Week 3: Fallen Heroes
The opening Shot.
Week three of the 2025 – 2026 Greenbrier East Wrestling season is in the books. The high school team loaded up the bus and traveled to Beckley for the Fallen Heroes Memorial Tournament. Eastern Greenbrier Middle School and the Eastern Greenbrier Wrestling Club followed.
Fallen Heroes is a tournament created by Jeff Varney and Independence High School Head Coach Cliff Warden to honor Jeff Taylor and Chuck Smith, two former wrestlers at Independence High School who were killed in the line of duty. Jeff Taylor, who was a Navy SEAL, was shot down in a helicopter over Afghanistan in 2005. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor. After serving as a U.S. Marine, Chuck Smith returned to West Virginia to serve in the City of Beckley Police. He was shot and killed during an arrest in 2006.
The wrestlers, coaches, volunteers, parents, donors and supporters of the Greenbrier East wrestling family give our thanks to Jeff Taylor and Chuck Smith and to all of our military personnel and first responders who place their lives on the line each and every day. We owe you a debt which cannot be repaid.
The Week in Review.
GEHS Women’s Division. The GEHS women had an incredible showing at the Fallen Heroes Tournament. The team was limited to five wrestlers due to injury and practice requirements but still had the third highest point total of all of the women’s teams competing. Congratulations to two of our new wrestlers, Ava Taylor and Isabella Jones. Both achieved their first high school wins, both winning by pin. Despite needing to withdraw from the Tournament due to injury, Isabella Jones placed 4th in the 138-pound weight class. Isabella is a past middle school state Champion and excitement is high for her continued development in High School.
Elizabeth (Izzy) Blankenship was the Tournament Champion in the women’s 145-pound weight class. Izzy pinned each of her opponents on her way to the
Championship. Makaylee Bennett was the Tournament Champion in the women’s 185-pound weight class. Makaylee was dominant, pinning all of her opponents in quick succession. Maya Frank was the Tournament Champion in the women’s 120-pound weight class and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for the Tournament. The MOW award is given to one wrestler in each division within a tournament. In order to win the award, a wrestler must dominate, win convincingly (pins/tech falls), upset tough opponents, and win a loaded weight class. The selection is made by a vote of the coaches of teams in the tournament based on overall performance, quality of competition, and sportsmanship. On her way to the Tournament Champion and MOW award, Maya pinned all of her opponents. In the championship match, she faced and pinned a defending Kentucky State Champion.
Men’s Division: Congratulations to each of the GEHS wrestlers who recorded their first high school win: Gage Webb 120 pounds; Austin Shockley 126 pounds; Owen Edwards 138 pounds; Elijah Sherman 165 pounds; Tristen Matheny 175 pounds; and Cire Brown 285 pounds. Freshman Carter Webb continued the strong showing he displayed in the Morse Reese Memorial Tournament, with multiple wins. GEHS has a strong class of freshmen and new wrestlers. Keegan Barron (190 pounds) and Harrison Smith (285 pounds) fell just short of placing in the Tournament. By my observation Kane Frank may be the most improved wrestler on the team. While Kane did not place his crisp shots and smart wrestling show a strong future. Congratulations to Mason Miller for his 4th place finish in the Tournament. Mason went 5 and 1 on day one and 1 and 2 on day two. Keep it up Mason – and excellent job. Senior Kaden Stone continued his journey in pursuit of a state title taking 2nd place in the tournament. Kaden had one loss in the tournament, losing in the last seconds of the Championship match. It was a close finish against a very good wrestler.
Eastern Greenbrier Middle School
Eastern Greenbrier Middle School sent fourteen wrestlers to compete in the Fallen Heroes Tournament. Congratulations to Brach McClung; Anna Pack; Mathew Sherman; and Aislinn Bucklen for securing their first wins as middle school wrestlers. EGMS wrestler Owen Olczak finished in 4th place for the
tournament. James Godby went seven wins and one loss but did not place due to tie-breaker criteria. Congratulations to all those who competed.
Eastern Greenbrier Wrestling Club
Any consistently good wrestling program must have a strong base in youth wrestling. Coach Camren Ritchey of EGWC is developing the Greenbrier East teams of the future. EGWC brought nineteen wrestlers to the 2025 Fallen Heroes Tournament. EGWC wrestlers had success in all divisions: Open Division: Champion – Asher Williams; 4th Place – Camden Ogle and Kellen Pack. Novice Division: 3rd Place – Holden Gilkeson; Girls Division: 2nd Place – Ella Pugh; 3rd Place – Paisley Smith, Dahlia bland, Alana Rattliff, and Ariel Webb; 4th Place – Arya Rattlif, Lydia pack and Harper Smith. The future of wrestling in Eastern Greenbrier County is indeed bright.
Sponsor Spotlight.
We thank our Tournament Sponsors Solak Builders, Inc. (men’s division) and DAI Developers (women’s division). Without their support our participation in tournaments would be significantly diminished. If you wish to sponsor a tournament, please call Rob Frank, 719 322-2985, or email to rob@rjflaw.com.
Wrestler of the Week (Woman’s Division) – Maya Frank
Each week we recognize the outstanding wrestler of the week.
Greenbrier East High School’s Week 3 Wrestler of the Week (Women’s Division) is Maya Frank. At the Fallen Heroes Memorial Tournament, Maya went undefeated, with all wins by pin. Her longest match was two minutes, forty-nine seconds against a defending Kentucky State Champion from a dominant Kentucky High School. Maya previously placed third in the West Virginia State tournament and is in pursuit of 100 wins as a wrestler.
