Riverheads wrestling 2nd in regionals; Fort girls, Draft boys track win: Weekend sports roundup
Riverheads, Fort, Draft wrestlers headed to states
GREENVILLE — The Region 2B wrestling championships were held Saturday. Riverheads finished second with 164.5 points and Fort Defiance was third (149), both trailing regional champion Strasburg who won with 293 points.
The top three wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16-17 in Salem. Fourth-place wrestlers qualified as alternates.
The Gladiators' Bryson Cash and Jake Yowell both won regional titles Saturday. Cash won the 113-pound title, beating Strasburg's Conner Miller by a technical fall, while Yowell captured the 132 title, also by technical fall, beating Strasburg's Jadon Shanholtz.
In addition to Cash and Yowell, three other Riverheads wrestlers are headed to states: Mariah Roberts was second at 106, Noah Ross third at 157, and Payton Snell third at 285.
The Gladiators had four wresters qualify as alternates: Preston McCauley (126), Joseph Rowe (138), Evan Annese (144) and Cole Fletcher (165).
Fort Defiance had four regional runners-up and two more third-place finishers, all headed to states. Landon Yoder (138), Adam Wimer (150), Zane Sayre (190) and Aaron Bailey (285) all brought home second-place finishes in the regional event, while Frank Kinzer (126) and Camden Smith (215) were third.
Fort also had a pair of wrestlers qualify as alternates with fourth-place finishers: Montana Nuckols (157) and Landyn Patnode (175).
Stuarts Draft's Christopher Dray (165) was second and will be headed to the state tournament.
Wilson boys win, girls fall in high school hoops
Wilson Memorial boys beat Liberty Christian 81-76 in overtime Saturday in high school basketball. Chase Snyder led the way for the Hornets with 29 points, while Max Vess added 21 points and Grant Wright had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Wilson is now 14-8 and finishes up its regular season Wednesday at home against Fort Defiance.
Meanwhile, the Wilson girls fell to Liberty Christian 68-31 Saturday. Wilson finished its regular season 12-10, dropping three of its last four games.
Region 1B, 2B track
The Fort Defiance girls won the combined Region 1 and 2B indoor track and field championship Saturday. Fort beat second-place Brunswick 124.5-103 to claim the title. Stuarts Draft finished third, Riverheads fifth and Buffalo Gap 12th.
On the boys side, Stuarts Draft beat second-place Riverheads 116.5 to 96.5. Fort was seventh and Buffalo Gap 10th.
In the girls meet, Fort Defiance's Abby Lane and Taylor Cubbage both won a pair of individual championships. Lane won the 1,000- and 1,600-meter races, while Cubbage won the 500 and high jump. Fort's Bethany Lang won the 3,200-meter run and the Fort 4x800 team — Lane, Lang, Maddie Conner and Violet Bast — won first place.
Stuarts Draft's Anna Callo won the girls pole vault title.
On the boys side, Draft's Christian Moats won the triple jump while Draft's 4x200 relay team took home gold. Riverheads' Austin Roberts won the 300 and high jump, and Nolan Tyree won the pole vault.
Mary Baldwin clinches top seed in USA South tourney
STAUNTON — Mary Baldwin University's men's basketball will be the top seed in the USA South Athletic Conference tournament. This is just the third season Mary Baldwin has had a men's varsity team.
The Fighting Squirrels clinched at least a tie for the conference's regular season title with an 82-66 win over Pfeiffer Saturday. The win improved Mary Baldwin to 14-9 overall and 10-2 in conference play.
Mary Baldwin could still finish tied for first with Brevard, but because they beat Brevard twice this season the tournament's top seed would still belong to the Squirrels. Each team has two games remaining to play in the next seven days. An MBU win or a Brevard loss gives the Fighting Squirrels sole possession of the regular-season title.
Mary Baldwin hosts Greensboro Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and North Carolina Wesleyan Saturday, Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m. The USA South tournament semifinals will be Thursday, Feb. 22.
Jaden Ignacio led Mary Baldwin Saturday night with 18 points while Mekhi Reid finished with 16 points.
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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Riverheads wrestling 2nd in regionals; Fort girls, Draft boys win track titles
