With each of the county wrestling teams converging on the mats for their annual Quad match, it was no surprise that the Hanover Hawks took the meet by storm, defeating Lee-Davis, Atlee and Patrick Henry.
  Yet, all of those participating demonstrated their skills and abilities as well.  For some it was a team success and for others, individual performances would shine.

  Hanover came into the home contest with their lunch packed and sporting a full roster of seasoned wrestlers from a school known for its top notch program.
 
  Overall Hawks’ coach Aaron Bradley was pleased with the outcome. “Good Hanover County Quad…good competition,” he said. “Glad to get out of there with three wins.  We knew Lee-Davis had some good kids and that they were going to be ready to go.”

  A sore shoulder from Brock Buchanan’s round two competition (140) caused Hanover to forfeit their only match of the evening facing Patrick Henry at 145.  Buchanan and Patrick Foxworth, who went 3-0, traded places at 140-145 throughout the Quad to win their matches.  Bradley said, “We have both guys, our 140 pounders and sometime we’ll mix ‘em up if it fits the team better for the dual match.”

  Among Hawks going 3-0 on the evening where Michael Flora (103), Kevin Keck (119), Gabe LaVey (135), Ben Wilson (152), Kyle Locke (189) and Henry Reeves (285).

  Though Hanover was clearly dominant in the evening’s competition, there were some surprises.  At 215, Zach Nussbaum, coming off of six consecutive pins, and having two pins for the evening, found himself on the flipside in his match against Lee-Davis’ Calvin Davis.  Though Nussbaum did a good job fending off his opponent in the first and second periods, Davis finally caught up with him in the closing moments of the match, getting a pin from a reverse. 

  At 160 Patrick Sorey of Hanover made two pins, but also fell by pin to L-D’s Taylor Griggs in 1:02 of the first period.

  For C-Fed head coach, Thomas Riley there were no surprises.  “As a whole I think we did exactly what I thought we were going to do,” he said. “We came in with a depleted line-up and we won the matches where we were supposed to win and didn’t the ones where we weren’t. 

  Riley conceded that the Hawks had his short-handed team outmatched. “They’re too strong of a team to have back-ups in the line-up when you face them,” Riley said. “Hopefully all of them will be back by the time the district tournament comes back.  We have a couple of injuries, a couple of illnesses, and hopefully they’ll all be resolved by the time districts comes around.”

  One of the best match-ups of the evening was at 189 when Lee-Davis’ John Alexander and Hanover’s Kyle Locke went down to the wire at 1-0, Locke having earned an escape..  “That’s a good match-up there,” Riley said.  “They are both state ranked wrestlers.  That’s going to be the district title right there.  They’re the two best at 189, so having that be a one point match…we’re pleased with the way that outcome was.” 
  Among the wounded was Anthony Lineberry who was favoring his leg.  “He’s got an injured leg and we’re nursing that back,” Riley said.  “Hopefully he’s going to get some mat time this weekend, and be back to full strength by next weekend.” 

  Anthony’s brother Don, went 3-0 on the evening.  “Don has definitely come into his own (more) physically than he was last year, and we’re looking forward to good things from him also.”  Other of his C-feds going 3-0 were Davis (215), Griggs (160) and Calvin Van Allen (112).

  Head Coach Steven Lagow of Atlee wasn’t disappointed with the results, understanding that his team still has growth ahead.  “They’re a very young team…and there are some good teams here,” he said. “We had some ups and we had some downs.  I had one senior in our lineup that starts.  Most of them are first and second year wrestlers.  That’s a lot of youth, so, some of them have a long way to go and some have made great strides.  Overall, I’m happy with the progress we’ve made along the way.”

  Among those making strides were senior Raider Dillon Knight at 125, taking all three of his matches, while teammate Will Hayes went 2-1 at 135.  Said Lagow, “The only one we had that went undefeated was Dillon Knight which was expected, but he wrestled well.  He controlled a lot of his opponents.  Will Hayes had a good night.  He went two and one.  His only loss was to Hanover’s 135 (LaVey). It was a good match.  It was the first time seeing him, so he knows the work that’s cut out for him.  Hanover’s wrestling is quality wrestling, so we’ve got some work to do; but knowing Will, he will be able to do it.”

  For Patrick Henry’s head coach William Toney, the evening was a learning experience for his young team. “We came in tonight.  We knew we were going to have three real tough matches,” he said. “Obviously Hanover and Lee-Davis are two of the top teams in the area right now.  We’ve got a real thin line-up, lots of freshmen.  My goal tonight was just to get our guys some exposure to see what the top-level guys look like.  They wrestled tough.  I’m fairly pleased with how they did.  Hanover and Lee-Davis wrestled us real tough.  They’re going to do good this year.  We came back and wrestled real tough against Atlee and would have beat them without the forfeits.  It was a good night of wrestling and we were glad to be here.”

  Though happy with the win, Coach Bradley said there’s still room for the Hawks to get better as the district and region meets draw near. “We’re always finding things to improve on,” he said. “I felt we got into a couple of dogfight situations where we felt that maybe our opponent had the advantage in a given match; and we didn’t fight it through to the end; we gave up the takedown a little early; or we gave up on a turn where we were getting ready to get a guy on his back.  Just a couple of points like that where we need to toughen up on.  Try a little bit harder to not give up the takedown; and when a guy’s resistant, try to fight through it and put him on his back anyway.”

Hanover 68 Atlee 10
103 Flora (Han) tech. fall Emerson 15-0
112 Eubank (Han) pin Schrier 1:26
119 Keck (Han) pin Decourcey 4:42
125 Knight (Atl) maj. dec. Harrison 10-2
130 Engles (Han) pin Woolard 2:53
135 LaVey (Han) maj. dec. Hays 9-0
140 Foxworth (Han) tech. fall Goon 22-7
145 Buchanan (Han) pin Holmes 3.25
152 Wilson (Han) pin Stokes :47
160 Sorey (Han) pin Mackey 3:54
171 Ramser (Han) pin Neergaard 2:52
189 Locke (Han) pin Atkins 1:40
215 Nussbaum (Han) pin English .36
285 Reeves (Han) FFT

Hanover 43 Lee-Davis 24
103 Flora (Han) pin Sharpe .54
112 Van Allen (LD) dec. Eubank 3-2
119 Keck (Han) pi n Hughes 3.42
125 Harrison (Han) dec. Helmick 7-3
130 Lineberry (LD) dec. Engels 4-0
135 LaVey (Han) pin Reisenweaver 2:51
140 Buchanan (Han) pin Hazelwood 1.40
145 Foxworth (Han) maj. dec. Baldwin 20-7
152 Wilson (Han) pin 1.43
160 Griggs (LD) pin Sorey 1:02
171 Eastland (LD) pin Neergaard 4.58
189 Locke (Han) dec. Alexander 1-0
215 Davis (LD) pin Nussbaum
285 Reeves (Han) dec. Wilson 10-7

Hanover 72 Patrick Henry 10
103 Flora (Han) by FFT
112 Eubank (Han) pin Steele 1.59
119 Keck (Han) by FFT
125 Harrison (Han) pin Poyner .42
130 Engels (Han) pin Jones 1.30
135 Lavey (Han) by FFT
140 Foxworth (Han) pin Overstreet 2.36
145 Greenwood (PH) by FFT
152 Wilson (Han) pin Jones 2.36
160 Sorey (Han) pin Phillips 4.04
171 Korsgaard (PH) maj. dec. Neergaard 15-5
189 Locke (Han) pin Johnson 1.34
215 Nussbaum (Han) pin Jost 1.04
285 Reeves (Han) by FFT