by Jamie Harris
This past Thursday and Friday the gym at Berkeley Springs High School was packed with spectators and wrestlers for the 39th Max Horz Holiday Invitational. The event had originally 24 teams scheduled to compete but the combination of Covid and flu caused three teams to drop out. However this did not hinder the tournament or the competition over the two days. A new addition to the Max Horz Holiday Invitational was the all-girls division on Friday that saw 50 female grapplers compete to win their respective weight classes.
Host Berkeley Springs was able to battle back over the two days and capture top team honors over a scrappy Northern Garrett squad. Martinsburg and Preston both made runs at both of the top teams but had to settle for third and fourth place respectively. The Indians placed three wrestlers in the championship finals with Will Gageby (144), Evan Zombro (157), and Brady Wilt (215).
However, it was only senior Will Gageby who was able to break through and take an individual championship and in the process earning his 100th career win with a 4-0 win over Petersburg’ s Lukas Wolford.
The Indians had six wrestlers place third Eligah Parsell (113), Daniel Clark (126), Jacob Morgan (132), Trent Fox (138), Aiden Cain (150), and Krystian Norris (190). Kollin Sullivan (165) and Remi Sites (285) placed fourth.
On the girl’s side the Lady Indian grapplers had four wrestlers competing and all four placed in the top four of their respective weight classes. Leading the way was freshman Bailee Diehl who finished in second place at 114. Placing third was junior Delilah Rhoten (120). Finishing fourth for Berkeley Springs were Lilly Morgan (120) and Willow Rhoten (138).
Next up for the Indians wrestling team was the Trojan Wars hosted by Chambersburg High School in Pennsylvania on December 29 and 30.
Below are the results for Berkeley Springs wrestling along with the Most Outstanding Wrestlers and Quickest Pin award winners.
Most Outstanding Wrestler 106-144: Wes Files (Frankfort)
Most Outstanding Wrestler 150-285: John Knight (Bridgeport)
Most Outstanding Female Wrestler: Kaylie Hall (Hampshire)
Quickest Pin: Boy’s Nick Riley (Northern Garrett) :04 Girl’s Kaylie Hall (Hampshire) & Bri Howes (Buckhannon Upshur) :11
Team Scores
Berkeley Springs 259. 5 Northern Garrett 221.5 Martinsburg 183 Preston 175.5 Wheeling Central 154.5
Cameron 141.5 Hedgesville 139 Bridgeport 137.5 North Marion 131.5 Fort Hill 124
East Hardy 117
Petersburg 88
Frankfort 61
Allegany 58
Jefferson 47
Hampshire 43
Mercersburg 38.5
Mountain Ridge 31.5 Washington 18
Buckhannon Upshur (Girl’s) 0 North Stafford (Girl’s) 0
113
Elijah Parsell (12-7) placed 3rd and scored 20.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Elijah Parsell (Berkeley Springs) 12-7 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Elijah Parsell (Berkeley Springs) 12-7 won by tech fall over Matthew Beutler (Hedgesville) 15-8 (TF-1.5 0:00 (19-3))
Semifinal – Mathew Beitzel (Northern Garrett) 15-1 won by fall over Elijah Parsell (Berkeley Springs) 12-7 (Fall 2:26)
Cons. Semi – Elijah Parsell (Berkeley Springs) 12-7 won by fall over Noah Davisson (Bridgeport) 4-7 (Fall 1:35)
3rd Place Match – Elijah Parsell (Berkeley Springs) 12-7 won by major decision over Matthew Beutler (Hedgesville) 15-8 (MD 12-0)
120
Jordan Unger (4-4) place is un- known and scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Keagan Everhart (Martinsburg) 17-6 won by fall over Jordan Unger (Berkeley Springs) 4-4 (Fall 0:55)
Cons. Round 1 – Jordan Unger (Berkeley Springs) 4-4 won by fall over
Matthew Custer (Washington) 0-2 (Fall 3:57)
Cons. Round 2 – Will George (Bridge- port) 5-6 won by fall over Jordan Unger (Berkeley Springs) 4-4 (Fall 1:23)
126
Daniel Clark (14-5) placed 3rd and scored 23.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Daniel Clark (Berkeley Springs) 14-5 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Daniel Clark (Berkeley Springs) 14-5 won by fall over Kaden Vaughan (Frankfort) 16-5 (Fall 3:07)
Semifinal – Nate Wilhelm (Northern Garrett) 14-2 won by fall over Daniel Clark (Berkeley Springs) 14-5 (Fall 5:17)
Cons. Semi – Daniel Clark (Berkeley Springs) 14-5 won by fall over Noah Shafer (Preston) 19-13 (Fall 4:44)
3rd Place Match – Daniel Clark (Berkeley Springs) 14-5 won by fall over Drew Earehart (Martinsburg) 20- 3 (Fall 2:51)
132
Jacob Morgan (12-5) placed 3rd and scored 19.0 team points.
