Photos by Heather Belcher
Huntington – Independence entered the state wrestling tournament at Mountain Health Arena with an outside shot at winning another team title, but the Patriots knew going in beating Fairmont Senior and Point Pleasant would be a big challenge.
The Polar Bears wound up winning their first title since 1960, but the Patriots made a strong showing in Huntington.
Tying the Big Blacks for second place with 177.5 points, Indy collected five individual titles in the process.
“It was pretty special tonight to put six in (the finals) and win five of them, especially in the fashion that we won several of them,” Independence head coach Cliff Warden said.
Two-time defending state champion Dillon Perdue got the night off to a fast start in the 106 pound weight class.
Perdue pinned Xander Willett from East Fairmont at the 1:19 mark of the first period and never appeared challenged.
“This keeps getting sweeter every time,” Perdue said with a big smile after his third title. “I went through a lot this season and I wasn’t able to wrestle a lot. I worked hard to get back where I needed to be.”
Perdue went into attack mode from the opening whistle putting Willett in a bad spot early.
“My dad always told me if go in there and attack the kid for six minutes, some kids can only take it for a minute or so and a lot of time they will give up,” Perdue said. “I like to go in there and attack and score points.”
One of the big questions of the state tournament was whether or not Judah Price win a state title at 150 pounds after some frustrating setbacks the previous seasons?
Price fell in the finals his freshman and junior year, while his chance at a title his sophomore year was ended abruptly prior to the state tournament in a controversial Covid protocol ruling.
Although he was pushed to the limit, Price pulled away late for a 7-3 hard-fought decision over Isaac Harris from Berkeley Springs.
“This is amazing. I might say it is better than a football state championship just because I have been after this and it has been a grind since I was a little kid,” Price said. “This is all I have ever dreamed of. Watching my brother win three of them and watching Independence become a (wrestling) dynasty, it is a dream come true.”
The senior standout is no stranger to big moments having been a huge part of Indy’s state championship football run back in the fall. However, Price admitted the gravity of the championship match led to a slow start after dominating opponents all season.
“I have to admit that I played it a little cautious. I would much rather win, than win by a lot,” Price said. “I just wanted to get it done tonight.”
Battling the taller Harris, Price struggled to find the opening that he needed through two periods. Heading to the final two minutes, the match was tied 2-2.
“The longer kids I usually struggle against, but they struggle against me as well. They don’t do well against shorter guys. He locked his hands behind my head and tried to keep distance from me. That is where I struggle. I like to be in close and close the space. He slowed me down a little bit.”
Adding to the frustration was a call with six seconds left in the second period. Price was awarded two points for a take-down, but after a protest from the Berkeley Springs coach and the officials consulting, the points were taken off the board.
“Life isn’t fair. Our coaches have told us over the last two weeks that we are going to get a bad call, even if it is the right call,” Price said. “My coaches and myself thought it was the wrong call, but you just have to go out, put your toe on the line and handle adversity.”
Price took the bottom position to start the third period and escaped in the first 30 seconds for a 3-2 lead. With 50 seconds left in the match, Price went low and secured the crucial take-down for a 5-2 advantage.
Harris earned an escape, but when Berkeley Springs senior went down for the tying take-down, Price’s quickness gave him control for the match sealing take-down.
The win capped off a season record of 49-2 for Price who did not have a loss to an opponent from West Virginia this season.
For his efforts he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in Class AA.
Two matches matches later, freshman Jesse Adams jump-started a run of three straight champions from Coal City.
Battling back from a broken arm earlier in the season, Adams pinned the Region 2 champion, senior Trenton Bush from Lewis County, 16 seconds into the third period.
Adams led the match 7-3 heading into the final period.
Following Adams was senior Colten Caron who battled Cameron senior Adam Angel. The contest was a rematch of last year’s final where Caron won the sate title in overtime.
Caron did not need overtime this year.
Leading 4-0 after a reversal to open the second period, the now two-time champion bested Angel with a pin finishing his season with a 33-3 record.
Arguably the premier match of the night from Region 3 was the showdown at 190 pounds between Josh Hart from Independence and Dalton Hanshaw from Nicholas County.
The two were slated to battle in the Region 3 championship before Hanshaw had to forfeit for medical reason.
Hanshaw took the lone meeting during the regular season, but Saturday night, Hart wrestled his match and grinded out a 3-2 win for the title.
“I did what I had to do. I didn’t want to do all of that rolling around stuff that we had been doing,” Hart said. I did what my coaches told me. If I had to win by one point, then oh well. This feels amazing. I have been working for a long time for this.”
The Independence coach talked about the strategy in the Hart match.
“We knew that was what we were going to have to do,” Warden said, “If we would have got in a high-paced, all over the place match, the Hanshaw kid will put you on your back and the match is over. We lucked out in the first when (Josh) came off his back.”
Coming from a family where success has been commonplace in Coal City, Hart said he did not feel any extra pressure because of his name.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel a ton. Having the guys I have, the teammates I have and the coaches that I have, I knew they were going to support them no matter what happens,” Hart said. “I didn’t feel like I had to prove anything.”
Logan Isom made the finals at 285 for Independence after finishing third in 2022. Battling Kolton Waever from Point Pleasant, who was the runner-up last year, Isom fell by pin in the second round.
“Tonight is impressive considering the title had eluded Judah Price as long as it had. Then Jesse Adams getting his as a freshman,” Warden said. “He showed all tournament how good a wrestler he has been. That kid from Oak Glen that he beat last night is a good kid. Colton beat the same kid that he beat in overtime last year. He really got after it.”
Caelyb Nichols (144) earned All-state honors with a fourth place finish for Indy along with Luke Kelly (113) from Nicholas County in fifth place and Marcus Matney (285) from PikeView in sixth place.
