R-H fields a tough wrestling team

Published 9:34 am Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Confidence is running high for Randolph-Henry High School Wrestling Head Coach Zack Mowery with regard to his team, and the Statesmen have already illustrated why his resolve is well-founded with their performance at the recent Fork Union Blue Devils Invitational.

“We’ve got a very tough team,” Mowery said. “We finished fifth out of 13 teams this past weekend at Fork Union, which is a pretty big tournament, so I was pleased with that.”

The coach noted his team features 17 wrestlers, and 12 out of the 14 weight classes are filled.

“We’re growing in numbers, which is good,” he said.

Mowery has set his sights high for what the Statesmen can accomplish in the 2018-19 season.

“My goals are to win a district title, to finish top-three in the region and top-10 in the state as a team, and I really think we have the team to do it this year,” he said.

He expects five of his wrestlers to lead the way: senior 126-pounder John Wendelin, junior 170-pounder Danny Parrish, senior 138-pounder Billy French, junior 145-pounder Chandler Newcomb and senior 152-pounder Matthew Poling.

“I’m expecting all five of those kids to qualify for the state tournament and place, if all goes well,” Mowery said.

French won the 138-pound weight class at Fork Union Military Academy over the weekend and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

The coach expressed particularly high expectations for Parrish based on his ability.

“Danny’s going to be knocking on the door to win a state title this year,” Mowery said.

Randolph-Henry visits Bluestone High School on Wednesday at 5 p.m. along with Amelia County and Nottoway high schools.