High School Sports

Cameron Looking For a Repeat Performance At W.Va. Wrestling

Kim North

HUNTINGTON - Cameron will be looking to go back-to-back when the W.Va. Boys Division II State Wrestling Tournament unfolds Thursday night inside Mountain Health Arena. The Dragons were the Class A champions last winter.

The Dragons have five entrants, but all five won North Region I championships two weeks ago at Weir High School. Three individuals are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes, while another is second and the fifth No. 3.

Oak Glen has the most qualifiers with seven, while Weir has five, Tyler Consolidated three and Magnolia one.

A look at each of the state qualifiers follows:

CAMERON

Maverick Lilley (106, Soph., 35-4)

He is ranked No. 1 in the state and was the Region I champ. He placed 5th at state in 2025.

Braxton Birch (132, Jr., 10-1)

Birch is also ranked No. 1 in the state and was the Region I champ. He has been a state runner up in 2024 and 2025.

Marshall Crow (150, Jr., 34-10)

He is ranked No. 3 in the state and was Region I champ. He placed third at state in 2025.

Talen Brown (157, Soph., 6-1)

Talen is ranked No. 2 in the state and won a Region I title. He placed fourth at state in 2025.

Eli Tedrow (165, Jr., 40-2)

He is also ranked No. 1 in the state and was the fifth Dragon to win a Region I championship. He is a returning state champ from 2025 and was runner up in 2024.

According to head coach Chad Burge, Birch and Brown were both hurt most of the season and missed the OVAC Ron Mauck Tournament.

MAGNOLIA

Riley Dennis (126, Sr., 26-12)

Dennis is the lone Blue Eagle qualifier. He placed fourth at the regional.

OAK GLEN

Jordan Tomsic (106, Jr., 32-16)

"He's a very strong wrestler for the weight class, and this season has greatly improved his technique," Oak Glen head coach Josh Cornell said. "Jordan is currently ranked third in the state and has losses to the No. 2- and No. 1-ranked wrestlers, however he has learned from those losses and is making adjustments to hopefully change the outcome this time around. We are very confident in Jordan making a push for the finals."

Tomsic is a returning W.Va. sixth-place finisher from last season.

Kaleb Eckleberry (126, Soph., 18-16)

"Kaleb is another young wrestler on the team. It's only his second year in the sport; however he has been able to quickly pick up the sport," Cornell noted. "He is the most improved wrestler on the team from last year to this year and has had some big wins this year. If he puts everything together at the state tournament, he will find himself on the podium.

Kayden Spencer (138, Fr., 24-20)

"Kayden is a freshman that we were very excited about coming into the year and has had a fantastic season," Cornell said. "He had a big win at the regional championships over a top-ranked wrestler. He's currently ranked seventh in the state and has a great opportunity to get on the podium."

Spencer placed second at the regional.

Wyatt Wolanski (144, Sr., 46-7)

"Wyatt is one of our senior leaders. He is an extremely hard worker. He's a two-time returning state place winner and has more than 120 career wins," Cornell said. "Wyatt is currently ranked fourth in the state. He has put together a great season. He took third at the regional tournament however was in a bracket with the current No. 1 and No. 2 ranked wrestlers. We believe Wyatt has the ability to beat anyone, and if all goes well will find himself on top of the podium in Huntington."

Parker Boyce (157, Sr., 33-20)

"Parker is another senior leader of ours. He's a 4 year starter and two-time state qualifier," Cornell continued. "Parker has put together a great season, including a seventh-place finish at the OVAC tournament. Finishing in fourth at the regional tournament could give him a difficult path to placement, however Parker has always been able to push through adversity. I believe he will find himself on the podium Saturday."

Paxton Ware (165, Soph., 23-21)

"Paxton has improved a ton from the start of the season. He has a ton of potential and is really coming into his own to close the season," Cornell said. "He's had a couple big wins over previous W.Va state placewinners which gives us a lot of confidence that he can get on the podium this year."

Noah Schmidt (215, Sr., 43-6)

"Noah is another senior leader for the team. He's been a consistent high performer for the team throughout his four-year career. He currently has more than 150 career wins and is a two-time state place winner, placing fourth in 2024 and second in 2025. Both of those placements were at 285, however he has moved down this year. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the state, however he is 1-1 on the year with the No. 1 ranked wrestler. We believe Noah has everything it takes to be a state champion."

TYLER CONSOLIDATED

Wesley Kelly (120, Jr., 29-8)

Kelly placed third in the regional.

Gideon Winfrey (150, Jr., 25-15)

Winfrey finished third in the regional and was No. 5 in the final state rankings.

Israel Winfrey (175, Soph., 29-8)

Winfrey took third in the regional.

WEIR

Chad Artman (126, Fr., 5-0)

This frosh shocked the regional by upsetting a returning state D-I runnerup in his first match and knocking off the No. 2 seed in the finals.

He was injured in the early season.

Jonathan Rhodes (150, Jr., 33-13)

Rhodes finished third in the regionals.

Joshua DeFelice (165, Jr., 39-8)

DeFelice was a regional runnerup.

Hunter Streng (175, Jr., 28-17)

Steng took fourth at the regional.

Ben Bryan (190, Sr., 36-6)

Bryan was the top-ranked wrestler in the state in the final rankings, but finished third in the regional.

Brock Hebb (285, Sr., 11-7)

Hebb finished fourth at the regional

WHEELING CENTRAL

Tylique Marshall (113, Sr., 28-9)

"This is Tylique's second trip to Huntington and I am looking forward to watching him get after it," Head coach Rick Welker said. "He has had two really good weeks of practice and is anticipating a great tournament."

Marshall was a regional runnerup and was No. 5 in the final state rankings.

Trenton McCardle (165, Soph., 26-9)

"Trenton has worked his tail off this year and essentially willed himself to the state tournament," Welker said. "I love that he wrestles with no fear and has the mindset that he can beat anyone. He loves physical battles and does not shy away from aggressive action. He's been fun to coach and watch improve every day."

McCardle finished third in the regional.

Wyatt Brady (190, Sr., 23-5)

"Wyatt is back after missing his junior season state tournament due to injury," Welker said. "He is getting dialed in and I think he can make a deep, deep run. Coming out of a tough region and not finishing where he wanted, I am sure he will make adjustments and be ready to go. He is wanting to finish this off his way."

Brady finished fourth in a stacked regional. He was ranked No. 3 in the final state rankings.

Dustin Sanner (215, Jr., 20-5)

"Dustin's athleticism is a problem. He's very strong and fast ... very powerful," Welker added. "He had a great season and a strong performance at regionals. His raw, basic style of wrestling suits any match and he can wear his opponent down. He has a ton of confidence and if he can get going early in the tournament, I think he, too, can go deep."

Sanner lost to Schmidt in the regional finals.

Dominic Paesani (285, Jr., 22-8)

"I'm excited to see Dom in Huntington. He has worked extremely hard for this weekend," Walker stressed. "His constant move-forward style creates stalls and opportunities. He is very athletic and strong. I expect to see him on the podium come Saturday night."

Paesani, ranked No. 2 in the final state rankings, also finished as a regional runnerup.

The top six placers in each weight class earn all-state honors.