City Grapplers Seek More Success

By Delano Farley
When it comes to high school wrestling skills, the city of Parkersburg has been blessed. Whether it is crowning an individual state champion or a championship team, Parkersburg has had a continuing streak of success in the brute sport over the years.

For the last seven years in high school Class AAA wrestling, West Virginia’s championship trophy has remained in the city of Parkersburg. Either Parkersburg High or Parkersburg South High School has taken home the top prize. These two high school wrestling programs have also kept the state trophy in Parkersburg for 17 of the last 18 years dating back to 1988.

However, the team championship trophy may not be guaranteed for the schools in Parkersburg this year. With the rebirth of Wheeling Park High School’s wrestling program, the top team prize may leave Parkersburg for only the second time in 19 years.

The West Virginia Wrestling Coaches Association and wvmat.com currently list Parkersburg South in second place and Parkersburg at fourth in the Class AAA wrestling poll. Wheeling Park is the No. 1 wrestling team in Class AAA. With all three teams competing inside the same region for state tournament berths, it is possible that the wrestlers could cancel each other out and allow a school from a different region to capitalize and win the state wrestling title. The most likely threats in this situation would be East Fairmont and Huntington high schools, as they are the top teams outside Parkersburg’s region.

Looking at individual championships, it would appear that Parkersburg is in good position to crown another champion. In total, the city of Parkersburg has 197 state individual wrestling champions dating back to 1948 when the state began keeping records on the sport. The Big Reds have crowned 134 individual champions in that 58-year span, while the Patriots wrestling program has crowned 63 individual state champions since their doors opened 38 years ago in 1967.

What is even more astonishing is the fact that the individual champion at the Class AAA State Tournament has been from the city of Parkersburg for the last 33 years.