Parkersburg's Seth Drennen looks for a lifting takedown against John Marshall on Friday night. (Photo by Ben Powell)

HUNTINGTON — Following Friday night’s action here at the 79th annual West Virginia State Wrestling Tournament, two-time defending Class AAA state champion University holds a 199.5 to 193 lead on Parkersburg as the Hawks are attempting to become the first Division I team champion in Mountain State history.

The Hawks will place 11 wrestlers compared to the Big Reds’ nine while both programs will have six state finalists and that includes a pair of head-to-head showdowns.

Colston Skeen advanced to the finals at 144 and will face Hawk Nico Maisel, who owns three wins against the Big Red this season. Skeen got a takedown with 37 seconds left in the first period and finished off Martinsburg’s Drew Earehart via fall in 4:59.

The other head-to-head matchup features 157-pound Big Red Dominic Way, who got a takedown 16 ticks into the opening period and stuck Bridgeport’s Maddox Pudder in 1:44. Way now faces Hawk Max Vitale.

PHS head coach Matt Littleton also has finalists at 106 with Aiden Linko (vs. Cabell Midland’s Bryson Simmons), at 113 with Austin Carrodus (vs. Huntington’s Sawyer Bond), at 120 with Seth Drennen (vs. Cabell Midland’s Reed Davis) and at 138 with Stephen Myers (vs. Bridgeport Tyler Mason).

Parkersburg's Seth Drennen looks for a lifting takedown against John Marshall on Friday night. (Photo by Ben Powell)

Linko registered the first takedown and following four near fall points he pinned Hurricane’s Jake Welsh in 1:47. Hawk Bronson Matthews couldn’t find any offense against Big Red 113-pounder Austin Carrodus, who went ahead for good with a reversal in the second period en route to a 4-0 decision. Drennen and John Marshall’s Nathan Hughes were even at 1-1 after the Monarch got an escape with 1:15 left in the match, but Drennen registered the winning takedown and a 4-1 victory with 50 seconds remaining. Myers, who is seeking a third state crown, secured a 17-1 tech fall against Cabell Midland’s Isaac Wiseman.

Big Red CJ Carrodus was upended 9-3 by Washington’s Kai Plinski in a 120-pound semifinal. PHS 150-pound teammate Kayden McDonald was within three at 12-9 midway through the second, but suffered a 21-12 major decision setback to Bridgeport’s Kaleb Ice.

Parkersburg South, which sits in sixth place with 96 points and trails Cabell Midland (138), Bridgeport (115.5) and Huntington (114.5), will be represented in the 190-pound finals by Jesse Adams, who needed 55 seconds to flatten Riverside’s Eli Taft. Adams will secure his fourth career state crown if he defeats University’s Emerson Murphy.

The Patriots of head coach Shaun Smith also will place 165-pounder Nathan Murphy and 215-pounder Justice Drain, who pinned Big Red Adam Elder in the blood round to stay alive.

PSHS had three other semifinalists in 120 pounder Jordan Dearth, who was doubled up 14-7 by Cabell Midland’s Reed Davis, as well as 138-pounder Aaydin King and 150-pounder Asa Yost, who was pinned by Hawk Jason Walker in 3:43. King registered the first takedown of the match versus Bridgeport’s Tyler Mason, but the Indian rallied for an 11-7 decision.

Parkersburg's Austin Carrodus looks to finish a takedown against University on Friday night. (Photo by Ben Powell)

“Your heart goes out for those seniors who didn’t find the podium, obviously,” admitted coach Littleton, who will place 165-pound sophomore Parker Woods. “We still have a lot of action here and as a team we’re sitting in a spot where we can still make some noise. We have a lot of business to handle tomorrow still.

“We took a loss I didn’t think we should’ve, but that’s the sport. We got to regroup, recuperate and come back tomorrow ready to fight. We put six in the finals and these guys coming back in the morning understand what’s at stake and what they got to do. Strap their boots up here a little bit, kind of lick their wounds and come back and battle hard for third place and get some bonus points along the way.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

79th annual W.Va. State Wrestling Championships, Saturday night finals

DIVISION I

Parkersburg's Aiden Linko looks for a half during his semifinals match against Hurricane on Friday night. (Photo by Ben Powell)

TEAM SCORES (top 10): University 199.5, Parkersburg 193, Cabell Midland 138, Bridgeport 115.5, Huntington 114.5, Parkersburg South 96, John Marshall 63, Washington 58.5, Martinsburg 57, Woodrow Wilson 53

106: Aiden Linko (Parkersburg) vs. Bryson Simmons (Cabell Midland)

113: Austin Carrodus (Parkersburg) vs. Sawyer Bond (Huntington)

120: Seth Drennen (Parkersburg) vs. Reed Davis (Cabell Midland)

126: Jacob Hensley (University) vs. Kai Plinski (Washington)

132: Dallas Owens (Spring Mills) vs. Evan Ulrich (Oak Hill)

138: Stephen Myers (Parkersburg) vs. Tyler Mason (Bridgeport)

144: Colston Skeen (Parkersburg) vs. Nico Maisel (University)

150: Jacob Walker (University) vs. Kaleb Ice (Bridgeport)

157: Dominic Way (Parkersburg) vs. Max Vitale (University)

165: John Knight (Bridgeport) vs. Isaac Sands (Wheeling Park)

175: Maximus Fortier (University) vs. Rowan Dunham (Huntington)

190: Jesse Adams (Parkersburg South) vs. Emerson Murphy (University)

215: Eli Knight (Bridgeport) vs. Terrell Cofield (Martinsburg)

285: Brad Edens (Cabell Midland) vs. James Payne (George Washington)