Maya excels academically, is enrolled in multiple advanced placement classes, and has earned a place on the 2023 – 2024 and 2024-25 WV-Mat Academic All-State Teams.
In Her own Words:
We sat down with Maya to ask her some brief questions. Here are her responses:
1) Why wrestle? As a kid I studied Japanese Jui Jitsu under Dr. Peter Ward and loved the physical nature of martial arts. I began wrestling in middle school. Wrestling is fun. You learn new techniques, combinations of techniques, and then get to compete against very good opponents. You get to test yourself every day in practice and especially in tournaments. Wrestling provides great opportunities for college scholarships and international competition and travel. I meet new people and form new friendships at every tournament.
2) What are your primary goals as a person, a student, and an athlete? Coach Lou Withrow used to tell us that Faith, Family, and Academics, all come before wrestling. As a student I take challenging classes and do my best to earn A’s in every class. As a wrestler and a person, I mostly want to make the most out of every day; to have fun; to make friends; and to make a difference.
3) What contributes the most to your ability to achieve these goals?
The biggest contribution to my ability to achieve my goals is my family. I have support of my grandparents and parents, wrestle often with my mom, and have a Dad who is willing to give up his time to coach the women’s team. My ability to commit is also a factor in my success. Whether it is a difficult class or preparing for a tough season, commitment determines outcomes. Finally, I have ambition to succeed, to do my best and to get better every day.
4) What advice do you have for fellow students and athletes as they pursue their goals?
Learn from your mistakes and failures. There is value in fighting really hard and losing. You often learn more when you lose than when you win. Do not let fear of losing keep you from competing as hard as you can.
5) What are your plans after high school?
I plan to attend college and pursue a pre-med program and to eventually attend medical school.
Maya is a success on and off the mat and is a role model for young women looking to compete at the highest level in all phases of her life.
Wrestler of the Week (Men’s Division) – Mason Miller
Greenbrier East High School’s Week 3 Wrestler of the Week (Men’s Division) is Mason Miller.
Mason took 4th place in the Fallen Heroes Memorial Tournament. Mason was fighting the flu at the time this article was published and was not available for interview. When he is up to it, I will complete his interview and complete his Wrestler of the Week profile. Mason is an incredible young man, and I cannot wait to write about his outlook and accomplishments. Get well soon Mason.
Upcoming Events.
The team has the Christmas holiday off – other than practices. When the team gets back from Christmas break, the men will travel to East Fairmont High School for the Tom Lewis Classic. The Tournament is set for Dec. 27, 2025. Wrestling starts at 9:00 am.
On January 2, 2026, the women travel to Parkersburg for the Parkersburg Winter Women’s Classic. Wrestling begins at 4:00 pm. This is a landmark early season tournament featuring some of the best programs in Northern West Virginia and Ohio. It will be a challenge for East’s growing women’s team.
Appalachian Bows is sponsoring the men’s team for the Tom Lewis Classic. We are still in need of a sponsor for the Parkersburg Winter Women’s Classic. If you wish to sponsor these or any tournaments, please call Rob Frank, 719 322-2985 or email me at rob@rjflaw.com. If you wish to donate to the programs of the Greenbrier East wrestling family, feel free to click the QR code (will try to post on website separately)
Little Known Fact of Wrestling – The Growth of Women’s Wrestling.
For many years, it was assumed that wrestling was a men’s only sport. The development of wrestling at every stage (youth, middle school, high school, and college) has shown this to be incorrect. Women’s wrestling is the fastest growing
sport in the U.S. and some of the best and most competitive wrestlers are women. Here are some unknown facts about women’s wrestling:
• Woman’s wrestling is the fastest growing High School Sport in the US.
• In 2025, there were over 74,000 women and girls wrestling competitively at the high school level and more than 1,200 at the collegiate level in the United States.
• As of April 2024, there were 146 women’s college wrestling programs and 77 clubs, including 85 NCAA programs and 47 NAIA programs. Concord University recently added a women’s wrestling program and we wish Concord the best in growing their team. BTY Concord – we have some wrestlers you should look at! Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing college sports.
• Competitive women wrestlers are being recruited by colleges as early as their freshmen year of high school.
• Wrestling ranks 2nd among sports for producing 1st generation college students. No sport does more to facilitate upward educational, occupational, or financial mobility.
• The number of women’s scholarships allowed per women’s college wrestling team has increased from 10 per team to 30 per team.
• Wrestlers are highly valued and recruited by all military branches.
• Wrestling is an exceptionally inclusive sport that is open to individuals of all sizes, backgrounds, and abilities. It is also highly accessible for all socioeconomic levels compared to other sports.
• Wrestling provides girls with life skills and experiences such as hard work, sacrifice, teamwork, discipline, personal responsibility, confidence, mental & physical toughness, respect.
• Wrestling provides girls with an opportunity to take advantage of post-secondary opportunities.
• Wrestling provides opportunities for international competition and international travel.
• Wrestling develops skills which will assist in success in other sports such as track, softball, soccer.
The Greenbrier East family of wrestling programs invite women of all skill and age level to come join us in wrestling. Whether it be club, middle school or high school, we would love you to join us.
Next Week.
Next week’s article will give results of the Tom Lewis Classic, will give a full profile of Week 3 Wrestler of the Week Mason Miller, will give updates on upcoming events, and provide wrestler and donor highlights.
Live Stream. GEHS wrestling matches are now livestreamed and posted on the Greenbrier East Spartan Wrestling Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