Champ. Round 2 – Jacob Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 12-5 won by fall over Hayden Lantz (Preston) 8-17 (Fall 1:51)
Quarterfinal – Jacob Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 12-5 won by decision over Kaden Riggleman (Martinsburg) 18-4 (Dec 5-4)
Semifinal – Devon Opel (Northern Garrett) 16-1 won by decision over Jacob Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 12-5 (Dec 8-2)
Cons. Semi – Jacob Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 12-5 won by decision over Eyan Gallegos (Washington) 6-12 (Dec 6-3)
3rd Place Match – Jacob Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 12-5 won in sudden victory – 1 over Cole Liggett (North Marion) 12-9 (SV-1 4-2)
138
Trent Fox (16-3) placed 3rd and scored 26.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Trent Fox (Berke- ley Springs) 16-3 won by fall over Thad Tennant (North Marion) 3-7 (Fall 1:55)
Quarterfinal – Trent Fox (Berkeley Springs) 16-3 won by fall over Luke Kostovic (Northern Garrett) 4-3 (Fall 0:56)
Semifinal – Slaton Pettit (Cameron) 13-0 won by major decision over Trent Fox (Berkeley Springs) 16-3 (MD 12-0)
Cons. Semi – Trent Fox (Berkeley Springs) 16-3 won by fall over Do- minick Arana (Hedgesville) 15-9 (Fall 4:12)
3rd Place Match – Trent Fox (Berkeley Springs) 16-3 won by fall over Gavin Garlits (Preston) 24-8 (Fall 6:00)
144
Will Gageby (17-3) placed 1st and scored 35.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Will Gageby (Berkeley Springs) 17-3 won by fall over Rice Bryer (Washington) 0-2 (Fall 1:21)
Champ. Round 2 – Will Gageby (Berkeley Springs) 17-3 won by fall over Kayden Athey (Mountain Ridge) 1-4 (Fall 0:59)
Quarterfinal – Will Gageby (Berkeley Springs) 17-3 won by fall over Jesse Lambert IV (Allegany) 5-6 (Fall 0:26)
Semifinal – Will Gageby (Berkeley Springs) 17-3 won by major decision over Gabriel Valerio (Hedgesville) 16-8 (MD 13-4)
1st Place Match – Will Gageby (Berkeley Springs) 17-3 won by decision over Lukas Wolford (Petersburg) 17-5 (Dec 4-0)
150
Aiden Cain (16-4) placed 3rd and scored 20.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Aiden Cain (Berkeley Springs) 16-4 won by fall over Kaiden Cole (Fort Hill) 0-3 (Fall 0:20)
Quarterfinal – Aiden Cain (Berkeley Springs) 16-4 won by decision over Brandon Jones (East Hardy) 14-6 (Dec 7-0)
Semifinal – Caleb Brenneman (Northern Garrett) 16-0 won by fall over Aiden Cain (Berkeley Springs) 16- 4 (Fall 2:25)
Cons. Semi – Aiden Cain (Berkeley Springs) 16-4 won by major decision over Andrew Thompson (Martinsburg) 19-5 (MD 12-4)
3rd Place Match – Aiden Cain (Berkeley Springs) 16-4 won by decision over Zeke Landis (Petersburg) 12-3 (Dec 8-6)
157
Evan Zombro (12-3) placed 2nd and scored 24.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Evan Zombro (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Evan Zombro (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by fall over Sam Klimas (Preston) 15-14 (Fall 0:48)
Semifinal – Evan Zombro (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by fall over Alex Halterman (Petersburg) 18-4 (Fall 1:09)
1st Place Match – John Knight (Bridgeport) 10-0 won by decision over
On Thursday, December 28 the Pirates traveled to Salisbury Elk Lick their holiday invitational. The Pirates faced off with Turkeyfoot in the opening game and was able to secure a 76-75 win. Donnie Tanouye (27 points), Greyson Corbett (20 points), Taylor Carder (13 points), A yden Crabtree (8 points), Dre Heath (4 points), Conner Williams (2 points) and RJ Ryan (2 points) led the way.
