Covenant’s Rick Weaver has a way of making things sound much easier than they really are.
“I shot on him, got two (points) and then rolled him,” Weaver said.
That’s how Weaver described the moment where he became Covenant’s first-ever two-time state champion Saturday with a third period pin of D.T. Badley of St. Christopher’s. That’s an impressive feat for any wrestler. It’s particularly wild since Weaver is a sophomore.
“It just feels great,” Weaver said. “I’m a sophomore and I’m winning state at heavyweight, it’s crazy. I worked my butt off to get to the top, and I’m here.”
Weaver ended an historic day for the Eagles as Covenant put together a 10th place finish in the VISAA meet, the highest ever state finish for Covenant’s program. He also became the Eagles’ first wrestler to go undefeated in a season and along with his drilling partner Joseph Payne, helped give the Eagles their first state tournament with multiple finalists.
“It was really just a fantastic experience,” said Covenant coach Brian Lee. “To see us really compete was really special.”
Weaver pinned his way to the title, continuing a trend from the regular season — Weaver wrestles fast and picks up a lot of pins in the process.
“He’s explosive, that’s his hallmark,” Lee said.
But that staggering 43-0 record doesn’t tell the entire story. Weaver battles Payne everyday in practice, and that has helped sharpen his style and taken him to another level this year.
“Even though the stat sheet says he has a lot of quick pins, he has a lot of knockdown/drag outs in practice. Joseph pushes him every single day.”
Payne himself finished second in the state, getting to the final with a triple overtime win over Isaiah Jones, a Benedictine wrestler who pinned Payne earlier in the year and beat him another time.
“(Payne) defines what it means to be a competitor,” Lee said.
St. Christopher’s Jens Ames tripped Payne up in the final, but Payne was a huge contributor to the Eagles’ finish. Colin Castrina’s fourth place finish as a freshman at 106 pounds was also big, while junior Jacob Murrie took fifth after battling the flu all week. Even Chaz Harvey and Yukai Sun also scored points despite falling in the consolations.
Tournament Summary
Fork Union finished in eighth place as a team in the state tournament, with 101 points. Zion Phifer led the way with a sixth place finish at 152 pounds after falling in the state semifinals.
The Blue Devils’ Alec Schlink finished seventh at 138 pounds. John Muniz took eighth at 145 pounds, Tim Bolton placed sixth at 170, Corey Jameson placed eighth at 195, Cameron Wheelhouse took sixth at 220 and Jacob Marks finished sixth at 285.
Woodberry Forest had several wrestlers earn all-state honors. Will Harris placed sixth at 132 pounds, Will Medick took sixth at 138, Davis Smith took fifth at 160 and Bill Clark took seventh at 220. Medick advanced to the state semifinals.
The Miller School’s Cenk Kaya took eighth at 120 while Paul Groeschel-Johnson finished eighth at 182.
Blue Ridge School’s James Forbes finished eighth at 220 pounds.
