Polk County’s wrestling team claimed the Western Highlands Conference tournament championship Thursday at Madison High School, crowning five individual champions on the way to the team title.
The Wolverines scored 178.5 points to outdistance runner-up Madison (122). Avery County and Owen tied for third with 100 points, followed by Hendersonville (87), Mitchell (83.5) and Mountain Heritage (37).
Zalen McCraw (165), Zachary McCraw (175), Styler Blackwell (190), Jaxtyn Virgil (144) and Brody Wolfe (150) each captured individual championships for Polk County.
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Zalen McCraw won his third consecutive conference championship, pinning Owen’s Ju’Coreyn Bristol in the semifinals and Madison’s Judson Beaver in the championship match. Zachary McCraw won the 175-pound title with pins over Avery County’s Zach Baker and Madison’s Jayden Garrett.
Blackwell claimed the 190-pound championship with three pins, defeating Madison’s Hunter Martin in the quarterfinals, Avery County’s Daniel Garcia in the semifinals and Hendersonville’s Brian Maximov in the finals.
Virgil won the 144-pound title, pinning Madison’s Tenoch Palafox and Hendersonville’s Cole Novak before claiming a 13-10 decision over Owen’s Kaiser Perkins in the championship match.
Wolfe captured the 150-pound championship, pinning Hendersonville’s Eli Guerra in the semifinals and defeating Owen’s Mason Wheeler 12-4 by major decision in the finals. Wolfe also recorded his 100th career victory with the win over Guerra.
Amon Villarreal (132) and Liam Jackson (126) each placed second. Villarreal pinned Hendersonville’s Leland Carroll in the semifinals before falling to Madison’s Alexander Cecil in the finals. Jackson defeated Hendersonville’s Keegan Becher 9-4 in the semifinals before losing to Mitchell’s Bryson McFalls by technical fall in the championship match.
Carson Bell (157) also finished second, pinning Madison’s Colton Jessup in the semifinals before falling to Owen’s Joaquin Leunda Freeman in the finals.
Jayden Pons (120) and Silas Amorelli (106) each finished third. Pons defeated Madison’s LA Sesena by technical fall in the quarterfinals before falling to Avery County’s Alexandero Ical in the semifinals. He won third place with a medical forfeit victory over Owen’s Nathan Turner.
Conner Ahlert (138) placed fourth after falling to Mountain Heritage’s Max Fraiser in the semifinals. He pinned Madison’s Josh Embler in the consolation semifinals before losing to Mitchell’s Erris Crone in the third-place match.
In the WHC women’s tourney, Polk County’s Grace Settles finished second in the 100-pound class. Settles decisioned Hendersonville’s Samantha Caggiano 10-5 before falling to Mitchell’s Sophie Robbinson 3-0 in the final.
WESTERN HIGHLANDS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
106 – Silas Amorelli (3rd place) Semifinal: Jaiden Hendricks (Avery County) p. Amorelli (1:01) 3rd Place: Amorelli bye
120 – Jayden Pons (3rd place) Quarterfinal: Pons tech. fall LA Sesena (Madison), 20-4 Semifinal: Alexandero Ical (Avery County) p. Pons (4:26) 3rd Place: Pons medical forfeit
126 – Liam Jackson (2nd place) Semifinal: Jackson d. Keegan Becher (Hendersonville), 9-4 1st Place: Bryson McFalls (Mitchell) tech. fall Jackson, 17-2
132 – Amon Villarreal (2nd place) Semifinal: Villarreal p. Leland Carroll (Hendersonville) (1:12) 1st Place: Alexander Cecil (Madison) p. Villarreal (5:51)
138 – Conner Ahlert (4th place) Semifinal: Max Fraiser (Mountain Heritage) maj. dec. Ahlert, 9-0 Cons. Semi: Ahlert p. Josh Embler (Madison) (0:54) 3rd Place: Erris Crone (Mitchell) p. Ahlert (3:36)
144 – Jaxtyn Virgil (1st place) Quarterfinal: Virgil p. Tenoch Palafox (Madison) (0:30) Semifinal: Virgil p. Cole Novak (Hendersonville) (1:31) 1st Place: Virgil d. Kaiser Perkins (Owen), 13-10
150 – Brody Wolfe (1st place) Semifinal: Wolfe p. Eli Guerra (Hendersonville) (0:58) 1st Place: Wolfe maj. dec. Mason Wheeler (Owen), 12-4
157 – Carson Bell (2nd place) Semifinal: Bell p. Colton Jessup (Madison) (3:54) 1st Place: Joaquin Leunda Freeman (Owen) p. Bell (5:11)
165 – Zalen McCraw (1st place) Semifinal: McCraw p. Ju’Coreyn Bristol (Owen) (0:48) 1st Place: McCraw p. Judson Beaver (Madison) (1:43)
175 – Zachary McCraw (1st place) Semifinal: McCraw p. Zach Baker (Avery County) (1:47) 1st Place: McCraw p. Jayden Garrett (Madison) (1:12)
190 – Styler Blackwell (1st place) Quarterfinal: Blackwell p. Hunter Martin (Madison) (0:13) Semifinal: Blackwell p. Daniel Garcia (Avery County) (0:44) 1st Place: Blackwell p. Brian Maximov (Hendersonville) (0:50)
215 – Isaiah Staley Quarterfinal: Maverick Mora (Avery County) d. Staley, 9-4 Cons. Semi: Allen Oldfield (Owen) p. Staley (2:35)
285 – Tanner McKinney Quarterfinal: McKinney d. Deren Hise (Mitchell), 8-6 Semifinal: Luke Westbrook (Hendersonville) tech. fall McKinney, 21-5 Cons. Semi: Talon Gregg (Owen) d. McKinney, 17-12
