Freedom sweeps county foes for 3rd straight Burke Brawl title

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.”

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).

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).

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).