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Braxton County going for three-peat

Eagles have six top seeds in today’s tourney

Photo by Jay W. Bennett Roane County’s Jake Whiting has the top seed at 160 for today’s 56th annual Little Kanawha Conference wrestling championships. Action begins at 10 a.m. in Spencer with doors opening at 9 a.m.

SPENCER — When the 56th annual Little Kanawha Conference wrestling championships get underway at 10 a.m. today inside Roane County High School, veteran Braxton County head coach Sterling Beane and his Eagles will be out for a three-peat.

Calhoun County in 2016 was the last team not named Braxton County to win the LKC.

The Eagles, who join Wirt County as the only programs with nine overall top-four seeded grapplers, have six expected LKC champs.

No other conference school is seeded to crown more than two individual champs.

Roane County 160-pounder Jake Whiting has the No. 1 seed and is one of four wrestlers vying for a third career LKC crown.

Whiting was runner-up at 132 as a freshman before winning 138 as sophomore and 145 as a junior.

Connor Spaulding of Ritchie County is expected to stand atop the podium at 126 and has previous LKC championships at 106 in 2017 and at 120 last winter.

However, Wirt County’s Wyatt Powell has the No. 2 seed at 126 and the Tiger is also seeking a third LKC title. Like Whiting, Powell also will be seeking a fourth career trip to the LKC finals.

After winning 106 as a freshman, Powell finished runner-up at 120 in 2017 and then captured the 132-pound title as a junior.

“You never know what’s going to happen. You never know. We are going to try. That’s all I can say,” admitted Wirt County head coach Danny Life when asked if the orange and black could dethrone the Eagles.

“They’ve just been working hard. We’re doing pretty good this year. Last year, we were pretty sick. It’s going to be interesting.”

Also seeking a third career LKC mat title is Clay County’s Joel Cruickshanks, who is seeded second behind Whiting. The Panther won the 152-pound championship each of the past two winters.

The Eagles of coach Beane, who is now in his 46th year, are coming off a dominating performance last Saturday when they won the Appalachian Fasteners Invite at Shady Spring by besting runner-up Greenbrier East, 213-149.5.

Expected to win LKC crowns for the Eagles are Spencer Posey (145), Gavin Triplett (152), Jordan Williams (170), Logan Conley (182), Seth Meador (195) and heavyweight Quin Meador. Williams is the defending champ at 170 while Quin Meador bested the field at 220 last year. Although Clay County’s Colton Casto has the No. 1 seed at 220, Braxton County’s Sturgis May, last year’s 195-pound champ, is the No. 2 seed in the weight class. The only other 220-pounder in the field is Ravenswood’s Ethan Lane.

While Wyatt Powell doesn’t have a No. 1 seed, little brother Logan Powell is favored at 106 while Tiger teammate Hunter Poole is the expected champ at 113.

Wiley Houser, who won his first LKC crown last year at 106, has the top seed at 120. The other expected champs are Doddridge County 132-pounder Reese Burnside and Roane County 138-pounder David Rhodes. Burnside was upended by Tiger AJ Garrett 8-4 in overtime last week in the A Challenge final at Ritchie County. Garrett has the third seed at 132 while Cody Smith of Ravenswood is the No. 2 seed. Smith has beaten Garrett twice while Burnside won the first match of the year versus Garrett.

“Braxton, Wirt and I think Ritchie will have a little say in that too,” noted Williamstown head coach Ryan Scott of the LKC team race.

The Yellowjackets are without the services of fourth-ranked 145-pounder Casch Somerville, who likely would’ve been the top seed in the LKC. Coach Scott does have a No. 2 seed in 138-pounder Mason Deem as well as two No. 3 seeds with 106-pounder Brandon Burrell and 126-pounder Colton Slagle.

“I think Casch would’ve won that weight class, but it is what it is,” Scott said. “I’d rather have him at the state tournament. I think he could wrestle, but we are holding him out with regionals next week.”

Scott is hoping Deem can make a run for a top of the podium finish, but the ‘Jacket did lose his only match to the Raider Rhodes.

“The Rhodes kid is pretty tough,” Scott added. “Mason was coming off the state football championship game and it was his third match of the year down at Jackson County (Invite).

“He put Mason on his back and it snowballed after that. Hopefully, we get a better showing.”

Also earning No. 2 seeds for the LKC, which will allow fans in starting at 9 a.m., were Clay County’s Rush Sparks (106) and Brice Cruickhsanks (145), Ravenswood’s Ethan Tanner (113) and Dalton Moore (182), Braxton County’s Jake Long (120), St. Marys’ Brennan Boron (152), Calhoun County’s Dalton McCune (170), Wirt County’s Glen McFee (195) and Roane County heavyweight DJ Smith.

Top seeds for the 56th annual Little Kanawha

Conference Wrestling championships at Roane

106: Logan Powell (Wirt), Rush Sparks (Clay), Brandon Burrell (Wtown), Andrew Bartlett (Roane)

113: Hunter Poole (Wirt), Ethan Tanner (Rwood), Jeremy Darnold (Ritchie), Jett Sampson (Calhoun)

120: Wiley Houser (St. Marys), Jake Long (Braxton), Kolton Parsons (Wirt), Brady Layman (Ritchie)

126: Connor Spaulding (Ritchie), Wyatt Powell (Wirt), Colton Slagle (Wtown), Parker Todd (Dodd.)

132: Reese Burnside (Dodd.), Cody Smith (Rwood), AJ Garrett (Wirt), Colton Saunders (Roane)

138: David Rhodes (Roane), Mason Deem (Wtown), Jared Jones (Dodd.), Andrew Hardman (Ritchie)

145: Spencer Posey (Braxton), Brice Cruickshanks (Clay), Clay Tanner (Rwood), Kevin Lockhart (Wirt)

152: Gavin Triplett (Braxton), Brennan Boron (St. Marys), Kayden Procacina (Ritchie), Joe Menas (Rwood)

160: Jake Whiting (Roane), Joel Cruickshanks (Clay), Kaleb Kovacs (Ritchie), Justin Paletti (Braxton)

170: Jordan Williams (Braxton), Dalton McCune (Calhoun), Lance Sims (Wirt), Isaac Snodgrass (St. Marys)

182: Logan Conley (Braxton), Dalton Moore (Rwood), Dalton Griffin (Wirt); Dakota Neal (Clay)

195: Seth Meador (Braxton), Glen McFee (Wirt), Riley Boley (St. Marys), Hunter Leggett (Ritchie)

220: Colton Casto (Clay), Sturgis May (Braxton), Ethan Lane (Rwood), None

285: Quin Meador (Braxton), DJ Smith (Roane), Tyler Adkins (Clay), Billy Anderson (Tyler)

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