Peyton Thompson
by Jamie Harris
This past weekend the Berkeley Springs High School Indians Wrestling Team sent five wrestlers to Fairmont for the WV Class A/AA Region I Championships.
Each wrestler had their own quest in mind of a top four finish in their respective weight classes. A top four placement punches the wrestler’s ticket to the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington for the Class A/AA State Wrestling Championships in two weeks.
However, after the dust settled the Indians will only be sending one wrestler to Huntington to vie for a state title. That wrestler is sophomore Peyton Thompson who entered the regional championships as the number one seed at the 160 lb. weight class.
In the championship quarterfinals Thompson pinned Kyle West of St. Mary’s in 49 seconds. In the championship semifinals Thompson picked up a 7-0 decision of Grant Postlewait from East Fairmont. In the championship finals Thompson continued his roll with an impressive 9-4 win over Colton Dobbs from Cameron.
Heading into the state championship in two weeks Thompson (49-7) will be a serious contender to the state title.
The Tribe had several other wrestlers who picked up wins in the region championships, but did not punch their ticket to the state tournament.
Sophomore Landen Riggleman (138) won in his first round match against Ben Cyphers of East Fairmont with a 3:16 pin fall. In the quarterfinals Riggleman lost 14-2 to Tanner Hoskinson from Fairmont Senior. In the consolation round Riggleman pinned Sean Baker of Weir at 4:04. In the next consolation match Riggleman (34-19) was pinned and eliminated by Connor Parish from Frankfort.
Freshman Evan Thompson (145) went 2-2 in the event. Thompson opened the tournament with a 2:51 pin over Jourdan Preston of Cameron. Thompson then lost by fall to Jonathan Creese of Oak Glen. In the consolation round Thompson won by 5-4 decision over Jacob Perez from Petersburg. In the next consolation round Thompson (14-7) was eliminated with a 15-8 loss to Andrew Hardman from Ritchie County.
Junior Vaughn Shaw (152) lost 5-3 to James Todd from Madonna in the first round. In the consolation round Shaw pinned Hunter Goff from North Marion in 29 seconds. Shaw (40-14) was then eliminated by Kayden Procacina from Ritchie County by fall.
