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RCHS freshman Josh Fisher wrestles his way to a state championship at 103 pounds.
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Sports Editor - Freshman sensation Josh Fisher earned Roane County High’s first state championship in more than a decade to lead the Raiders to a fifth place finish at the Class AA-A state wrestling tournament in Huntington.
Fisher completed a perfect 46-0 season by beating Kyle Bauer of Wheeling Central 6-3 in the finals at 103 pounds. He was the first of four Raiders to wrestle in Saturday night’s championship matches, with Brad Hickman at 112, Joey Maldonado at 119 and Cody Clarkson at 125 each finishing as runners-up.
The finals showing capped a tournament that saw all eight Raiders who qualified for the event at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena win at least one match.
“We wrestled tough,” first-year Raider coach Wayne Jarvis said. “We’d had more placers before, but having four in the finals is probably a first for us.”
Fisher, who has beaten the top two wrestlers in Class AAA, won his crown by following his pre-match strategy.
“I thought he wrestled a controlled match,” Jarvis said. “He probably could have scored more points, but he didn’t do anything foolish. He played it close to the vest and did what he had to do.”
It marked Roane’s first individual championship since Josh Craddock in 1997.
Hickman (46-9), another freshman, tried to stay low in his finals match against Rusty Maness of Point Pleasant, but was taken down during a 5-1 defeat.
“Maness used his height and length to pull him down,” Jarvis said. “Brad gave it his best effort. He really came in ahead of where I thought he’d be this season.”
Jarvis also liked the effort of Maldonado (36-8), a senior who provided good leadership this season. He dropped a 7-2 decision to Bradley Reed of Berkeley Springs.
Clarkson (41-12), a senior, lost 3-0 to nemesis Cody Clark of Calhoun County on a late near-pin situation.
“He had it right in the palm of his hand until he made one mistake and Clark capitalized,” Jarvis said.
The other Raider qualifiers included junior 125-pounder Justin Fisher, who opened with a 12-10 upset of regional champ Randy Ferrill of Greenbrier West before losing his next two matches. Fisher was wrestling with ankle and elbow injuries.
Sky Parrish was 1-2 at 135, Eric Jarvis 2-2 at 140 and Tyler Starcher 2-2 at 171. All are juniors.
“Everybody contributed and that was kind of neat,” Coach Jarvis said.
Oak Glen ran away with the team competition to win its 12th consecutive championship. Point Pleasant was second, followed by Calhoun County, Berkeley Springs and the Raiders.
Jarvis hopes the strong showing will lead to even better things for next season.
“We’re probably only a couple of quality kids away from competing at the top,” he said. “We need to get more kids interested and build on this.”
Team scores: Oak Glen 189.5, Point Pleasant 129, Calhoun County 116, Berkeley Springs 108.5, Roane County 105.5, Independence 79, Liberty Raleigh 75, Greenbrier East 68.5, Grafton 63, St. Marys 57.5, Herbert Hoover 57, Cameron 55.5, Petersburg 50, Wheeling Central 45.5, Williamstown 41, Oak Hill 40, Keyser 32, Sissonville 28, Clay County 27, Braxton County 26, Philip Barbour 26, Ravenswood 24, Ritchie County 23, Weir 23, Madonna 22.5, Frankfort 22, Wirt County 20, Richwood 20, Shady Spring 19.5, Liberty Harrison 17.5, Tyler Consolidated 17, Winfield 16, Fayetteville 7, Lincoln 4, Poca 4, Meadow Bridge 4, Magnolia 3, Wahama 3, Logan 2, Webster County 1, Clay-Battelle 0, South Harrison 0, Wyoming East 0
