Mathews wrestler Tanner Schaller won the state championship title at the VHSL Class 1 tournament last weekend, while his brother Tyler (138 lbs.) placed second in his weight class.
The Schaller brothers helped lead the Blue Devil wrestlers to a fifth-place overall finish with 110.5 team points at the tournament, held on Friday and Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.
Seven of the eight MHS wrestlers taking part placed in their respective weight classes. Aside from the Schallers, other Mathews wrestlers receiving medals included Josh Rosadino (113 lbs., fourth place), Isaiah Bivins (152 lbs., fourth place), Quinton Dixon (182 lbs., fourth place), Aaron Miles (132 lbs., fifth place) and Carson Gaimari (126 lbs., sixth place). Brady Wright (170 lbs.) also competed, but did not place.
“Everyone wrestled extremely well,” said MHS head coach Josh Schaible. “Placing fifth as a team with only eight wrestlers is very difficult.”
Grundy won the state title for a second year in a row, this time with 230.5 team points. Rural Retreat placed second with 202 points, followed by Riverheads (174 points), Grayson County (155 points) and Mathews. Among local teams, Middlesex finished 12th (51 points), while Lancaster placed 13th (44 points). Mathews improved greatly on its 2019 performance, when the Devils ended up in a tie for 26th place in the state tournament.
Tanner Schaller (160 lbs.), who posted an 18-1 season record, went 3-0 in the state tournament. After a first-round bye, he scored a tech fall victory over Hunter Hallman of Covington, won an 8-4 decision over Dorian Delp of Rural Retreat and scored a 5-0 victory in the championship bout over Kaelin Kwiecinski to take the gold medal.
Tyler Schaller (18-3 record) had a similar path to the championship round. After a first-round bye, he pinned Mason Via of Rural Retreat and won a 9-3 decision over Nick Craft of Parry McCluer. He lost to Grundy’s Chris Stiltner by a pin in the first-place match.
Rosadino (26-12) pinned Trevor Stevenson of Northwood in the opening round. Advancing to the quarterfinals, the MHS wrestler was pinned by Blake Battag-
lia of Rural Retreat. From there, Rosadino went to the consolation bracket, scoring pins over Dale Conde of Holston and Keven Perez of Northampton. In the consolation semis, Rosadino won in the ultimate tie breaker over Brock Parrish of Middlesex. This set up a rematch with Battaglia for third place. Once again, Battaglia pinned the Mathews wrestler, this time to take third place.
Bivins (30-7) went 2-2 in the tournament. He received an opening-round bye, then scoring a first-round pin over Jacob Keesee of Northwood. In the semifinals, Bivins lost to Blaine Sage of Rural Retreat by a pin. He then went on to win a 9-0 major decision over Honaker’s Dakota Casey in the consolation semifinals. In the third-place match, James Dayton of Cumberland pinned Bivins in 4:23.
Dixon (27-10) was the other MHS wrestler to place fourth in his weight class. Following a bye, he lost a 5-2 decision to Trent Fitzgerald of Parry McCluer. Dixon then had to battle his way back in the consolation rounds, pinning Brock Martin of Northumberland and winning decisions over Joseph Lee Reinboldt of Rappahannock County and Trevor Martin of Riverheads. Dixon and Fitzgerald faced off once again in the third-place match; this time around Fitzgerald squeaked by winning a 1-0 decision.
Aaron Miles (30-8) won his first bouts, pinning Christian McGeorge of Grundy. He then lost a 7-2 decision to Dawson Allen of Grayson County. Miles suffered a medical forfeit in the consolation semifinals and came back to pin McGeorge once again in the fifth-place match.
Gaimari (26-13) had a busy tournament, posting a 3-3 record over two days. He scored a 10-5 decision over Kayden Vanover of Grundy in the opening round. Gaimari then lost by a pin to Tanner Jones of Grayson County in the quarterfinals. In the consolation rounds, Gaimari won the next two bouts, pinning Devin Deshields of Franklin and posting an 8-2 decision over Hayden Jackson of Patrick Henry. He then lost in the consolation semifinals to Justin Martin of Rural Retreat and Jax Allebaugh of Riverheads in the fifth-place match.