Blue Lions 2nd at home meet

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The Washington Blue Lion wrestling team hosted 22 teams for the Blue Lion Brawl Tournament held Saturday, Jan. 22.

Washington placed second with 137 team points.

Campbell County (Kentucky) won with 212 team points. Campbell County is the No. 2-ranked team in Kentucky.

“They’re a legit Kentucky team,” Washington head coach Louis Reid said. “They finish in the top five in the state every year in Kentucky. They’ve been coming to our tournament for years.”

Clinton-Massie placed fifth (98) and Jackson was eighth (76).

Washington had two weight class champions in Branton Dawes at 126 and Mason Mustain at 285.

Mack Parsley was second at 157 pounds, Talon Freese placed third at 113 pounds, Jake Bashor was third at 285, Jaxon Osborne was fourth at 190 and Charles Souther was fourth at 215.

Dawes began with a pin of Eli Smith of Paint Valley in 1:29.

He then pinned Aaron Hunt of Centerville in 1:29.

Dawes pinned Michael Kenney of Chaminade-Julienne in 1:12.

Dawes won a 7-3 decision over Jason Holden of Campbell County for the championship.

“Branton picked up career pin No. 100 on Saturday,” Reid said. “So, that’s a big deal. He has 145 career wins and 100 of those are by pin. Paul Gryniuk finished with 120 career pins.

“One of Branton’s goals when he got to high school was to beat Paul’s record,” Reid said. “Of course COVID changed our schedule a lot last year. He was on pace to beat that record.

“The kid be beat from Kentucky in the finals is a returning fifth-place finisher in the state,” Reid said. “This was Branton’s third time wrestling him in the finals and the third time beating him.”

Mustain went 4-0 on the day, with all pins.

He pinned Carter Korchinski of Centerville in :34.

Mustain then pinned Dakota Tennant of Paint Valley in 2:30.

In the semifinals, Mustain pinned Hunter Freeman of Paint Valley in 1:28.

In the championship match, Mustain pinned Joey Black of Bethel-Tate in 1:10.

“Mason continues to turn in a dominating performance,” Reid said. “Last week he was named the Most Valuable Wrestler at Western Brown after beating three returning State qualifiers.

Parsley went 3-1, placing second at 157 pounds.

He began his run with an 11-1 major decision over Cayden Snyder of Jackson.

Parsley pinned Cole Adams of Clinton-Massie in 4:32.

In the semifinals, Parsley pinned Steven Davis of Gallia Academy in 4:48.

In the finals, Parsley lost by major decision (14-4) to Hank Williams of Bethel-Tate. Williams, a former State-qualifier, is undefeated this season and ranked No. 15 in the state, Reid noted.

“Mack Parsley is a freshman who is having a very successful year,” Reid said. “That was his first time making the finals in a tournament.

Talon Freese went 4-1, placing third at 113 pounds.

Freese opened with a pin of Justin Gearhardt of Centerville in 1:13.

He pinned Marshawn Allen of Waynesville in :17.

In the semifinals, Freese was pinned by Deacon Heisler of Campbell County in 5:21.

In the consolation semifinals, Freese pinned Clayton Mason of Stebbins in :32.

In the match for third or fourth place, Freese pinned C.J. Stober of Bethel-Tate in :24.

“This was his first time placing in the top four in a tournament,” Reid said of Freese. “It was a great day for him, also.

Jake Bashor was third at 285 pounds.

He received a forfeit from Brady Vargo of Roger Bacon.

Bashor then won a 7-2 decision over Mashuan Stevens of Chaminade-Julienne.

In the semifinals, Bashor was pinned by Joey Black of Bethel-Tate in 3:50.

He pinned Dakota Tennant of Paint Valley in 2:52 and received a forfeit over Noah Brown of Western Brown.

“Jake would be a starter for any other team,” Reid said. “But, he’s behind Mason. Jake has wrestled in three varsity tournaments and he’s placed in all three, including winning at Madison Plains.”

Jaxon Osborne was fourth at 190 pounds.

He fell in his first match by pin to Elijah Groh of Clinton-Massie in 5:31.

Osborne pinned Braiden Tuttle of Alexander in 3:40.

Osborne lost by pin to Groh in :55.

A junior, Osborne is in his second year in the varsity line-up, Reid explained.

“He just broke into our line-up two weeks ago,” Reid said. “He won his wrestle-off to be on the varsity. That was a big deal for him to place fourth, because this is a tough tournament.”

Charles Souther started with a pin of Holt Buflod of Waynesville in 1:15.

He then lost by pin to Lane Schulz of Clinton-Massie in 4:45.

Souther pinned Gabriel Raynor of Gallia Academy in :42.

Next up was Caleb Lanigan of Bethel-Tate. Souther won an 11-0 major decision in that match.

Souther pinned Christian Hardy of Fairland in :55.

Souther had to forfeit his next match, because wrestlers are allowed a maximum of five matches in one day.

“Charles wrestled a great tournament,” Reid said.

Ian Roush went 1-2 at 138 pounds.

He began with a pin of Tristen Howard of Norwood in :38.

Roush then lost a 6-4 decision to Trent Riley of Bethel-Tate.

Roush lost by forfeit to Blake Sheeter of Jackson.

Tristan Vires went 1-2 at 150 pounds.

Vires had a pin of Gabriel Armentrout of Chaminade-Julienne in :32.

He lost by in to Josh Vilardo of Bethel-Tate in 2:25.

In his next match, Vires was pinned by Brayden Day of Western Brown in 2:00.

Austin Cottrill went 2-2 at 132 pounds.

He won his first match by a 16-4 major decision over Shane Shadley of Jackson.

Cottrill then pinned Corbyn Cunningham of Western Brown in 1:44.

Cottrill was pinned by Matt Ellis of Waynesville in 1:24.

His run ended with an 8-3 loss to Christian Sanders of Campbell County.

Xayvion Johns went 0-2 at the tournament, being pinned by Tanner Allen of Alexander in 1:03 and then taking an 8-2 loss to David Fakhratov of Stebbins.

“We were not even picked by some of the projection people to be a top five team,” Reid said. “We wrestled really well.”

Reid will be taking a few team members to a tournament in New Lexington Saturday.

Members of the Washington Blue Lion wrestling team following their second place finish at the Blue Lion Brawl Tournament Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at Washington High School.
https://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2022/01/web1_Blue-Lion-wrestling-team-2nd-at-Blue-Lion-Brawl-Jan-22-2022.jpgMembers of the Washington Blue Lion wrestling team following their second place finish at the Blue Lion Brawl Tournament Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at Washington High School. Courtesy photo
WHS beats 21 teams

By Chris Hoppes

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