Gallery by Steph Redden
The storied history of Independence and Raleigh County wrestling added two more chapters Saturday night in Huntington. Independence grapplers Dillon Perdue and Colten Caron as well as Beckley’s J.J. Bailes capped off runs to Saturday night’s championship bouts with titles in their respective classes.
By the end of the weekend Indy head coach Jeremy Hart had lost his voice but may need to need to check with his cardiologist.
Hart sat on the edge of the mat for three matches – Caron’s, Perdue’s and Judah Price’s – watching all three go into overtime, though each took a different route to their eventual finishes.
Perdue, winning the Class AA-A 106-pound title defeated Oak Glen’s Logan Davis 7-5 in OT, though it looked like the defending state champion was ready to cruise early. After Perdue took a 4-0 lead on Davis, the latter roared back, making sure the Class AA-A opener yielded the drama you’d hope for from a title match off the bat.
“All three of them are really experienced wrestlers and ready to go the distance,” Hart said. “Dillon came out and built an early lead and tried to sit on it there a little bit and that kid came storming back. Dillon’s a super smart wrestler and knew exactly what he needed to do. He got himself in a little bit of trouble there at the end but got everything together and went and got the takedown he needed in overtime thank goodness.”
Price, who missed out on the opportunity to wrestle in last year’s state tournament due to a quarantine, trailed Point Pleasant’s Justin Bartee inside the final minute of the third period but tied it 1-1 to force overtime. In a rematch of a showdown Price won earlier in the season, Bartee was victorious with a 2-1 decision, allowing the senior to cap a tremendous career with his fourth state title in the 145-pound championship.
“He worked so hard,” Hart said. “It’s tough on us as coaches because our heart was breaking for the kid. He worked so hard and did all the right things to win that match but obviously a tough opponent. We knew it was going to be a tough match and that it’d be tight. But Judah could win a different weight class. We talked to him early on about a different weight class but he wanted that match at states. He wanted to try and beat him and keep from being a four-time state champ. He put in all the work, he just came up a little bit short. It just wasn’t his day today.”
In the 170-pound match, Caron made sure the Indy faithful left Huntington on a high note. He capped the weekend with a 4-2 victory over Cameron’s Adam Angel in overtime, finishing the season with a 37-4 record.
“He wrestled a heck of a match,” Hart said. “He did exactly what we told him he needed to do. It came down to the ultimate rideout basically so it’s like the third overtime period. If that kid escapes he wins the match but if we can hold him down we win the match and the kid was coming out. He hit the kid with a cradle and put him right on his back to get two back points to win it so I mean that was just the way he wrestled all weekend. He was really dialed in all weekend so for it to end like that for him, that was even sweeter.”
In Class AAA Beckley’s freshman standout J.J. Bailes capped a 48-1 season by justifying his No. 1 ranking with a 5-1 decision over Spring Mills’ Jacob Perry. It was the first time Beckley had a state champion since 1999 when Matt Callahan, coached by Phil Bartrum, won the 140-pound title. Bailes’ victory came in the 113-pound division, breaking a 23-year drought.
Ethan Osborne, the other Flying Eagle joining Bailes in the spotlight Saturday evening, fell 1-0 to Spring Mills’ Patrick Jackson in the 152-pound championship.
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In the team championship categories Cameron (A) Point Pleasant (AA) and Wheeling Park (AAA) all secured championships while Greenbrier West (A), Fairmont Senior (AA) and University (AAA) finished as runners-up in their respective classes.
For a full list of results see below