On Friday, December 29 the weary Pirates took on host Salisbury Elk Lick. Paw Paw started strong holding a 17-7 first quarter lead before Salisbury Elk Lick rallied back to take the 61-49 win.
Paw Paw was led by Donnie Tanouye (15 points), Ayden Crabtree (14 points), Conner Williams (4 points), Greyson Corbett (7 points), Taylor Carder (7 points) and Dre Heath (2 points).
Paw Paw (6-4) will be back in action this Friday, January 5 when they host Harman at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, January 6 the Pirates will host Shanksville Stonycreek at 12 p.m.
Evan Zombro (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 (Dec 6-3)
165
Kollin Sullivan (15-7) placed 4th and scored 21.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Kollin Sullivan (Berkeley Springs) 15-7 won by fall over Ty Cottrill (Bridgeport) 4-5 (Fall 1:46)
Quarterfinal – Cole Turner (Preston) 20-5 won by decision over Kollin Sullivan (Berkeley Springs) 15-7 (Dec 9-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Kollin Sullivan (Berkeley Springs) 15-7 won by fall over Chase Fike (Northern Garrett) 5- 11 (Fall 2:55)
Cons. Round 3 – Kollin Sullivan (Berkeley Springs) 15-7 won by major decision over Garrett Michaels (Mountain Ridge) 16-2 (MD 11-3)
Cons. Semi – Kollin Sullivan (Berkeley Springs) 15-7 won by forfeit over Tyler Tarallo (East Hardy) 2-3 (For.)
3rd Place Match – Wyatt Brady (Wheeling Central) 26-3 won by major decision over Kollin Sullivan (Berkeley Springs) 15-7 (MD 9-1)
175
Garrin Place (7-6) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 2 – Silas Grove (Hedgesville) 18-6 won by fall over Garrin Place (Berkeley Springs) 7-6 (Fall 1:56)
Cons. Round 2 – Garrin Place (Berkeley Springs) 7-6 won by fall over Landon Cross (Hampshire) 8-10 (Fall 3:31)
Cons. Round 3 – Robert White (North Marion) 5-4 won by fall over Garrin Place (Berkeley Springs) 7-6 (Fall 2:30)
190
Krystian Norris (12-3) placed 3rd and scored 26.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Krystian Norris (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by tech fall over Maddox Richards (East Hardy) 5-7 (TF-1.5 2:39 (15-0))
Quarterfinal – Nick Riley (Northern Garrett) 13-4 won by fall over Krystian Norris (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 (Fall 1:21)
Cons. Round 2 – Krystian Norris (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by fall over Kevin Ramsey (North Marion) 11- 8 (Fall 3:55)
Cons. Round 3 – Krystian Norris (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by fall over Bryson Metz (Fort Hill) 4-2 (Fall 4:30)
Cons. Semi – Krystian Norris (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by major deci- sion over Isaac Lucious (Wheeling Central) 20-8 (MD 10-1)
3rd Place Match – Krystian Norris (Berkeley Springs) 12-3 won by fall over Tashawn Cofield (Martinsburg) 9- 4 (Fall 4:20)
215
Brady Wilt (14-4) placed 2nd and scored 19.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Brady Wilt (Berkeley Springs) 14-4 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Brady Wilt (Berkeley Springs) 14-4 won by decision over Dylan Haskiell (Preston) 5-4 (Dec 3-1)
Semifinal – Brady Wilt (Berkeley Springs) 14-4 won in sudden victory – 1 over Garrett Van Meter (East Hardy) 16-2 (SV-1 3-1)
1st Place Match – Isaac Martin (Wheeling Central) 27-0 won by fall over Brady Wilt (Berkeley Springs) 14- 4 (Fall 1:32)
285
