McLean Wrestlers Mount Comeback

McLean roared back from a 24-0 deficit to defeat host Stonewall Jackson 37-36 Jan 15 in Manassas. The Highlanders fell to Manchester from Richmond, 43-27, in their other dual.

After falling behind 24-0 to Stonewall, McLean got consecutive wins from Troy Hayre (fall) at 130, Sean Flint (6-4) at 135, Neil Moyer (8-6) at 135, and Brendan Griffin (fall) at 145 to narrow the score to 24-18. In his first match back since knee surgery in December, Danny Houck dropped an 11-7 decision at 152, and Andrew Smith lost 5-2, giving Stonewall a 30-18 lead.

McLean kept clawing, however, and Jeremy Bussard (171) and Andrew Ullrich (189) tied the match with consecutive falls, and Tim Goodsell (215) put the Highlanders ahead for the first time with a pin of his own. Although 275-pounder Shane Mills was pinned after leading his match, McLean won the criteria tiebreaker point to take the 37-36 win.

In the second match with Manchester, the Highlanders fell behind 33-0 but this time, were unable to catch up. Griffin and Goodsell won by fall, Bussard and Smith grabbed forfeits, and Andrew Ullrich won by decision to account for the Highlanders’ 27 points. McLean was scheduled for a third match with Loudoun Valley, however, Loudoun bowed out due to a team-wide illness.

The Highlanders will take a 12-7 dual meet record into next Saturday’s quad meet at Manassas Park. Manassas Park was the 2003 Virginia Class A state champion before moving up to AA last season. Chantilly and a third school will also participate.

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com