The final act of the Class 2 wrestling state tournament was as much a coronation as a competition for Poquoson High.
By the time six Islanders walked onto the mat at the Salem Civic Center for their championship bouts Saturday afternoon, the program’s 15th state championship — and sixth in the past nine seasons — was well in hand.
Running away with the title for a second straight season, a complete complement of 14 Islanders amassed 244 points to outdistance runnerup Strasburg (165½ points) and third-place Glenvar (120) in the 37-team event.
No one was more regal than VMI-bound senior Jared Goodson, who added a fourth face to the Mount Rushmore of Poquoson wrestling with his fourth consecutive individual title. But the other five Islanders to reach the finals added a memorable exclamation point to the proceedings by sweeping to victory.
“The six state champions in a year is a new school record,” Islanders’ head coach Eric Decker said. “I thought we did excellent, I really do.
“I wanted more personally, but I think in terms of putting six in the finals and getting six champions you can’t ask for any more than that. I’m very proud of these kids.”
Goodson pinned Marion’s Max Golliher 1 minute, 45 seconds into the first period to win his fourth individual championship. Goodson, who advanced with a 21-second pin in the semifinals, joined previous four-time champs Butch Backus (1971-74), Mike Akers (1996-99) and Patrick McCormick (2015-18) — now an Islanders’ assistant coach — as four-time state titlists.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet, but when it does it’s going to feel great,” said Goodson, whose 37-2 record includes a win over an NHSCA All-American. “I was so happy I was able to get it done.”
Decker said, “He’s a very special kid and he’s had a very special year.”
VHSL Class 2, 132-Pound Finals
Jared Goodson (Poquoson)
Pinned
Max Golliher (Marion) pic.twitter.com/y0jylGy2mj
— Tim Hayes (@Hayes_BHCSports) February 21, 2026
Kam Harrell, who will wrestle at Lincoln Memorial University, made a first-period takedown of Glenvar’s Nick Yetzer hold up in a tough 4-1 victory at 113 pounds for his second consecutive state title. Harrell, who won at 106 a year ago before earning NHSCA All-American honors, reached the final with pins in 41 and 39 seconds.
Reed Booth’s third consecutive state title was as emphatic as Harrell’s second and Goodson’s fourth. Poquoson’s 157-pounder dominated difficult-to-pin Andrew Boyd of Richlands, winning by technical fall on a near-pin after piling up five takedowns.
If the Islanders’ team victory lacked drama, the opposite was true of Logan Keese’s state championship at 120 pounds and Austin Conley’s at 175.
Keese, a Randolph College signee, secured his spot in the final with a late reverse, rallying to a 6-5 win over Aiden Swink of Strasburg. The 2025 state finalist fell behind when he was taken down by Alex Salyer of Central to start the final, but rallied again, pinning him in the second period.
Austin Conley, an All-Tidewater second-team linebacker who will play football at Hampden-Sydney, won the longest bout of the night, beating Harper Sherman of Strasburg 3-2 in triple overtime for the 175-pound title. All of the scoring in the bout came on one-point escapes. Conley got the decisive one in the sudden-victory third overtime, dropping to his knees in jubilation after achieving redemption for his ’25 second-place finish.
“We train for that and we go hard (in practice),” Decker said. “When these kids get pushed, and get late in matches, that’s where that training really comes through.”
An All-Tidewater first-team defensive lineman, Brayden Agnese, finished off the championship finals in spectacular fashion with a dominant technical fall blowout of Richlands’ Blake Vandyke.
If there was a small disappointment on surely one of the greatest days in Poquoson High wrestling history, it’s that Ferrum College signee Bryan Latta did not win a third straight title. His decision loss, 10-3, was hard-fought and not totally unexpected because Union’s Canaan Spears is an NHSCA All-American. Latta responded like a champion in winning his third-place bout by pin.
Nathan Heineman escaped a near-pin to win his third-place bout at 138 pounds going away. Nate Quiroz, a 2025 state finalist, finished third at 190 after losing a hard-fought semifinal, while ’25 finalist Brayden Bunting (126 pounds) and Darek Kennedy (165 pounds) finished fourth.
It was an almost perfect day for the Islanders that Goodson summarized perfectly.
“Wrestling at Poquoson is awesome,” Goodson said. “I’ve had the best coaches and best teammates, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
“I wish I could go back in time and do it all over again, but I’ll cherish the moments I had with these guys and I’m so grateful for everybody.”
