Week 11: Coalfield Success; Cupid’s wins; getting ready for Regionals.
The opening Shot.
Week eleven of the 2025 – 2026 Greenbrier East Wrestling season is in the books. The men were dominant at the Coalfield Invitational, the women achieved important wins at Cupid’s Revenge; and the team gets ready for Regionals.
The Week in Review.
Coalfield Invitational. Congratulations to Harrison Smith for earning his 100th high school win. One hundred high school wins is a milestone most wrestlers aspire to, but few achieve. That Harrison has done this in his junior year is impressive. This year, Harrison is one of the top ranked wrestlers in the heavyweight division heading into regionals.
The men had outstanding success at the Coalfield Invitational Tournament, taking third as a team. Kaden Stone Placed First at 144 Lbs., also winning the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. Harrison Smith continued his string of victories, placing first in the Heavyweight Division. He defeated multiple ranked opponents on his way to the top position on the podium. Freshman Hunter Holcomb finished 2nd, and Sonny Herbert and Mason Miller placed 3rd. Gage Webb and Kane Frank each placed 4th. Carter Webb placed 5th and Keegan Barron placed 6th. It was a whole team effort, with wins in every weight class.
Cupid’s Revenge. The women traveled to Morgantown for a Valentine’s Day tournament – aptly named Cupid’s Revenge. Makaylee Bennett (185 lbs.) and Maya Frank (120 lbs.) each placed second in the tournament. It was fitting that each medal awarded at the tournament was a “broken heart.” This was the last tournament of the season for the girls before the women’s division inaugural regional tournament.
Youth / Middle School Region III Qualifying Tournament. The youth and middle school wrestled in the WV Youth Region III Qualifying Tournament. These are the wrestlers of the future of GEHS. The team had multiple place winners: Asher Williams – 3rd; Camden Ogle – 2nd; Cooper Pugh – 3rd; Ella Pugh – 6th;
Holden Gilkeson – 3rd; Hunston Gilkeson – 3rd; James Godby – 1st; Kellan Pack – 3rd; Luke Pack – 2nd; Noah Williams – 6th; Tucker Hale – 4th; Weslan Nelson – 7th; and Wyatt Nelson – 8th. Congratulations and good luck!
Regional Tournaments: Regional Tournaments are held in order to qualify wrestlers for the State Championship Tournament.
The men wrestle in Region III, consisting of ten teams (4 AAAA, 6 AAA). These are Capital, George Washington, Greenbrier East, Nitro, Oak Hill, Princeton, Riverside, South Charleston, St. Albans, and Woodrow Wilson. The top four wrestlers in each weight class have the honor of wrestling in the State Tournament. The men’s regionals will be held at Woodrow Wilson High School on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, wrestling starts at 10:00 am.
In yet another historic first, GEHS women will wrestle in the first ever WV Girls Wrestling South Regional Invitational Tournament. The exponential growth of women’s wrestling, particularly in the 114 through 132-pound weight classes, made some type of qualifying tournament a must. There has been much comment – both positive and negative – regarding the regional tournament, the timing of the announcement there would be a regional tournament, and how the regions were divided. Despite the controversy the GEHS women look forward to the tournament.
The women will have two divisions, a North Region and a South Region. The North Region roughly encompasses the schools in the men’s Region I and Region II. The South Region roughly encompasses the schools in the men’s Region III and Region IV. There are 55 teams in the Southern Region, including: Capital, George Washington, Greenbrier East, Nitro, Oak Hill, Princeton, Riverside, Saint Albans, South Charleston, Woodrow Wilson, Cabell Midland, Huntington, Hurricane, Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, Spring Valley, Bluefield, Clay County, Greenbrier West, Herbert Hoover, Independence, Liberty Raleigh, Meadow Bridge, Midland Trail, Nicholas County, Pike View, Richwood, River View, Shady Spring, Webster County, Wyoming East, Buffalo, Calhoun County, Chapmanville, Gilmer County, Lincoln County, Logan, Man, Mingo Central, Parkersburg Catholic, Poca, Point Pleasant, Ravenswood, Ripley, Sissonville, St. Joseph Central, Tug Valley, Wahama, and Winfield. Of these schools, eight wrestlers from each region in each weight class will wrestle in the WV State Championship Tournament.
This division of teams is a bit anomalous as a number of what could reasonably be thought of as northern schools (such as Parkersburg and Parkersburg South) are in the South Region. The Women’s South Regional qualifier will be held Sunday, February 22, 2026, at Parkersburg High School. Doors open to the public at 9:00 AM and the first round begins at 12:00 PM.
Wrestler of the Week – Week 11 – Coalfield Invitational Team.
The Coalfield Invitational is the last men’s tournament of the season before the regional tournament. It is a good gauge of where our wrestlers are at this stage of the season and is a good warm up for the regional qualifying tournament. The success of GEHS wrestlers at this tournament is an encouraging sign for the upcoming qualification for the state tournament. The team that went to the Coalfield Invitational is the Wrestler of the week.
In the words of a coach:
We asked Coach Josh Smith for his impressions of the team. This is Coach Smith’s impression of where the team stands:
This time of year, the biggest issue is where the wrestlers are mentally. They need to have confidence and believe they can win. Both confidence and winning are habits a wrestler can form over the course of the season.
This is not the time to learn new moves or techniques, but rather to practice and perfect what they already know and what they do well. Each wrestler has a go-to move they need to practice and be ready to use. We also use the time to self-scout and see what we can improve in preparation for the regional and state tournaments.
We hope to send at least nine wrestlers to the State Tournament, which itself is a victory for a team with only one senior and a number of new and younger wrestlers.
Thanks to Coach Smith for taking a moment with us.
Coming up Next. Next week the men will compete in the Region III Qualifying Tournament, and the women will compete in the first ever 2026 WV Girls Wrestling South Regional Invitational Tournament. Both the men’s and women’s
teams will continue the process of preparing for the State Championship Tournament.
Next Week.
Next week’s article will give results of the Regional Qualifying Tournaments and identify those wrestlers who have achieved the distinction of earning the right to wrestle in the State Championship Tournament.
Live Stream. GEHS wrestling matches are now livestreamed and posted on the Greenbrier East Spartan Wrestling Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1400059887620954. If you cannot join us live, please join us online.
