Two Mathews High School wrestlers—Billy Bower and Austin Fravel—placed fifth in Virginia’s Group A state tournament, which was held on Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.

Overall, Mathews wrestlers were 9-16 for the weekend. “With only two regional champs and eight qualifying, most of our wrestlers were seeded low and had a tough first round,” MHS head coach Tom Holaday said.

“The good news is we only graduate two so next year we will have six returning qualifiers,” Holaday added. “It was good experience for these young wrestlers to participate in the tournament and set goals for next year.”

Grundy won the team title, topping second-place Strasburg 143-128 in the standings. Manassas Park (121) was third and Rural Retreat (90.5) fourth. Mathews ended up tied for 19th place with 33 points.

Bower (170 lbs.), a senior and team captain, won his first two matches on Friday night, defeating wrestlers from Lee and Buffalo Gap high schools. On Saturday, he lost in the semifinals to Logan Dean from J.I. Burton High School. He then lost to Ryan Pugh of Stonewall Jackson High School in the consolation semis. In the fifth-place consolation match, Bower received a forfeit from Ben Gibson of Parry McCluer because of an injury Gibson sustained in a previous match.

Fravel (195 lbs.) also compiled a 3-2 record over the two days. He won his first two bouts on Friday, beating wrestlers from John Battle and Chatham high schools. He lost in the semifinals to James Utz of Madison County. He then lost in the consolation semifinals to Derek Yates of Rural Retreat, pinning Blake Still of Central-Wise to take fifth place.

Six other MHS wrestlers competed in the state tournament. Caleb Miller (120 lbs.), Parker Thompson (138 lbs.) and Isaiah Maultsby (220 lbs.) posted 1-2 records, while Sean Rhodes (126 lbs.), Sam Moore (132 lbs.) and A.J. White (182 lbs.) were winless in the double-elimination competition.