HUNTINGTON — Day two of the 2024 WVSSAC state wrestling tournament took place Friday at Marshall Health Network Arena in Huntington.
All three Monongalia County schools sent wrestlers to the mat, headlined by the University Hawks with all 12 of their athletes still alive in the brackets, five of whom wrestled in the championship semifinals with a shot at securing a spot in the state finals. The seven others had their sights set on making the medal rounds in the consolation brackets of their respective weight classes.
Preston High sent seniors Owen Klimas (190) and Gavin Garlits (126) into the consolation round while junior Cole Turner (165) battled in the championship semifinals.
Morgantown senior Troy Andis was the lone Mohigan left on Friday evening and dropped his match in the consolation round of the 150-pound weight class.
The Hawks advanced 11 of their 12 wrestlers on Friday into the medal rounds on Saturday.
“It was a good round for us today for sure,” UHS coach Ken Maisel said. “There was a chance coming into today that we may be behind in the standings going into tomorrow (Saturday). We helped ourselves and we got some help from some others also. We are excited to have the chance but we still have to go and wrestle and get the results.”
UHS leads the overall team standings with 159.5 points, 11.5 points ahead of Parkersburg South who qualified 10 for the medal rounds.
UHS junior Pepper Martin earned a 5-0 victory in the 106-pound semifinals. He will meet Spring Mills sophomore Dallas Owens in the championship final.
Sophomore Kaden Niemann was pinned in his semifinal bout but will battle for a shot at third place in the consolation rounds in 113.
Luca Felix (165) and Brock Kehler (285) each earned pins in the second round of their matches and will battle for a state championship Saturday. Felix will matchup with Zach Meisenzahl from Washington in the 165 state championship, while Kehler will see senior Anthony Williams from Spring Mills at 285 pounds.
“We are in a good position and did what we needed to do tonight,” Maisel said. “We got the wins we needed but have to come out and do the same thing tomorrow”
Felix will wrestle his final match for UHS with a chance to go out with a state championship, something Maisel says would be special.
“He has been a great part of our program for four years, and he’s just a great kid,” Maisel said of the NC State signee. “It’s funny we were talking on Thursday about him wearing the black singlet for the last time and then today wearing the red singlet. He’s starting to realize it but he is ready to come out and get the job done.”
The girls’ tournament will also take place on Saturday with University’s Gabby Tennant and Cynthia Pyatt hitting the mat.
“This is a chance for them to make history,” Maisel said. “They get to wrestle in the state tournament in front of a ton of people and their teammates. It’s special for them.”
The morning round will begin at 10:30 a.m. this morning in Huntington with the 3rd/4th and 5th/6th place matches taking place. The girls’ tournament will be run in the afternoon also.
Championship finals will begin at 7:30 p.m.
