Polk County Middle wrestlers brought home four championships, nine top-two finishes and more school records Saturday from the Blue Ridge Conference Individual Tournament at West Henderson High School.
Those nine finalists helped Polk Middle finish the team competition with 210.5 points, topping Waynesville (184) and Bethel (147), to claim the tournament team championship for the first time.
A day full of history capped a season full of the same for Polk Middle, which earlier this week finished an undefeated season with its first Blue Ridge Conference championship.
The Wolverines ended the day with 11 wrestlers earning top-four finishes. That sets a new school mark, breaking the previous high of eight established last season.
Polk Middle’s Brody Wolfe won his third BRAC championship, defeating Bethel’s Ramsey Silver by pin in the final, to become the first three-time conference champion in school history. Wolfe finished unbeaten for the season and pinned all of his opponents on Saturday, marking the second time that he has finished a season undefeated and with a conference title. He is the first Polk Middle wrestler with multiple undefeated championship seasons.
Also capping unbeaten seasons with conference titles were Efrain Rivera at 98 pounds, Styler Blackwell at 152 pounds and Zach McCraw at 160 pounds. Blackwell had one of the highlight matches of the day, winning a 4-3 decision over Waynesville’s Ty Walker in the 152-pound final.
The four conference champions match the 2013 team for most in school history. The four undefeated conference champions set a new school record, breaking the old mark of two set in 2011 and matched in 2013 and 2021.
Nine top-two finishers is also a record for the program, topping the old mark of five set in 2013 and matched in 2020 and 2022. Joining the four conference winners as finalists were Liam Jackson at 90 pounds, Connor Ahlert at 120 pounds, Isaiah Staley at 132, Simon Moore at 145 and Sawyer Huff at 170.
Chester Wilson won three straight matches to claim third at 138 while Evan McCraw took fourth at 126.
Many of the Polk Middle wrestlers will complete their season next weekend at the 41st Annual Junior High State Wrestling Championships at Rise Sports Complex in Advance. Several Polk County High School freshmen will also be competing at the event.
BLUE RIDGE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Polk Middle results
76
Quarterfinal – Carter Mabry (Bethel) 9-3 d. Silas Amorelli (Polk) 6, 11-4
Cons. Round 1 – Dirk Griffith-Arell (Flat Rock) p. Silas Amorelli
83
Quarterfinal – DeVante Gash (Brevard) p. Gavin Waldbillig (Polk)
Cons. Round 1 – Gavin Waldbillig p. Kanaan Martinez (Bethel)
Cons. Semi – Sofia Williams (Apple Valley) d. Gavin Waldbillig, 6-2
90
Quarterfinal – Liam Jackson (Polk) maj. dec. Ray Lecker (Rugby), 13-3
Semifinal – Liam Jackson p. Everett Bloomer (Flat Rock)
1st Place Match – Bryson Chappell (Bethel) p. Liam Jackson
98
Quarterfinal – Efrain Rivera (Polk) p. Calvin Russell (Brevard)
Semifinal – Efrain Rivera d. Kyce Cook (Smoky Mountain), 9-4
1st Place Match – Efrain Rivera p. Micheal Letner (Waynesville)
106
Quarterfinal – Brody Wolfe (Polk) p. Cole Novak (Hendersonville)
Semifinal – Brody Wolfe p. Branch Browning (Macon)
1st Place Match – Brody Wolfe p. Ramsey Silver (Bethel)
113
Quarterfinal – Austin Morgan (Rugby) p. Jaxtyn Virgil (Polk)
Cons. Round 1 – Braydon Middleton (Smoky Mountain) d. Jaxtyn Virgil (Polk), 6-4
120
Quarterfinal – Conner Ahlert (Polk) p. Zach Ellis (Hendersonville)
Semifinal – Conner Ahlert p. Jayden Frady (Smoky Mountain)
1st Place Match – Caleb Glance (Bethel) maj. dec. Conner Ahlert, 10-1
126
Quarterfinal – Evan McCraw (Polk) p. Tyler Shipman (Flat Rock)
Semifinal – Tristin Cison (Brevard) d. Evan McCraw, 8-3
Cons. Semi – Evan McCraw p. Josh Mehaffey (Bethel)
3rd Place Match – Dakota Smith (Smoky Mountain) won by injury default over Evan McCraw
132
Quarterfinal – Isaiah Staley (Polk) d. Alexander Romero (Hendersonville), 12-7
Semifinal – Isaiah Staley (Polk) p. JJ Brown (Waynesville)
1st Place Match – Mason Young (Bethel) p. Isaiah Staley
138
Quarterfinal – TJ Johnston (Waynesville) p. Chester Wilson (Polk)
Cons. Round 1 – Chester Wilson tech. fall Eliza Cagle (Bethel), 18-3
Cons. Semi – Chester Wilson p. Logan Strauss (Rugby)
3rd Place Match – Chester Wilson p. Mason Logan (Apple Valley)
145
Quarterfinal – Simon Moore (Polk) p. Peyton Moore (Flat Rock)
Semifinal – Simon Moore (Polk) p. Antwan Allison (Canton)
1st Place Match – Ilia Ciudinov (Apple Valley) p. Simon Moore
152
Quarterfinal – Styler Blackwell (Polk) p. Sawyer Jamison (Smoky Mountain)
Semifinal – Styler Blackwell p. Cooper Allen (Rugby)
1st Place Match – Styler Blackwell (Polk) d. Ty Walker (Waynesville), 4-3
160
Quarterfinal – Zach McCraw (Polk) p. Iker Sanchez (Canton)
Semifinal – Zach McCraw p. Isaac Henderson (Hendersonville)
1st Place Match – Zach McCraw p. Weston Alberry (Macon)
170
Quarterfinal – Sawyer Huff (Polk) p. Luke McKenzie (Rugby)
Semifinal – Sawyer Huff p. Santino De La Torre Borje
1st Place Match – Alan Davilla (Hendersonville) p. Sawyer Huff
250
Quarterfinal – Tony Guido (Flat Rock) p. Talon Ramsey (Polk)
Cons. Round 1 – Talon Ramsey p. Caleb Thompson (Apple Valley)
Cons. Semi – Nic Messer (Waynesville) p. Talon Ramsey
