The Glenvar Highlanders celebrated their seniors prior to their home match with Lord Botetourt last week, then went out and took a 43-35 win over a Class 3 team that has three tournament wins under their belt this season.
Highlander seniors recognized included River Smith, Mason Hylton, Matthew Dillon, Kennerly Nichols, Connor Maguire, Trey Lawrence, Jake Cline, Tony Miranda`Angeles and Wesley Heltzel.
“This is the largest group of seniors I’ve had since I started coaching five years ago,” said Glenvar coach Jason Cline. “It’s bittersweet to see this group grow up and prepare for what’s next in life. We are excited for what the future holds for them but the team will miss these kids and all that they contribute. I was really happy to see a packed gym with a great crowd that was really into the dual for these kids’ Senior Night.”
Once the wrestling started the two teams had a rare match where both schools filled their entire lineup. That made for good competition and a close match with no forfeits. “We knew going into the dual that it was going to be a close match,” said Glenvar coach Jason Cline. “We’ve had some common opponents with LB this season where the team scores were similar, so we knew everyone would have to contribute to win the dual.”
This one may have been themed “Senior Night” but the Highlander underclassmen did not disappoint. Sophomore Alan Vu and freshman Joe Loder picked up big wins early in the dual to get the team off to a good start. That was followed by a string of wins from seniors Smith, Hylton, Lawrence, and Cline.
“These seniors scored a ton of team points to put us in a great position as we moved into the upper weights,” said coach Cline. “Lord Botetourt always has some really tough upper weights, so after the 157 pound match we knew we would need to pick up at least a couple more wins to come out on top in the dual.” Both junior Ethan Flowers and sophomore Chase Miller rose to the challenge and picked up big pins to secure the dual win. Up next for the Highlanders is the Big Blue in Christiansburg this weekend. Wrestling starts at 4 pm Friday and 10:30 am Saturday with the finals expected to begin around 6 pm Saturday evening.