Remington Sites (13-7) placed 4th and scored 16.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Remington Sites (Berkeley Springs) 13-7 received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Greyson Kuhn (Preston) 23-6 won by fall over Remington Sites (Berkeley Springs) 13-7 (Fall 3:16)
Cons. Round 2 – Remington Sites (Berkeley Springs) 13-7 won by fall over Joe Burris (Northern Garrett) 4-8 (Fall 3:32)
Cons. Round 3 – Remington Sites (Berkeley Springs) 13-7 won by fall over MIke Taylor (Hedgesville) 9-21 (Fall 1:57)
Cons. Semi – Remington Sites (Berkeley Springs) 13-7 won in sudden victory – 1 over Dominic Asbury (Wheeling Central) 16-4 (SV-1 3-1)
3rd Place Match – Sean O`Callaghan (East Hardy) 15-3 won by fall over Remington Sites (Berkeley Springs) 13- 7 (Fall 5:21)
Girl`s 114
Bailee Diehl (6-3) placed 2nd.
Round 1 – Bri Howes (Buckhannon Upshur) 5-0 won by fall over Bailee Diehl (Berkeley Springs) 6-3 (Fall 1:55)
Round 2 – Faith Fogelson (Jefferson) 2-3 won by injury default over Bailee Diehl (Berkeley Springs) 6-3 (Inj. 2:25)
Round 3 – Bailee Diehl (Berkeley Springs) 6-3 won by fall over Madilyn Funk (East Hardy) 2-3 (Fall 1:40)
Round 4 – Bailee Diehl (Berkeley Springs) 6-3 won by fall over Ava Lemasters (Cameron) 3-2 (Fall 4:24)
Round 5 – Bailee Diehl (Berkeley Springs) 6-3 won by fall over Serenity Meihls (Fort Hill) 1-5 (Fall 0:17)
Girl`s 120
Lilly Morgan (2-3) placed 4th.
Round 1 – Madison Johns (North Stafford) 9-2 won by fall over Lilly Mor- gan (Berkeley Springs) 2-3 (Fall 3:37)
Round 2 – Delilah Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 4-5 won by fall over Lilly Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 2-3 (Fall 4:28)
Round 3 – Lilly Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 2-3 won by fall over Brianna Walker (East Hardy) 0-5 (Fall 1:13)
Round 4 – Kaylee Moore (North Marion) 6-4 won by fall over Lilly Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 2-3 (Fall 1:02)
Round 5 – Lilly Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 2-3 won by fall over Brianna Lavalle (Fort Hill) 2-5 (Fall 3:54)
Girl`s 120
Delilah Rhoten (4-5) placed 3rd.
Round 1 – Kaylee Moore (North Mar- ion) 6-4 won by fall over Delilah Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 4-5 (Fall 1:16)
Round 2 – Delilah Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 4-5 won by fall over Lilly Morgan (Berkeley Springs) 2-3 (Fall 4:28)
Round 3 – Brianna Lavalle (Fort Hill) 2-5 won by decision over Delilah Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 4-5 (Dec 12- 10)
Round 4 – Delilah Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 4-5 won by fall over Brianna Walker (East Hardy) 0-5 (Fall 1:29)
Round 5 – Madison Johns (North Stafford) 9-2 won by fall over Delilah Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 4-5 (Fall 1:23)
Girl`s 138
Willow Rhoten (5-3) placed 4th.
Quarterfinal – Margot Cerbone (Preston) 3-0 won by fall over Willow Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 5-3 (Fall 0:32)
Cons. Round 1 – Willow Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 5-3 won by fall over Chloe D`amico (East Hardy) 0-2 (Fall 2:18)
Cons. Semi – Willow Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 5-3 won by fall over Jaianna Wickline (Mountain Ridge) 6-2 (Fall 2:52)
3rd Place Match – Isabella Johns (North Stafford) 5-2 won by fall over Willow Rhoten (Berkeley Springs) 5-3 (Fall 2:44)