Mathews High School wrestlers finished ninth overall in last weekend’s Group 1A state championship, which was held at the Salem Civic Center, with a team score of 50.5 points. Rural Retreat won the title with 227 points, followed by Rappahannock County (105.5 points) and Riverheads (81 points).

Joe Hall was the highest placing Mathews wrestler, taking second place in the 182 lbs. class. Hall defeated Angel Solis of Galax by tech fall and Dariun Everett of Franklin by decision before losing by pin to Harley Mitchell of Rural Retreat in the championship bout.

Parker Thompson (138 lbs.) placed third in his weight class. He won his quarterfinal match against Nicholas Sybers of Northwood by major decision, losing an 8-4 decision in the semifinals to Marshall Taylor of Rural Retreat.

Thompson then battled back, scoring a first-period pin against Northumberland’s Caleb Davis and winning a 3-0 decision over Garrett Shultz of Riverheads in the third-place match.

Mason Fiscella (170 lbs.) ended the weekend in fourth place. He won his first bout by pin over John Horner of Patrick Henry, losing by pin in the semifinals to Ethan Martin of Rural Retreat. He scored his second pin of the tournament against Andres Rowe of Middlesex in the consolation semifinals and was pinned by Jack Vaughan of Galax in the battle for third place.

MichaelDion Davis-Ruskovitz (152 lbs.) finished in sixth place. His only tournament win was in the first consolation round, beating David Dasch of Essex by a 14-7 decision.

Caleb Sadler (120 lbs.) and Caleb Johnson (132 lbs.) also competed for Mathews, but did not place.