Greenbrier West has enjoyed a lot of success on the mats in the past decade. The 2013 Cavaliers, a Class A team out of Region III, won the AA/A State Championship outright. In 2016, the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission began recognizing the top-finishing Class A team in the AA/A tournament as a state champion. The 2019 and 2020 Cavaliers claimed those state titles as well. Along the way, Greenbrier West’s grapplers have laid claim to prestigious titles at such tournaments as the WV Army National Guard Duals in Summersville and the WSAZ’s in Huntington. But with state championships under their belts, the one title that had eluded them would be the one you would think they would win more years than not, the West Virginia Class A Challenge.
Held annually at Ritchie County High School, the Challenge was started in 2017 as an opportunity for Class A schools to compete head-to-head in a bracketed tournament that mimicked the state tournament experience, albeit without Class AA interference. The Cavaliers were the runners-up to Magnolia in both 2017 and 2018 and a third time to host Ritchie County in 2020. You would have to excuse Greenbrier West head coach Jeremy Tincher if he felt just a little empty-handed. “Two of those years we had starters out, but we went on to win the state championship. You’d like to think you’d have won a couple more if the lineup had been healthy” Tincher said.
The #4 preseason team in the WV Coaches Association/wvmat.com poll, Greenbrier West quickly ascended to #2 in the first poll of the 2022 calendar year. They have remained #2 since, trailing only Cameron in each of the three subsequent polls. A big part of their lofty team ranking are six wrestlers that were individually ranked in the AA/A top ten of their respective weight classes. Two of those ranked wrestlers were podium finishers a week before at arguably the toughest tournament in West Virginia, the 49-team WSAZ Invitational. Senior Cavalier Brad Blevins managed a fifth-place finish at 138lbs while Tucker Lilly battled his way to a sixth-place finish at 113lbs.
The Cavaliers notched their first-ever Class A Challenge on February 5, outdistancing second place Williamstown 240-170. Lilly backed up his podium finish at the WSAZ’s with the 113lb. championship. It was Lilly’s second individual championship of the season as he conquered the 113lb. field at the Braxton Invitational on January 14. Lilly defeated Kaden Huffman of Tyler Consolidated 12-5 for the major decision. Moses Gray, likewise, was a Braxton Invitational champion. Gray won the 132lb. title by pinning Kipp Freed of Williamstown. Dalton Heath parlayed a Braxton title with a 170lb. Challenge win. Heath defeated Jake Bowling of Ravenswood 14-2. The Cavaliers’ fourth champion of the tourney was Cole Vandall at 182lbs. Vandall won a major decision 8-0 over Sean Winfrey of Tyler Consolidated.
Austin McKenzie, ranked #7 at 106lbs in the high school individual rankings, carved out a third-place finish with a pin of Buffalo’s Alex Short. Fellow Cavalier freshman Jovan Robinson pinned Thomas Miracle of Ritchie County for a third-place finish in the 120lb. division. Clayton Robinson crafted himself a nice 3-2 record for fourth place at 126lbs. Brad Blevins, the 132lb. champion in 2020, decisioned Brandon Jones of East Hardy 7-1 for a third-place result.
Evan Vandall, another talented West freshman, went 4-2 on the day to claim fourth place at 145lbs. Darren Vaughan’s 3-2 day culminated with a seventh-place finish in the 152lb. division. Senior Jayden Robinson’s 2-2 day ended with a fourth-place finish at 160lbs. Reece Baldwin slotted into sixth place at 195lbs.
Tincher was named the Matt Ashley Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the tournament. Ashley was a four-time state champion at Spencer, winning individual titles from 1976-79. Assessing his team’s performance, Tincher matter-of-factly said “I feel like we’re wrestling pretty well but not consistent from top to bottom. Each week a different kid does not do as well as he could while another one will. We need to find consistency.”
The next three weeks will be a test for the Cavaliers. Facing tough competition at the Coalfield Conference, the Region III Championship, and the state tournament, Tincher’s team will need to gell the way he wants them to. “Anytime you deal with a young team, you deal with inconsistency. We have seven freshmen and sophomores in the starting lineup. The next three weeks are huge. We must put together three great weeks. Each weekend builds on the one preceding it. Coalfields set you up for regional seeding. You don’t want to have a bad regional tournament or it sets you up for a rough state tournament.”
Greenbrier West has competed in the Class A Challenge four times with several wrestlers winning individual championships and accolades. Chase Patterson was named the Andrew Davis Most Valuable Wrestler award winner after capturing the 152-pound title in 2017.
Past WV Class A Challenge Individual Champions
Logan Seldomridge, 2017, 113lbs; 2018, 126lbs.
Chase Patterson, 2017, 152lbs.; 2018, 170lbs.
Malik Cox, 2018, 152lbs.
Brad Blevins, 2020, 132lbs.
Noah Brown, 2020, 220lbs.
Isaac Brown, 2020, 285lbs.
Tucker Lilly, 2022, 113lbs.
Moses Gray, 2022, 132lbs.
Dalton Heath, 2022, 170lbs.
Cole Vandall, 2022, 182lbs.
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