Musselman Duals

The Southern Rams placed third this past weekend at the Musselman Duals in Inwood, WV.  There were 16 team competing from all over West Virginia and Virginia. It was a tough test for the Rams and the team performed well. In the end, Southern won 7 matches and lost only two to earn the third spot.

The tournament started on Friday afternoon with the Rams facing a tough Shady Spring, WV team from the southern part of the state.  This was their third tournament of the young season and they had placed 1st and 3rd.  It was a close match throughout and it can down to the wire.  Southern pulled off a 35-34 victory in the opening round.

It got tougher from there.  Next up for the Rams was Eastern View, VA from caul pepper, VA. This team boasted a number of returning state place winners and was solid from top to bottom.  Southern hung tough and wrestled hard but lost the match 48-21.

Round three would not get much easier.  The Rams faced the host school in the next round and it was another tough, physical battle.  The match was close from beginning to end with Southern trailing by one point heading into the final bout that featured two of the best wrestlers in the tournament.  For Southern it was Austin Shaffer and for Musselman, Brad Derito. Shaffer was able to take a 4-1 lead early but Derito fought back to take a lead of his own.  In the end, Derito was able to hang on and take the 9-8 decision and seal the 40-36 win for the Applemen.

"It was a little unfortunate that we had to face Musselman directly after wrestling teams like Eastern View and Shady Spring," stated Coach Taylor.  "It was a tough start but the kids wrestled hard and responded well".

In round four, Southern started their string of 6 straight wins by defeating Jefferson, WV 58-22 to finish he day 2-2.  The tournament resumed on Saturday morning with a match against James Wood, VA.  The Rams picked up where they left off the night before, defeating the Colonials 52-21.  In round 6, it was another AAA southern West Virginia team, Riverside, that gave the Rams a solid challenge.  In the end, Southern was able to keep the winning streak going with a 45-33 victory.

Round seven saw the Rams face Hedgesville, WV and proved to be the most convincing win of the season for Southern.  With 11 pins and one major decision, Southern won big by the score of 70-12.  Southern finished the day with solid wins over Clarke Co.,VA 48-27 and over Winfield, WV 42-33. Winfield had defeated Southern in this tournament last season.

Individual Results
8-1  Devan Hamrick
8-1  Justyce Fulmer
7-1  Austin Shaffer
7-2  George Zimmerman
7-2  Josh King
7-2  Brian Rinker
6-3  Tanner Massey
6-3  Will Foulke
6-3  Seth Kisner

Team Scores
Southern 35 - Shady Spring 34
Eastern View 48 - Southern 21
Musselman 40 - Southern 36
Southern 58 - Jefferson 22
Southern 52 - James Wood 21
Southern 45 - Riverside 33
Southern 70 - Hedgesville 12
Southern 48 - Clarke Co 27
Southern 42 - Winfield 33