Local Wrestlers Add Up to Winners

By Delano Farley
I believe that I may have discovered something. I have found that 3+3 not only equals 6 mathematically, but also 34 and 203 if you are talking about the high school wrestlers from the city of Parkersburg. It is a little hard to believe my findings, but let me explain this to help you better understand this discovery of mine.

The combination of Parkersburg South and Parkersburg High’s individual champions at the 59th annual WV State High School Wrestling Tournament is the primary foundation for my equations. My explanation of 3+3 is really quite simple. It comes from the two perennial powerhouses of Parkersburg having three wrestlers each take individual wrestling titles during the championship event in Huntington on Feb. 25.

Parkersburg South crowned three individual wrestlers (Corey Matheny, Aaron Kelley, and Chad Porter) in the 103, 145, and 152-pound weight classes while Parkersburg garnered three individual champions (Ryan Ewing, Andy Thomas, and Joey Lindamood) in the 160, 171, and 215-pound weight classes.

By combining both of Parkersburg’s city high school’s individual champions, the finding of 3+3 equals 6 is also very simple to understand when talking about the city of Parkersburg’s high school wrestlers. It is the total number of champions that were crowned from the city. However, explaining why 3+3 equals 34 and 203 is a little more complicated. First, you must understand what I just explained, and then know some history about Parkersburg’s city wrestlers to determine how my calculated equations can be true.

The answer of 3+3 equals 34 stems from the number of years in a row that an individual champion has come from the city of Parkersburg. Looking at Parkersburg’s history of wrestling champions, they managed to crown at least one individual as a champion for 33 straight years through 2005. With this year’s 3+3 (the six city individual champions), the total number of years in a row that an individual champion has came from the city equals 34. Now you are starting to see my calculations! Aren’t you?

In total, the city of Parkersburg has had 197 state individual wrestling champions dating back to 1948 through 2005. The Big Reds had crowned 134 individual champions in that 58-year span, while the Patriots wrestling program had crowned 63 individual state champions in 39 years. With the addition of the 3+3 rule (the six city individual champions) that I have applied the totals are now 137 individual victors for the Big Reds and 66 titleholders for the Patriots, which equals in total to 203 champion high school wrestlers from the city of Parkersburg.