Members of the Parkersburg High School wrestling team celebrate following Big Red 150-pounder Kayden McDonald's 7-6 victory against Parkersburg South's Asa Yost during the finals of Saturday's Division I, Region 4 tournament inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg wrestling program of head coach Matt Littleton qualified all 14 wrestlers to next month’s state tournament in Huntington as the Big Reds secured the Division I, Region 4 title here Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Big Reds, who had champions in half of the weight classes, amassed 270.5 points with Huntington (11) 216, Cabell Midland (13) 208, Parkersburg South (11) 198, Spring Valley (4) 72, and Hurricane (3) 71.5 rounding out the team scoring.

“We’re taking all 14 which is big,” said Littleton, who watched third-seeded 106-pounder Aiden Linko reach the finals and pin top-seeded Bryson Simmons of Cabell Midland in 5:16. “We’re looking at the team race and everyone is going to have to contribute if we’re going to find a way to bring this home.

“Taking all 14 is a big step. A lot of our guys outperformed what they were supposed to do on paper. We put ourselves in a pretty good position moving forward here in the next two weeks to get ready for the state tournament.”

PHS nearly won the first four weight classes as Seth Drennen later followed at 120 with a 13-5 major decision against Knight Reed Davis while 126-pound Big Red CJ Carrodus topped Knight Kayden Maynard, 8-1. Second-seeded 113-pounder Austin Carrodus came up just short in the 113-pound finals to Highlander top seed Sawyer Bond, 7-6.

Parkersburg 126-pounder CJ Carrodus registered an 8-1 decision versus Cabell Midland's Kayden Maynard during the finals of Saturday's Division I, Region 4 tournament inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“We’ll see how the pill comes out and then we’ll start game planning and finding out what we need to do and where we need to adjust to see where we can get some more points,” added coach Littleton.

Parkersburg South had its first shot at a regional title at 132, but No. 2 seed Coleton Hill was pinned in 1:34 by Huntington top seed Ben Barrett.

The next four weight classes each went the way of the Big Reds as the top seeds all came through for top of the podium finishes. At 138, Stephen Myers overcame a brief injury timeout to stick third-seeded Highlander Shad Henry in 2:47. Colston Skeen had his hand raised at 144 following a 17-0 technical fall against Huntington’s Owen Woodrum. At 150, Kayden McDonald got his go-ahead takedown with 27 seconds left in his match to hold off Patriot Asa Yost, 7-6. The Big Reds’ final title came from 157-pounder Dominic Way, who allowed a first period reversal against Highlander No. 3 Grady Stotts before winning by fall in 2:40.

The only other PHS-South head-to-head showdown followed at 165 where Patriot Nathan Murphy got the initial takedown with eight seconds left in the first period en route to an 8-3 decision against Parker Woods.

Parkersburg South’s other two regional champions came at 190 where Jesse Adams had a 20-1 technical fall against Cabell Midland’s Braxton Johnson and at 215 where Justice Drain flattened Knight Stephen Jones in 3:06.

Parkersburg 150-pounder Kayden McDonald registered a 7-6 decision versus Parkersburg South's Asa Yost during the finals of Saturday's Division I, Region 4 tournament inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Huntington’s third and fourth regional champions came at 175 where Rowan Dunham doubled up CM’s Carson Kohl, 12-6, and at heavyweight where Jeremiah Lyles got the mat slapper with 1:05 left in the second period versus Patriot Charles Williams.

“It’s hard to pick one thing you’re happy about,” said coach Littleton. “Obviously I think all of us across the board performed really, really well. I think one thing I was excited to see every time a Big Red was wrestling on the mat his teammates were on that mat screaming, cheering and had his back. That was something that stands out to me as a coach. We’re taking all 14.

“They all had a tremendous amount of success today, whether they won it or they found a way to place where they probably weren’t supposed to. I think the big thing I really loved seeing this weekend was each one of our wrestlers had every other wrestler’s back every time they stepped foot on the mat and that’s the kind of energy we need when you’re trying to build a championship team and go on a championship run.”

Also qualifying for the state tournament were Big Reds Jackson Brown (4th at 132), Tyreke Glover (3rd at 175), Eric Jones (3rd at 190), Adam Elder (3rd at 215) and Zach Medina (4th at 285) as well as Patriots Braedyn Carstens (4th at 113), Jordan Dearth (3rd at 120), Rylan Layton (4th at 126), Aaydin King (3rd at 138) and Jansen Dearth (4th at 144).

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Parkersburg South 215-pounder Justice Drain pinned Cabell Midland's Stephen Jones in the second period during the finals of Saturday's Division I, Region 4 tournament inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Parkersburg South 165-pounder Nathan Murphy registered an 8-3 decision versus Parkersburg's Parker Woods during the finals of Saturday's Division I, Region 4 tournament inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)