Statesmen wrestlers James Cusack and Matt Crawford, both seniors, wrestled in the Virginia AAA State Wrestling tournament at Robinson Secondary School on Feb. 17 to 18, finishing in eighth and third places, respectively.
Crawford beat Yorktown High School wrestler Charlie Whel on the second day of the tournament to earn his third place finish in the state. Cusack lost his final match that determined the seventh and eighth place finishers in his weight class.
In the Virginia AAA Northern Region wrestling tournament on Feb. 10 to 11, four Statesmen wrestlers finished in the top six of their weight classes, two of whom wrestled in the Regional finals.
Crawford and Cusack appeared in the finals for their respective weight-classes. Cusack finished as the regional champion for the 113-lb weight class, and Crawford finished second in the region for the 285-lb weight class.
“I was hoping to get a chance to be in the finals,“ Cusack said. “In the finals, I never wrestled the kid before. I ended up winning by major decision, but it was a pretty convincing victory.“
Marshall’s varsity wrestling team competed in the Liberty District tournament at Jeb Stuart High School the previous weekend, finishing second with a team score of 192.
Junior Christian Valencia, Cusack and Crawford had individual first place finishes in the tournament. Seniors Sam White and Jimbo Briody won second place in the district.
Other top finishers on the Statesman team were seniors Abel Tesfai, Zack Brooks, Tyler Snook and Greyson Smith and juniors John Townshend and Robert Gonzales.