Poquoson and Cox wrestled their way into Saturday’s semifinals of the Virginia Duals at Hampton Coliseum, while Grassfield put on an eye-popping, dominant display in gaining another semifinal berth.
The Grizzlies, ranked first among all classes in the state and seeded first in the TowneBank American High School Division, won every bout Friday as they shut out Jamestown 79-0 and then Lakeside of Arkansas 73-0.
Grassfield’s Luca Schinelli (132 pounds) and Hunter Johnson (150) pinned both of their opponents.
The semifinals in every division are set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Grassfield will take on No. 4 West Deptford of New Jersey, while third-seeded Cox will take on second-seeded Nazareth, which beat Grassfield in last year’s finals.
Cox won 67-11 over Broad Run of Northern Virginia and 41-27 against Liberty of Pennsylvania. The Falcons’ Vicente Granada (150) pinned both of his foes, as did Karl Ludwig (165) and Izaque Tomaz (285).
Against Liberty, the Falcons trailed but rallied by winning at the heaviest five classes, starting with a Ludwig pin.
Islanders advance in Cliff Keen Division: Meanwhile, in the Cliff Keen American High School Division, sixth-seeded Poquoson won a pair of matches to reach a semifinal at 1:30 against No. 2 Corner Canyon from Draper, Utah.
The Islanders handled injury-plagued traditional southwest Virginia power Grundy 57-24, winning by forfeit at seven weights for 42 of its points, before upending third-seeded Delaware Military Academy 39-25.
The Islanders lost at the lightest four weights against Delaware Military but won eight of the next nine to ensure the victory. In that span, Jared Goodson (132), Bryan Latta (150), Darek Kennedy (157), Nathaniel Quiroz (190) and Brayden Agnese (215) posted pins.
Landstown strong in Black and Blue first round: No. 1 seed Landstown and No. 4 Ocean Lakes earned first-round victories in the Black and Blue bracket, while No. 2 Kellam and No. 7 Western Branch advanced to a quarterfinal against each other.
Landstown dominated Mills Godwin 66-6, Ocean Lakes handled Grafton 60-18, Kellam dusted York 78-4 and Western Branch downed Franklin County 50-24.
Builders go 1-1: Apprentice School, the 16-team American College Division’s only local squad, fell 48-6 to seventh-seeded Findlay of Ohio but recovered to defeat Greensboro 46-5 in the back draw.
The Builders’ Owen Cherry, a freshman from Kellam High, pinned his Findlay opponent in 6:44 at 165 pounds and won a 14-1 major decision vs. Greensboro.
