HAMPTON — The 45th Virginia Duals concluded on Saturday evening in exactly the way that Grassfield coach Patrick Shuler wanted.
Tuesday, Shuler had expressed his desire for the Grizzlies to face Nazareth High from Pennsylvania in the TowneBank American High School Division final. After Grassfield toppled West Deptford of New Jersey in a semifinal, while Nazareth won over Cox, the stage was set for a repeat of last year’s final, which was won by the Blue Eagles.
This year, the score was similar, but it was Grassfield that held up the first-place trophy at Hampton Coliseum.
“We got it done,” said Shuler, whose team won 43-26 over Nazareth after losing 40-26 to the Blue Eagles a year ago.
The Grizzlies left little in doubt, racing to a 23-0 advantage, as Nolan Mather (106 pounds), Higen Castillo (113) and Dennis Bruin (126) each pinned their opponents, while Leland Mendez (120) tacked on five team points with a 15-0 technical fall.
Simone Barrett’s win at 144 extended the lead to 28-8, and then Brady Greene’s win at 157 was followed by Nate Moore’s 13-1 major decision to seal the match triumph at 38-16.
“We were looking forward to wrestling them again,” said Moore, who is ranked second in Virginia for his weight class. “Their best wrestlers faced our best wrestlers, and what better way to win than against the team that beat you a year ago.”
Nazareth, which ousted Cox 52-18 in a semifinal, was the only team to beat the Class 6 state champion Grizzlies last season.
Heavyweight Chris Funches’ 22-5 technical fall proved to be the exclamation point for Grassfield, which won its first Duals championship since 2017 and first ever in what Shuler called “the toughest division.”
Cox defeated West Deptford 49-30 in the third-place match. The Falcons fell to a 24-0 deficit on four straight pins before rallying to capture nine of the remaining 10 bouts. Carson Miller (132), Vicente Granada (150), Tristan Skiff (157), Karl Ludwig (165) and Izaque Tomaz (285) each won in a first-period fall, with Tomaz’s pin taking 26 seconds.
Grassfield poses with the trophy and bracket after they won the American Townebank Division during the Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, on Jan. 10, 2026. (Peter Casey/The Virginian-Pilot)
Poquoson fourth in Cliff Keen Division: The Islanders dropped their third-place match to Skyline 51-27 to cap a 2-2 weekend in the Cliff Keen American High School Division.
Poquoson defeated Grundy, the VHSL record-holder for state wrestling titles with 28, in the first round. Grundy was competing in its last Duals because the school is merging with two others next year to form Southern Gap High.
In their second match, the Islanders beat Delaware Military Academy 38-24, before losing to Utah powerhouse Corner Canyon 39-24 in a semifinal Saturday. Poquoson’s Jared Goodson (132) and Reed Booth (157) went 4-0 in bouts for the weekend.
Landstown second in Black and Blue Division: Landstown made the final match but fell just short, as Independence edged the Eagles 35-33 to win the Black and Blue High School Division.
Landstown fell behind 22-6 to its Northern Virginia foe but mounted a steady comeback, fueled with a win by fall at 144
pounds by Elijah Phoutasen. The Tigers won two of the next three bouts by decision to nudge the lead to 29-15.
Landstown’s Mehki Ferguson (175) and Malik Adedoyin (190) won by fall in consecutive matches to slash the lead to 29-27 before Indy’s Odon Toth pinned Jake Detrick in their 215-pound bout to guarantee the win for the Ashburn squad.
“We were just a bit short, but we’re showing scrappiness,” Landstown coach James Sanderlin said. “Time to get back to the lab and do some work.”
Kellam overcame an 18-0 deficit to defeat Beach rival Ocean Lakes 43-28 in the third-place match.
Apprentice finishes ninth: The Apprentice School placed ninth of 16 teams in the American College Division after defeating
Centenary of Hackettstown, New Jersey, in the Builders’ final consolation match.
The Builders were 3-1 for the weekend, losing their opening match 48-6 to Findlay before reeling off decisive victories against Greensboro (46-5) and Muhlenberg (33-14) before winning the ninth-place match.
Lucas Vannostrand (125), Aiden Vasquez (133), Michael Phoutasen (149), Dimetrus Wince (157), Owen Cherry (165), Lucas Sumners (184) and David McElravy Jr. (285) all won their bouts against Centenary, with Sumners winning by fall at 4:31.
TowneBank American High School Division
Semifinals:
Grassfield 68, West Deptford (New Jersey) 5
Nazareth (Pennsylvania) 52, Cox 18
Consolation (Saturday):
Culpeper County 51, Jamestown 27
McGuffey (Pennsylvania) 57, Gloucester 16
Colonial Forge 42, Broad Run 39
Deep Run 49, Tabb 28
Battlefield 56, Lakeside (Arkansas) 14
Liberty (Pennsylvania) 72, Mount Dora (Florida) 6
McGuffey (Pennsylvania) 62, Culpeper County 17
Colonial Forge 55, Deep Run 18
Gloucester 44, Jamestown 30
Tabb 38, Broad Run 37
Final-round matches:
First: Grassfield 43, Nazareth (Pennsylvania) 26
Third: Cox 49, West Deptford (New Jersey) 30
Fifth: Liberty (Pennsylvania) 52, Battlefield 18
Seventh: Lakeside (Arkansas) 64, Mount Dora (Florida) 11
Ninth: McGuffey (Pennsylvania) 43, Colonial Forge 30
11th: Culpeper County 48, Deep Run 26
13th: Tabb 42, Gloucester 36
15th: Broad Run 46, Jamestown 30
Cliff Keen American High School Division finish order
1. Corner Canyon (Utah)
2. St. Augustine Prep (New Jersey)
3. Skyline
4. Poquoson
5. Delaware Military Academy
6. Ridge (New Jersey)
7. Westfield
8. Stafford
9. Freedom
10. Grundy
11. Kempsville
12. Smithfield
13. Patrick Henry of Ashland
14. Green Run
15. Denbigh
Black and Blue High School Division finish order
1. Independence
2. Landstown
3. Kellam
4. Ocean Lakes
5. Orange County
6. Eastern View
7. Western Branch
8. Richlands
9. Granby
10. Franklin County
11. Oscar Smith
12. Grafton
13. Mills Godwin
14. Maury
15. King’s Fork
16. York
American College Division finish order
1. Glenville State
2. Findlay
3. Newberry
4. Frostburg State
5. East Stroudsburg
6. Minnesota State Moorhead
7. Kutztown
8. Averett
9. Apprentice
10. Centenary
11. Liberty
12. Muhlenberg
13. Marymount
14. Washington & Jefferson
15. Johns Hopkins
16. Greensboro
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/01/11/grassfield-grapples-to-dominant-title-run-at-virginia-duals/
