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Class 4 Wrestling: Burch, Rogers finish as state runner-ups

Photo by Anna Isley

On a weekend where what’s believed to be the largest contingent of local wrestlers to earn Class 4 state tournament berths headed to Virginia Beach, a pair of Jefferson District wrestlers battled their way on to the state’s biggest stage. 

 

It didn’t end the way that Waylon Rogers and Joey Burch wanted it to end as Orange’s Rogers and Western’s Burch fell in the state championship matches, but both put together impressive runs as state runner-ups in a challenging field dominated by team champion Great Bridge, the 20-time state champions. 

 

Burch, a senior and the Region 4D champion at 170 pounds, picked up a pair of pins Friday in the first two rounds to advance to Saturday’s semifinals where he faced Region 4C champion Royce Hall. Trailing 1-0 going into the third period, Burch fought back, notching a reversal. A quick escape by Hall evened the match and then Burch came up with a late takedown to avoid overtime and punch his ticket to the state championship match. 

 

In the title match, Burch ran up against Great Bridge junior Noah Lawrence. Lawrence took the more aggressive approach, but Burch held off his efforts and then earned a reversal just seconds into the second period, but Lawrence immediately answered to tie the match at 2-2. That didn’t change much for Burch’s approach.

 

“I would’ve liked to have been on top to ride because that’s my strong suit but it didn’t change much,” Burch said.

 

Burch escaped with 1:20 left to take a 3-2 lead going into the third. Lawrence escaped in the third period to even the match at 3-3 and then Burch, after getting a warning for stalling, got hit with a stalling penalty with 17 seconds left, giving Lawrence a 4-3 lead and the title. 

 

“I was just trying to get some shots off, and I probably should have some re-attacks and re-shots off his attempts but he’s a great wrestler, he pushed the pace and I was really worn out,” Burch said.

 

The loss wraps up Burch’s prep career with this year’s state runner-up finish, a pair of region titles, more than 100 career wins and a fifth place finish as a junior in Class 3 states. It’s been an impressive run.

 

“I’m proud of everything that I’ve accomplished and we’ve accomplished as a team and I just hope some of our younger wrestlers can use me as a role model,” Burch said.

 

Rogers, just a sophomore, pinned his way into the final with pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, advancing to the championship a year after a first round loss put him in the consolation bracket right away. That loss a year ago though ended up playing a big role Saturday as Loudoun County junior Bryson Rios, who beat Rogers a year ago with a pin in that first round match, ended up being his state title match opponent. After going three periods with Rios Saturday, Rogers’ growth was evident.

 

“I saw him last year in the first round of states and that wasn’t a very good match for me,” Rogers said. “I ended up catching myself on my back and it just ended right there. He told me that he didn’t think I’d be much of a problem, but I’m assuming he knows now I’m a lot tougher than last year.”

 

Unfortunately for Rogers, he ran into a struggle right away, though not from Rios. Late in the first period, Rogers had to start managing a bloody nose when his own knee collided with his nose. 

 

“I just really wasn’t expecting things to turn out like that, I figured if I was going to get another nose bleed today it would at least be from them hitting me, not myself,” Rogers said. “But I had the same goal in mind afterward.”

 

Rogers eventually had to wear a head wrap to contain the nose bleed and Rios scored a second period reversal. Rogers couldn’t find an answer in the rest of the second or third despite multiple standup attempts in the third, with Rios both riding effectively and countering whatever Rogers attempted. 

 

The sophomore’s improvement from fifth to second over one year at 106 pounds shows he’s on his way to potentially finding himself at the top of the podium with two more years to go. 

 

“Being back here and getting the opportunity to go for first, it just means a whole lot to me,” Rogers said.

 

Louisa, Orange wrestlers find podium

 

Rogers and Burch weren’t the only locals to reach the podium in Virginia Beach. Defending state champion Owen Greslick finished third at 126 pounds for Louisa County, Orange County’s Justin Jones finished fourth at 113 pounds and Ethan Turner took fourth at 132 pounds. 

 

Greslick got upset in the state quarterfinals in a sudden victory, overtime loss to Sherando’s Tyler Koerner.

 

“I was doing the same moves over and over again and it clearly wasn’t working,” Greslick said. “Knowing I lost, I was like I think I have a chance to wrestle this kid again.”

 

The senior bounced back to rip his way through the consolations with a 9-1 win followed by two pins to earn his way into the third place match, a rematch with Koerner. Greslick went to work in the third place bout, rolling 16-0 to finish his prep career with a technical fall. 

 

“Right before my match I was talking to my dad and I was like I might do X-Y-Z, I’m pretty sure I can get a takedown every single time,” Greslick said. “I think I hit that takedown two or three times against him that match, I made the adjustments and won.”

 

Turner’s fourth place finish came in the wake of a semifinal loss by just 6-5, and after he won a consolation semifinal on a forfeit, Turner faced a rematch with Smithfield’s Nik Voros who he’d beat in the quarterfinals. Voros avenged that loss with a narrow 6-4 decision.  

 

“I feel like I could’ve done a little bit better,” Turner said, but he knows how special it is to have three Orange wrestlers on the podium. “It was awesome, we won regionals and everything.”

 

Turner is a junior who’ll get one more run at a state championship next year.

 

Jones lost in the quarterfinals on a tech fall and then reeled off two straight decisions to push his way into the consolation semifinals. He dropped a decision there and then won a wild 11-10 decision in the fifth place match to cement his spot on the podium. Six matches in two days, with five of them going the distance made for an incredible grind in Virginia Beach.

 

“It was a tough tournament, I didn’t finish the way I wanted to, but fifth as a freshman is nothing to be sad about,” Jones said. “I was really ready to go, but I’ll be back next year.”

 

 

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