“We are sharpening our axes in practice. We still have one more tree to cut next weekend.” —MCMS coach Andrew Chaffin
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Martin County Middle School wrestling was at it again the past week, placing another historical cornerstone to their season. The elite Cardinals club, ranked No. 48 nationally by Trackwrestling, traveled to Huntington and took over the WSAZ Invitational Tournament.
The tournament has been running since 1977 and is one of the longest-running tournaments in the country. With four states and 129 teams registering 16 wrestlers per team, the event featured over 1,000 wrestlers at Mountain Health Arena. The Cards took their tribe of 14 to see what they could do. They had no thought of losing.
The two-day tournament started Friday with 64 wrestlers per weight class. By the end of the night the Cards had 12 wrestlers advancing to the main event Saturday.
Martin County ended the first day in second place, down by only one point.
The Cards started Saturday morning wrestling like each match would be their last. The long hours of waiting to wrestle did not slow them down. They had been trained for this, wanting nothing more than the first-place title—which is what they took home.
Brody Jewell took fifth place with a Major Decision over B. Chaffin. Cole Jewell placed fourth after his match with D. Cody. Jermey (JJ) Mollett took fourth place after his match with T. Parker.
Two Martin County wrestlers advanced to the final rounds.
Eighth grader Jeremy Begley fought to the end and claimed second place. Having wrestled for just two years, he impressed his team and coaches.
Spencer Workman, a first-year wrestler, was next to go in the finals at heavyweight. Workman went against E. Wade and claimed the heavyweight title by a 6-2 decision. He became the first Cardinal to win at the WSAZ tournament since Ryan Kelley did it almost 20 years ago.
At the end of the matches, the Cards knew they had secured the No. 1 slot. The top three scores were Martin 203, Mountaineer (WV) 190 and Jackson (WV) 189.
Of all the success Martin County wrestling has had throughout the years, since the 80s, this is the first time the Cards have ever taken the WSAZ tournament at the middle school level.
MCMS head coach Andrew Chaffin’s crew will now focus on bringing home a Kentucky state championship.
“We are sharpening our axes in practice,” the coach said. “We still have one more tree to cut next weekend.”
Chaffin and assistants Jason Jewell, BJ Slone, Ryan Kelley, Tommy Vanhoose and Cody Anderson pray their team stays intelligent, aggressive and, most of all, humble to their accomplishments.
“God has placed our families and our community around this team,” Jewell said. “Our wrestlers want to show Martin County they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. Dream big and don’t be afraid to lose.”