The Albemarle Duals served Saturday as a huge opportunity for local wrestling squads to shake off any potential rust from winter break and get in a wealth of matches before things really start to kick into gear over the next month while getting a chance to face some challenging out-of-area teams.
Several local squads performed well in the duals, with Hidden Valley winning the team title just ahead of runner-up and host Albemarle. The Patriots fell 56-15 to Hidden Valley and edged out Fork Union 43-42 on a tiebreaker to take the runner-up spot.
Albemarle’s strength came in its depth as Donovan Berry was the lone Patriots selected to the All-Tournament team at 220 pounds. Fork Union put Lucas Yates on the All-Tournament squad at 113 pounds, Spencer Maloney on at 160 pounds and Javiorn Watson on at 285 pounds.
Other local wrestlers who made the All-Tournament team were Western’s Collin Castrina and Fluvanna’s Jariq Henson at 120, Western’s Austin Beighley at 126, Western’s Joey Burch at 132, Charlottesville’s David Wiles at 138, Fluvanna’s Shawn Metcalf at 145 and Western’s Cam Green at 170.
Albemarle had wins over Fluvanna 36-31, Waynesboro 50-18 and FUMA 43-42. Western picked up wins over CHS 54-30, North Stafford 48-33. The Warriors fell to Fork Union 43-42 on a tiebreaker. The Blue Devils beat North Stafford, Fluvanna, Charlottesville and Western as part of a 4-1 day.
