Colonial Forge wrestling claims seventh state title DAVID STEGON » BY For InsideNoVa
Seven in 11: For Colonial Forge, the trophy case is always open. The Colonial Forge wrestling team continued its monumental success last weekend, taking home the 6A state championship for the program’s seventh state title in the last 11 years, along with their third straight. Add that to 16 regional championships and 17 district championships and it can be hard to imagine a program in any sport being more successful over that length of times. “The success is a testament to the system that [former coach] Bill Swink implemented, but also all of the wrestlers that bought into that system,” said Colonial Forge Coach Ian Squires. Squires, a 2009 individual state champion as a wrestler at Colonial Forge, took over for legendary coach Bill Swink this season. Swink, who led the program for 17 years, stepped down before the start of this season. Squires and his staff, though, made for a smooth transition. The Eagles had nine wrestlers place in the top five for their weight class, scoring points for the team to claim the title Feb. 18 at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake. Although only one wrestler – Jared Lough at 160 pounds – captured the individual title, Colonial Forge as a team cruised to the win, beating second-place Robinson by 47.5 points.
The Colonial Forge High School wrestling team
Marc Garofalo finished second at 132 pounds, while Alex Smith (120 pounds) Clay Smith (138), Eze Chukwuezi (182) and Alex Watson (220) each took third place. Squires said the group of third place wrestlers were the ones that lifted Colonial Forge to the title. He pointed to Smith, a freshman, who lost in the opening round, but then “put on a show” in the consolation bracket to take third
place. Squires said Smith could likely be a future state individual champion if he continues on the path he is on. Squires also praised Watson, who missed part of the season with injuries, but was able to return for the post-season. He won five matches via pinfall during the state tournament, scoring additional bonus points along the way. “It is easy to look at the guy that finish at the top of the podium, and they
deserve all the credit, but it takes some special to comeback after losing a match and still compete at a high level,” Squires said. “All of our third place wrestlers had phenomenal tournaments.” Also placing for Colonial Forge was Levi Engleman, who took fourth at 126 pounds and Joseph Vastano (113) and Jacob Martin (145) who each finished fifth. Dave Stegon can be reached at StaffordNews@insidenova.com.
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