Bennett wins third State Wrestling Title
Berkeley Springs High School senior Tory Bennett became only the second wrestler in school history to win three state wrestling titles when he captured the Class AA 182 pound title last weekend in Huntington.
Bennett had little trouble claiming his third consecutive gold medal. The talented senior opened the three-day event with a 19-3 technical fall over Clay-Battelle's Statton Shriver, then pinned Jesse Ramsey from Clay County in 4:53 and Antoine Brown from Independence in 1:30 seconds, before dominating Liberty-Raleigh's Trey Fitzwater in the 182 pound championship match, 15-4.
Bennett, headed to Lock Haven this fall on a wrestling scholarship, accomplished an unusual feat by beating all of the top four place winners at 182, Fitzwater, Brown and Ramsey. Brown placed third and Ramsey finished fourth.
After winning 63 matches this season (63-1), Bennett ended with a career record of 217-8. The 217 wins are the most wins by any wrestler in state history.
"I am happy for him," said his father and Coach Darrell Bennett. “All of the hours and hard work paid off. I was really pleased with the leadership he displayed, especially this year. He encouraged his teammates and was willing to give a helping hand. I am really proud of him."
The Indians took six other wrestlers to Huntington, but none placed in the top six of their respective weight classes. CJ Gosey (285) won two matches, but lost in the semi-finals of the medal round, while Billy Wilson (120), and Kyle Shambaugh (195) won one match each. Parkinson (220), who was injured, CJ Capps and Josh Capps failed to win a match.
Berkeley Springs missed the top 10 for the first time in several years. The Tribe finished in 16th place with 37.5 points, in a tournament dominated by Point Pleasant. Point had three champions, and placed 12 wrestlers in the top six, to easily outdistance Independence, 224-139, for the Class AA team title.
"We didn't do as well as we would have liked as a team, but I am still proud of the effort," Bennett said. “We were pretty inexperienced overall, and Matt (Parkinson), who had an outstanding season, was injured in the regional final. He tried to give it a go, but he was basically wrestling with one arm. We do have five state qualifiers returning. And, if they work hard between now and November, things could be different in 2013."
Parkersburg South won the Class AAA team title.
Class AA team scores
1. Point Pleasant 224.00
2. Independence 139.00
3. Clay County 126.50
4. Wirt County 110.50
5. Greenbrier West 98.00
6. Oak Glen 94.50
7. Roane County 91.50
8. Braxton 71.50
9. Liberty (Raleigh) 64.00
see AA team scores page 12
10. Williamstown 63.50
11. Cameron 61.50
12. Liberty Harrison 60.00
13. Keyser 47.00
14. Weir 46.00
15. Shady Spring 42.00
16. Berkeley Springs 37.50
17. Herbert Hoover 35.00
18. Grafton 29.50
19. Oak Hill 24.00
19. (tie) Madonna 24.00
21. Wahama 22.00
22. Webster County 20.00
23. Lincoln 19.00
23. (tie) Ritchie County 19.00
25. Ravenswood 18.00
26. Fayetteville 15.00
27. Bluefield 14.00
28. Frankfort 11.00
29. Clay-Battelle 10.00
30. St. Marys 8.00
30. (tie) Bishop Don. 8.00
32. Philip Barbour 7.00
33. Magnolia 6.00
34. Petersburg 5.00
35. Richwood 4.00
35. (tie) Calhoun Cty. 4.00
37. Parkersburg Cath. 3.00
38. Notre Dame 2.00
39. Pike View 0.00
39. (tie) Wyoming East 0.00
39. (tie) Buffalo 0.00
39. (tie) Poca 0.00
39. (tie) Sissonville 0.00
39. (tie) Vacant 0.00
