Senior "Class"

Senior Night panoramic

It was senior night at Southern High School on Thursday evening and there was a lot on the line.  The 12-0 Rams had a huge match schedules against the 12-0 Mt Ridge Miners.  The winner of the match would earn the honor of being the #1 seed in the west region and would host the duals this coming Wednesday evening.  As expected, this heavyweight battle would come down to the last match of the evening.

 

The match started at 170 with two senior captains squaring off.  Mt. Ridge's Tyler Maynard broke a scoreless match with a reversal in the third period to win a 3-0 decision over Seth Kisner.  The Rams got on the board at 182 when Dalton Cooper pinned his opponent in the 3rd period to give his team a 6-3 lead.  The lead didn't last long as the Miners got a pin at 195 to move back on top.

 

Back and forth was the theme of the evening.  At 220, Southern regained the lead with a Keith Chapman pin in the first period.  The Rams took a 12-9 lead into 285.  In the heavyweight division, Marcus Tichinel fell behind early then battled back but ultimately fell short, losing a decision and the team score was tied at 12.

 

At 106, Devan Hamrick did what he has done all season, win by pin.  The Rams lead 18-12.  Freshman George Zimmerman, who had just won his 20th match of the season earlier in the evening, lost a close decision at 113.  The Miners forfeited to Austin Shaffer at 120 (the home crowd was not very happy!) and Southern led 24-15.

 

Josh King took the mat at 126 and squared off against Cody Matthews, a state placewinner from last season.  Josh wrestled a great match but gave up a takedown at the very end of the first period that proved to be the difference.  The Rams still clung to a 24-18 lead.  Mt Ridge got a pin at 132 to tie the score at 24 then they took the lead 27-24 at 138 with a close decision over freshman Jimmy Schwab.

 

Senior Tanner Massey quickly put the Rams back on top with a first period pin and everyone knew it was coming down to the wire.  At 152, Adam Martz scored a major decision over Justyce Fulmer and the stage was set.  In the final match of the evening, senior Will Foulke wrestled senior Nick Shifflett and Shifflett was able to win the decision and clinch the 34-30 victory for his team.

 

Prior to the Mt. Ridge match, the Rams wrestled Martinsburg and scored a lopsided 69-12 victory.  We also honored our seniors on Thursday.  Ty Artice, Brad Clary, Brian Rinker, Keith Chapman, Will Foulke, Justyce Fulmer, Tanner Massey, Seth Kisner and Austin Shaffer are in their final year at Southern and we will post a separate article recapping their senior night celebration.

 

In the end, the Rams lost a 34-30 match to Mt Ridge but the boys handled the defeat with such grace and class the entire gym complimented this on our outstanding behavior and great sportsmanship.  Despite the extreme level of pressure and energy, the Southern Ram wrestlers handled themselves like men.  The fans were amazing and the place was LOUD and this was a dual meet that will go down in history as a great high school wrestling match!

Mt Ridge 34 - Southern 30

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) pins Devan Femi (MR) 1:58
113 - Brock Petenbrink (MR) dec George Zimmerman (SG) 11-6
120 - Austin Shaffer (SG) via forfeit
126 - Cody Matthews (MR) dec Josh King (SG) 3-0
132 - Colton White (MR) pins Ethan Bittinger (SG) 3:59
138 - Colton Sites (MR) dec Jimmy Schwab (SG) 6-4
145 - Tanner Massey (SG) pins Justin Bryant (MR) 1:53
152 - Adam Martz (MR) m dec Justyce Fulmer (SG) 18-5
160 - Nick Shifflett (MR) dec Will Foulke (SG) 6-0
170 - Tyler Maynard (MR) dec Seth Kisner (SG) 3-0
182 - Dalton Cooper (SG) pins Tim Buskirk (MR) 5:44
195 - Austin Clark (MR) pins Brian Rinker (SG) :29
220 - Keith Chapman (SG) pins Matt Whetstone (MR) 1:37
285 - Brian Fuente (MR) dec Marcus Tichinel (SG) 8-4

Southern 69 - Martinsburg 12

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) via forfeit
113 - George Zimmerman (SG) pins Dalton Yaegar (M) :40
120 - Josh King (SG) pins Cammron Hughs (M) :25
126 - Austin Shaffer (SG) pins Matt Jarmillo (M) 4:36
132 - Jimmy Schwab (SG) dec Alex Murray (M) 8-6
138 - Nick Hampton (M) pins Ethan Bittinger (SG) :45
145 - Tanner Massey (SG) pins Kurtis Keck (M) 2:22
152 - Justyce Fulmer (SG) pins Jammy Muscrave (M) :27
160 - Will Foulke (SG) pins Sam Holcomb (M) 1:50
170 - Seth Kisner (SG) pins Arther Hairston (M) 2:47
182 - Dalton Cooper (SG) pins Christen Hambright (M) :22
195 - Brian Rinker (SG) pins Caleb Engle (M) 5:05
220 - Keith Chapman (SG) pins Chase Heck (M) 1:56
285 - Josh Kerns (M) pins Marcus Tichinel (SG) 1:59