Freedom sweeps county foes for 3rd straight Burke Brawl title
The Freedom High School wrestling team won its third county championship in a row at the 15th annual Burke Brawl tournament hosted by Draughn on Friday, Dec. 19.
Freedom continued its recent success in the Burke Brawl on Friday, Dec. 19, at Draughn High School, winning the annual county wrestling tournament for the third straight year and for the sixth time overall.
Patton has won every other team title in the event, which began in 2010 and has been held on 15 total occasions. However, the Patriots have now gone 3-0 in dual matches each of the past two years after winning a round-robin individual tournament in 2023.
Freedom improved to 4-1 in dual action this season, while last week’s runner-up, Patton, is currently 5-11 after finishing 2-1 at the Burke Brawl. Third-place Draughn (4-10) and fourth-place East Burke (0-14) rounded out the competition at the Brawl with respective records of 1-2 and 0-3 on the day.
The Patriots earned a 58-22 victory over Patton, a 60-24 win over Draughn, and a 63-11 triumph over EB, the Panthers’ wins were by a 45-30 score over EB and by a 35-28 final over Draughn, and the remaining match saw the Wildcats knock off the Cavaliers by a 41-30 score.
“I think it’s good for the team,” Freedom first-year head coach Hayden Sutphin said of capturing another Burke Brawl title. “It’s a fun county tournament, and it’s always a good feeling when you can come out on top of it, so I’m proud of the kids today. They’ve done a good job, and we had a little time off and we came in and wrestled pretty well today, so I’m glad that we’re feeling good and we can build on that.”
A total of 23 individual champions were crowned at the Burke Brawl, including Freedom’s Ethan Yang (boys 106 pounds), Zenen Sigmon (boys 113), Xander Vue (boys 120), Christian Lawhon (boys 126), Izick Thao (boys 138), James Gonzalez (boys 215 co-champion), and Oliver Salvatiera (boys 285), Patton’s Taylor Baker (girls 107), Desirae Smith (girls 120), Cayden Marshall (boys 144), Madeline Perez (girls 145), Emily Aguirre (girls 152), Cavan Sullivano (boys 165), Connor Mahoney (boys 190), and Wyatt Thompson (boys 215 co-champion), Draughn’s Alisa Shuping (girls 126), Gaston Garrison (boys 132), Larry Sarver (boys 157), Diamond Vasquez (girls 165), Lucas Foley (boys 175), Genesis Figueroa (girls 185), and Landon Clark (boys 215 co-champion), and East Burke’s Daniel Cook (boys 150).
Seven male wrestlers from Freedom collected individual medals, as did four apiece from Patton and Draughn and one from EB. Despite there being 14 total weight classes, 16 champions were crowned because three grapplers finished in a three-way tie with matching 2-1 records at 215 pounds.
The Patriots’ weight class winners included Ethan Yang (106; two forfeits, technical fall), Zenen Sigmon (113; three forfeits), Xander Vue (120; pin, two forfeits), Christian Lawhon (126; pin, forfeit, decision), Izick Thao (138; two pins, forfeit), James Gonzalez (215; pin, forfeit), and Oliver Salvatiera (285; two pins, forfeit).
Patton’s Cavan Sullivano (top) battles a Draughn opponent during a 165-pound bout at the Burke Brawl.
First-place finishers for the Panthers were Cayden Marshall (144; three pins), Cavan Sullivano (165; forfeit, tech fall, major decision), Connor Mahoney (190; two pins, forfeit), and Wyatt Thompson (215; pin, forfeit).
Draughn’s Gaston Garrison (left) grapples with an opponent from Patton during a 132-pound bout at the Burke Brawl.
The Wildcats’ individual title winners consisted of Gaston Garrison (132; pin, tech fall, major decision), Larry Sarver (157; two pins, forfeit), Lucas Foley (175; pin, two forfeits), and Landon Clark (215; pin, forfeit).
And the Cavs’ lone first-place finisher was Daniel Cook (150; two forfeits, tech fall).
“Our kids had fun, so it’s nice to see them being a team and having a good time,” said Sutphin. “Most of these kids know each other a little bit, they’ve wrestled each other in middle school and growing up, so it’s just a fun atmosphere to get everybody together and wrestle.”
Female champions were also crowned in seven weight classes, with Patton receiving four individual medals and Draughn receiving three. Notably, the Panthers’ Taylor Baker was recognized as the 107-pound champion after earning two wins via forfeit against boys competition.
Patton’s other female weight class winners included Desirae Smith (120; pin, two forfeits), Madeline Perez (145; three forfeits), and Emily Aguirre (152; three forfeits), while Draughn’s first-place finishers were Alisa Shuping (126; three forfeits), Diamond Vasquez (165; tech fall, two forfeits), and Genesis Figueroa (185; three forfeits).
Finally, the following male grapplers joined the aforementioned Gonzalez, Thompson, and Clark with two victories each: Freedom’s Blake Miller (132; pin, tech fall), Henry Hall (144; two pins), Nick Davis (150; two forfeits), Kayden Bowman (165; pin, forfeit), and Hunter Powell (190; pin, forfeit), Patton’s Landon Smith (175; two forfeits) and Brady Christian (285; pin, forfeit), and East Burke’s Jason Gates (120; two forfeits), Tucker Chapman (126; pin, forfeit), Julius Kershner (138; pin, forfeit), and Austin Sanderfer (157; pin, forfeit).
Josh McKinney can be reached at 828-445-8595 or josh@thepaper.media.
