’s title leads eight podium finishes for Polk wrestlers at conference tourney
Jadyn Virgil now has a conference championship to add to his growing list of accolades as a Polk County wrestler.
Virgil became just the second Mountain Foothills 7 Conference champion in school history on Saturday, winning the 182-pound class at the league individual tourney at R-S Central.
Virgil pinned R-S Central’s Randall Dunn to open his day, then pinned the second seed in the bracket, Patton’s Kamden Stephens, to reach the championship match.
Brevard’s Zion Brown upset top seed Alex Ashley of Hendersonville in his semifinal, and Virgil then took care of Brown, winning a 7-2 decision. Virgil raced to a 7-1 lead after the first period, including a near fall, then protected the lead the rest of the match to earn his conference title and join Collier Foster as Wolverines with MF7 individual crowns.
Virgil now has a 38-8 record and has yet to lose to a North Carolina 2A wrestler this season.
But Polk County’s day was not all about Virgil’s success. Three other Polk wrestlers – each a freshman – reached championship matches in their respective weight classes and earned second-place finishes. Amon Villarreal lost a tough 3-2 decision on a late takedown to R-S Central’s Alex Lopez at 120 pounds, with Carson Bell also taking second at 138 pounds and Zalen McCraw losing a 4-1 decision to Brevard’s Jacob Stockton at 160 pounds.
Polk’s Carter Wade, Shatter Johnson and Kendall McEntyre each placed third in their brackets.
The Wolverines finished fourth in the team standings, trailing R-S Central, Brevard and Hendersonville.
Polk County will return to regular-season team competition on Wednesday, celebrating Senior Night with a tri-match against R-S Central and East Rutherford. The R-S Central encounter will be a conference match. Action begins at 5 p.m.
Mountain Foothills 7 Conference Tournament
Polk County results
113
Semifinal – Daniel Reyes (Hendersonville) p. Carter Wade (Polk County)
3rd Place Match – Carter Wade p. Austin Mathis (Chase)
120
Quarterfinal – Amon Villarreal (Polk County) p. Parker Winters (Patton)
Semifinal – Amon Villarreal maj. dec. Devan Ramsey (Chase), 15-6
1st Place Match – Alex Lopez (R-S Central) d. Amon Villarreal, 3-2
126
Quarterfinal – Adrian Fox (Chase) p. Aiden Billings (Polk County)
Cons. Round 1 – Aiden Billings maj. dec. Leland Carroll (Hendersonville), 15-2
Cons. Semi – Luke Parker (Patton) p. Aiden Billings
132
Semifinal – Avan Hinkle (Brevard) p. Shatter Johnson (Polk County)
138
Semifinal – Carson Bell (Polk County) p. Isaiah Granja-Sosa (East Rutherford)
1st Place Match – Caleb Cox (R-S Central) p. Carson Bell
145
Quarterfinal – Cameron Crawford (R-S Central) p. Logan Nodine (Polk County)
Cons. Semi – Caleb Clark (Patton) d. Logan Nodine, 4-1
152
Quarterfinal – Burke Wilson (Patton) p. Isaiah Wilmoth (Polk County)
Cons. Semi – Jesse Phillips (Brevard) p. Isaiah Wilmoth
160
Quarterfinal – Zalen McCraw (Polk County) maj. dec. Nicholas Parlier (Patton), 10-0
Semifinal – Zalen McCraw p. Will Dupree (R-S Central)
1st Place Match – Jacob Stockton (Brevard) d. Zalen McCraw, 4-1
182
Quarterfinal – Jadyn Virgil (Polk County) p. Randall Dunn (R-S Central)
Semifinal – Jadyn Virgil p. Kamden Stephens (Patton)
1st Place Match – Jadyn Virgil d. Zion Brown (Brevard), 7-2
220
Quarterfinal – Obed Najera (Polk County) p. Chris Melgar (East Rutherford)
Semifinal – Daniel Owens (R-S Central) maj. dec. Obed Najera, 16-7
Cons. Semi – Obed Najera p. Seth Walker (Chase)
3rd Place Match – Judson Weaver (Brevard) d. Obed Najera, 3-1
285
Quarterfinal – Logan Diehm (East Rutherford) p. Kendall McEntyre
Cons. Semi – Kendall McEntyre d. Justin Jones, 3-1
3rd Place Match – Kendall McEntyre p. Chandler Niven (Brevard)