Virgil’s title leads eight podium finishes for Polk wrestlers at conference tourney
Published 1:39 pm Monday, January 23, 2023
- Polk County wrestlers took fourth at Saturday's Mountain Foothills 7 Conference tourney (photo courtesy PCHS Wrestling)
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Jadyn Virgil now has a conference championship to add to his growing list of accolades as a Polk County wrestler.
Virgil became just the second Mountain Foothills 7 Conference champion in school history on Saturday, winning the 182-pound class at the league individual tourney at R-S Central.
Virgil pinned R-S Central’s Randall Dunn to open his day, then pinned the second seed in the bracket, Patton’s Kamden Stephens, to reach the championship match.
Brevard’s Zion Brown upset top seed Alex Ashley of Hendersonville in his semifinal, and Virgil then took care of Brown, winning a 7-2 decision. Virgil raced to a 7-1 lead after the first period, including a near fall, then protected the lead the rest of the match to earn his conference title and join Collier Foster as Wolverines with MF7 individual crowns.
Virgil now has a 38-8 record and has yet to lose to a North Carolina 2A wrestler this season.
But Polk County’s day was not all about Virgil’s success. Three other Polk wrestlers – each a freshman – reached championship matches in their respective weight classes and earned second-place finishes. Amon Villarreal lost a tough 3-2 decision on a late takedown to R-S Central’s Alex Lopez at 120 pounds, with Carson Bell also taking second at 138 pounds and Zalen McCraw losing a 4-1 decision to Brevard’s Jacob Stockton at 160 pounds.
Polk’s Carter Wade, Shatter Johnson and Kendall McEntyre each placed third in their brackets.
The Wolverines finished fourth in the team standings, trailing R-S Central, Brevard and Hendersonville.
Polk County will return to regular-season team competition on Wednesday, celebrating Senior Night with a tri-match against R-S Central and East Rutherford. The R-S Central encounter will be a conference match. The action begins at 5 p.m.