Calhoun County wrestler Jett Sampson cradles Wirt County’s Phillip Balis during their championship match at 126 during Saturday’s Little Kanawha Conference Meet at Williamstown High School. Sampson defeated Balis, 14-11. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WILLIAMSTOWN — Braxton County did what it does best at the Little Kanawha Championship wrestling meet.

And that’s win titles.

For the fifth straight consecutive year, the Eagles claimed the team championship Saturday inside Williamstown High School. This year, they nearly lapped the field after scoring 220 points on the strength of seven individual titles and placing in the top 4 in 11 of a possible 14 weight classes.

Behind individual titles from Kaden Huffman (113 pounds) and Trenton Huffman (160) and another four top 4 showings, Tyler Consolidated relished its runner-up finish after scoring 120 points.

“We had pretty high expectations for the team,” Tyler Consolidated coach Paden Morris said. “It’s been kind of an up and down year with some sickness and injury, but I feel like we are getting healthy at the right time. We had a good week of practice, and came out here and performed well today.

“We know Braxton is a top quality team and the team to beat. They’ve proven that the last several seasons. If we come out of here runner-up, that’s a good accomplishment for our team. Rolling right into regional, it will be a good momentum to build off.”

Williamstown, which placed third at 105 points, was one of five remaining schools represented at the top of the individual podium. Yellowjacket senior Ashton Wasmer pinned his final two opponents, including Roane County’s Levi Holbert in the finals at 106 pounds.

“For my expectations, we didn’t wrestle the best — but again, I try not to put too many expectations on these kids,” Williamstown coach Tyler George said. “Overall, we did all right for as young as we are. We hope we can refocus for the regionals next week and peak at the right time of the year.

“Braxton has an outstanding team. Coach (Sterling Beane) is a great guy. This is his 50th year. This is well-deserved for them. They are studs.”

As the only senior on the team , Wasmer is accompanied by only one junior on the roster. The remainder of the Williamstown team is comprised of 15 to 16 freshmen and sophomores. Wasmer uses his experience to benefit the maturity of his teammates still going through the learning process.

“I was real happy Ashton could pull that title through in dominant fashion,” George said. “His leadership role has been the biggest contribution for how young we are. We have seven kids on our roster who have never wrestled before. Ashton shows them what needs to be done, and along with the expectations in both the weight room and in the classroom, his leadership is outstanding. I couldn’t ask for a better senior. His record (26-6) speaks for itself.”

Also earning their way through with individual titles were Doddridge County’s Riley Curran (132), Wirt County’s Kolton Parsons (145), Calhoun County’s Jett Sampson (126) and Clay County’s Zane Minger (120).

Parsons became a three-time LKC champion in his senior year. LKC coaches voted Parsons Most Outstanding Wrestler after he pinned two of his opponents and won by a technical fall during the semifinal round.

“The field wasn’t easy by any means — you just need to stick the fundamentals and trust yourself,” Parsons said. “Most of these teams will be in our region, so it gives me a feel what I will be wrestling against.”

Parsons credits his success to Wirt County head coach Danny Life, who dominated at the LKC during his high school career.

“This award means something more to me because (Life) is someone I look up to and think highly of,” Parsons said. “I strive to be like him in terms of wrestling because he was as dominant as you could be. I was aware of the award — you are always shooting for it, but I wasn’t too prepared on winning it.”

Rounding out the top 5 in team standings were Wahama (101) and Doddridge County (93). The Bulldogs had three wrestlers competing in the finals, including Riley Curran who recorded three pins in as many matches at 132 pounds and improved to 30-1. Teammate Dylan Knight recently joined the Bulldogs program and advanced to the finals at 170 before getting pinned by Braxton County’s Bryson Spell. Knight won his only three matches entering the LKC Championships.

“We are doing a lot better than when the season began — it’s coming together,” Doddridge County coach Chris Coffman said. “Riley’s only loss is to a triple-A school. He’s pretty good.

“Placing fifth with basically eight kids — some of these kids had never wrestled before. It’s been a long season.”