VB’s Riley repeats as 6A state heavyweight champion

Van Buren senior R.J. Riley was able to finish his wrestling career on a high note while making some history in the process. For the second consecutive season, Riley was the individual state champion in the 6A 285-pound heavyweight class at the Arkansas State Wrestling Tournament, held in Little Rock at the Jack Stephens Center. Riley, who finished his senior season with a 45-2 record, also became the first Pointer wrestler in the history of the program to repeat as a state champion. In the 285 finals, Riley squared off against Southside senior Joseph Williams and was able to get a pinfall in exactly four minutes. “He did what he was supposed to do,” Van Buren wrestling coach John Petree said of Riley. “He stayed patient because (Williams) ran from us the whole first period. When we finally caught up to him, R.J. put it away.” Williams finished his season with a 22-4 record. Riley won all four of his matches at state by pinning his opponents. He pinned his opening-round foe in just 26 seconds; then got falls in the quarterfinal and semifinal matches by times of 2:56 and 2:46, respectively. Van Buren also had a state runner-up as Devin Swearingen placed second in the 6A 182 class. He was defeated in the finals by Little Rock Catholic senior Kennet Roset in a fall covering 1:19, as Roset finished with a perfect 35-0 record. Swearingen, a senior, finished 36-8. The Pointers also had several other wrestlers medal. Jaeden Stanley was fourth in the 6A 138 class as he finished his senior season at 36-12, junior Trevor Edelen (37-9) was fifth in the 6A 113 and junior Seth Villanueva (33-17) was sixth in the 220. Northside had a third-place individual finisher in junior Devin Potter, who placed third in the 6A 195. Potter ended his season 35-10. The Grizzlies’ Sutton Eddins was fourth in the 6A 126, as the senior finished with a 32-18 record. Southside’s Preston Halley was fourth in the 6A 160, as he went 14-5 for his senior season. Van Buren placed fifth in the 6A team standings, as Bentonville claimed the team championship. 5A The Greenwood Bulldogs had a banner day at Saturday’s finals of the 5A state wrestling tournament in Little Rock. Greenwood, which recently repeated as the 5A dual state champions, won the 5A team championship with 238 total points, ahead of runner-up Searcy, which compiled 219.5 points. It was the first team wrestling championship in school history. In addition, the Bulldogs had five individual wrestlers who won their respective weight classes. They were Antonio Martinez in the 106, Ty Moose in the 132, Jason Arnold in the 160, Sam Johnson in the 170 and Tyler Crossno in the 220. “Our guys really came out and wrestled this season,” Greenwood wrestling coach John Kincade said. “We had a motto this year that was to just finish it. “We finished third last year one point behind second and about 12 points behind first, and so this year, our motto was kind of like, leave no doubt and finish it, so they did it. It was pretty neat to see it come true.” Martinez, a sophomore, picked up a win in his first-place match in the 5A 106 via a 17-2 technical fall. He ended his season with a 34-9 record. After drawing an opening-round bye, Martinez prevailed via a forfeit in the next round before pinning his semifinal opponent in just 34 seconds. Moose repeated as a state champion by picking up a fall in a time of 5:48 to win the 5A 132. He ended his junior season with a 45-4 record. In his first two state tournament matches, Moose picked up pins in just 14 and 31 seconds. Then in the semifinals, he was once again dominating, earning a 15-0 technical fall decision to reach the finals. In the 5A 160, Arnold was victorious, as the junior capped a 43-7 season with an overtime tie breaker win, 7-2, in the finals of his event. Arnold got a pinfall in a time of 2:38 in his first round before earning a 7-3 decision in the quarterfinals. Then in the semifinals, he picked up another pinfall, this time in 5:34. Then, Johnson capped his senior season with a fall in 1:13 to claim the 5A 170 title. He went 26-6 for the season. That pin was Johnson’s only one in the bracket. He picked up a forfeit in his opening round, got a 14-4 major decision in the quarterfinals and a 9-6 decision in the semifinals. Crossno, a sophomore, picked up a 9-2 decision in his first-place match in the 5A 220 as he finished the season 42-3. In his opening two matches at state, Crossno prevailed via pinfalls covering 50 and 11 seconds. He then earned a 7-4 decision in the semifinals to reach his title match. Colton Tuck, who won state last season, came up short in the 5A 145 class as he placed second after being pinned in a time of 1:38. The senior finished his season with a 43-8 record. The Bulldogs also had another runner-up finish, as junior Hayden Allen (25-16) placed second in the 5A 113 after his opponent got a pinfall in 3:44. Also for Greenwood, Garrett Haralson (29-12), a sophomore, was third in the 5A 126, junior Gustavo Martinez (32-11) was fourth in the 5A 120 and junior Tatum Sadler (24-15) placed fifth in the 5A 152. “I was just proud of the kids for being able to accomplish what they did,” Kincade said.

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VB’S RILEY REPEATS AS 6A STATE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

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Times Record | 2/23/2020

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian D. Sanderford