Statesmen finish well on mat at state tourney
Published 10:50 am Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity wrestling season ended with strong wrestling from two Statesmen at the Virginia High School League Group 2A state tournament in Salem over the weekend.
Junior Caleb Calhoun and freshman Danny Parrish made their first appearances at the state event, and Randolph-Henry Head Coach Dean Schwartz said, “They wrestled really well.”
Neither of them placed, but each of them showed ability in their respective quarterfinal and round-one consolation matches.
In his 285-pound quarterfinal match, Calhoun took on Michael McCowen of Grundy High School and lost by pin after five minutes and 15 seconds.
“Mike took fourth in the state last year, so Mike had some experience on the state level, and I think part of that is what helped him pass Caleb,” Schwartz said. “But they’ve always had pretty tough matches.”
Calhoun faced Leonard Marshall of Appomattox County High School in the round-one consolation match and lost by a 7-3 decision.
Calhoun finished the season with a 27-12 record.
With a field of young heavyweight wrestlers that Calhoun must face next season, “I’m very confident in his ability to work hard in the offseason and keep his progress going and beat out some of these other guys in the state tournament next year,” Schwartz said.
Parrish wrestled Logan Smith of Lebanon High School in his 182-pound quarterfinal match and lost by a 15-2 major decision.
“He wrestled really well, just came up short,” Schwartz said.
In the round-one consolation match, Parrish was pinned after three-and-a-half minutes by Brian Herrera of Goochland High School.
Parrish finished the season with a 14-22 record.
“I know Danny is a hard worker and he’s already talked about wanting to work a lot in the offseason,” Schwartz said. “So, I think he’ll step things up several notches and be ready to make a bigger impact on states next year and just keep improving every year.”