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February 9, 2010

Patriots defend Coalfield

Host Independence places 12 wrestlers

By Gary Fauber

Independence coach Cliff Warden was waiting for his team to show how competitive it truly can be.

That day finally came Monday.

The Patriots won the Coalfield Conference tournament, defending their title and building some important momentum into the upcoming regionals.

“It’s a confidence booster,” Warden said. “We’ve wrestled a bunch of tough tournaments and our records haven’t been good. But we have placed a lot of guys and we’ve got a couple turning the corner, and they can see the improvement.”

Independence finished with a score of 195.5, accumulating a load of points by placing wrestlers in 12 of the 14 weight classes. Only Charlie Shumate at 130 pounds and Stephen McBride at 215 won championships for the Patriots, who also had three runners-up, six thirds and one fourth.

“That’s what it’s about,” Warden said. “That’s what it takes teamwise across the board to win this conference.”

Greenbrier West was second at 172.5, a single point ahead of Liberty. Shady Spring was fourth at 133, and Richwood was the highest-placing Class A team with 71 points, fifth overall.

Jon Crane, a senior at 112 pounds, won his third Coalfield title with a tight 4-3 win over Indy’s Isaac Cales.

Also winning individual titles for the Cavaliers were Aaron Bugby (125), Nathan Alderson (135), Jason Myles (152) and Anthony Trout (285).

Shady Spring senior Sonny Harrah continued his dominant season with a first-period pinfall over Liberty’s Kaleb Milam. Harrah, a state champion as a freshman, is 46-1 on the year.

Also getting through the tournament with only one loss to date is Bluefield senior Jake Lilly. He defeated Trent Bays of Liberty in the 189-pound finals and is 30-1.

The Beavers were a late entrant into the tournament in just their second year as a program.

At 171, Caleb Lewis of Fayetteville pinned Meadow Bridge’s Devonte Pettit late in the third period. Lewis had been down 6-1 at one point.

Most teams will take this weekend off before the Class AA Region 3 tournament, which is set for Saturday, Feb. 20, at Shady Spring.

The Patriots are scheduled to make a trip to Buchanan, Va., on Wednesday, but predictions of more bad weather may prevent that from happening.

For once, Warden would welcome a cancellation.

“My feelings wouldn’t be crushed if the weather wouldn’t let us (travel),” Warden said. “That would give us a little healing time. Everybody that has wrestled most of the year has 40-plus matches already, and that’s enough going into regionals.”

— E-mail: gfauber@

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