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The James River High School senior won his third consecutive state championship on Saturday night at Virginia High鈥檚 Bearcat Den to cap a dominant season in which he compiled a 40-1 record.

鈥淭his one鈥檚 definitely special because it鈥檚 my last high school match,鈥� Wynn said. 鈥淚t meant a lot to finish out strong.鈥�

Back when Wynn won his first state championship in 2023 with a victory over John Battle鈥檚 Owen Almany in the finals, a video of his father rushing on the mat at the Salem Civic Center and letting his son slam him went viral after becoming popular on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

Earnest Wynn was in attendance again on Saturday.

鈥淚 made sure my dad was in my corner because he hasn鈥檛 been a mat-side coach for me in a long time,鈥� Xaiden Wynn said.

There was no zany celebration this time.

鈥淎 little more subdued,鈥� Wynn said. 鈥淪houtout to Coach Bobby [Stewart], he gave me a little recommendation for my celebration to be the flex with the three up in the air and I had to go with that.鈥�

Wynn certainly flexed his muscles in a dominant 12-3 major decision against Poquoson鈥檚 Brayden Bunting in the title match.

鈥淧oquoson has always been a super strong team,鈥� Wynn said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e known for bringing studs to the table and you know you鈥檙e going to have a pretty tough match when you have a Poquoson kid against ya.鈥�

Yet, Wynn had been here before and knows what it takes.

鈥淛ust confidence,鈥� Wynn said. 鈥淢aking sure I didn鈥檛 have any pre-match butterflies. Family focus, God focus; give everything I have to Christ, give everything I have to my family and leave it all on the mat for my final high school match.鈥�

Wynn finished his career with more than 100 pins, and he鈥檚 pinned down his future plans as he will attend Cleary University, a NAIA school in Michigan.

鈥淚 just had to finish strong,鈥� Wynn said. 鈥淔ocus on my future goals, not just these. 鈥� I鈥檓 looking forward to becoming hopefully a conference champ for them.鈥�

While the state tournament was shifted from Salem to Bristol this year after wintry weather created some scheduling conflicts, there was still a Salem feel as the Glenvar Highlanders had two state champs.

Freshman Levi Wright secured 126-pound gold by pinning Nandua鈥檚 Arnoldson Destine in 5:01.

鈥淭he second period I rode him out the whole period and that was good in breaking him,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淪ince I was young, this has always been my goal.鈥�

With a lengthy wait between the semifinals and finals, Wright managed to keep his focus right.

鈥淚 left the building a couple of times and refreshed my mind,鈥� Wright said.

Chase Miller (190) also stood atop the podium for Glenvar.

Radford鈥檚 Taven Williams (165) and Cole Martin (175) won state titles back-to-back, each winning by major decision.

VHSL Class 2 Tournament

March 1

At Virginia High鈥檚 Bearcat Den

Team Scores

Poquoson 242.5, Strasburg 173, Wise County Central 114, Glenvar 103.5, Richlands 89.5, Union 74.5, Fort Defiance 67, Riverheads 66.5, Radford 63, Lebanon 59.5, James River 52.5, Nandua 47, Chatham 37, Marion 32, Patrick County 32, Dan River 31, Randolph-Henry 31, King William 29, Liberty-Bedford 27.5, Madison County 27, Clarke County 25.5, Lee High 24, John Battle 21, Stonewall Jackson 21, Graham 17, Page County 15.5, Nottoway 15, Amelia 14, Floyd County 13, Virginia High 10.5, Martinsville 9, Bruton 7, Windsor 7, Central-Woodstock 2.5

Championship Finals

106 鈥� Kam Harrell (Poquoson) maj. dec. Mason Wood (Riverheads), 12-0; 113 鈥� Xaiden Wynn (James River) maj. dec. Brayden Bunting (Poquoson), 12-3; 120 鈥� Dylan Padgett (Nandua) dec. Logan Keese (Poquoson), 8-3; 126 鈥� Levi Wright (Glenvar) pinned Arnoldson Destine (Nandua), 5:01; 132 鈥� Jared Goodson (Poquoson) dec. Brayden Owsley (Wise Central), 9-2; 138 鈥� Canaan Spears (Union) pinned Brice Jones (Dan River), 1:46; 144 鈥� Bryan Latta (Poquoson) maj. dec. Peyton Dean (Strasburg), 8-0; 150 鈥� Reed Booth (Poquoson) tech. fall Lucas Martinez (Strasburg), 17-2; 157 鈥� Ian Ray (Lebanon) dec. Christian Leonard (Poquoson), 9-7; 165 鈥� Taven Williams (Radford) maj. dec. Landon Yoder (Fort Defiance) 17-4; 175 鈥� Cole Martin (Radford) maj. dec. Nathaniel Quiroz (Poquoson), 10-0; 190 鈥� Chase Miller (Glenvar) tech. fall Austin Conley (Poquoson), 16-1 (1:39); 215 鈥� Luke Josey (Wise Central) maj. dec. Paul Pascale (Patrick County), 18-8; 285 鈥� Hutson Conrad (Strasburg) pinned Isaak Olvera (Lebanon), 1:04.

Third-Place Matches

106 鈥� Nolan Adolphson (Strasburg) tech. fall Maddox Heck (King William), 16-1 (2:50); 113 鈥� Luke Salyer (Wise Central) dec. Aiden Swink (Strasburg), 5-3; 120 鈥� Alex Salyer (Wise Central) pinned Jerry S. Mendoza (Stonewall Jackson), 0:59; 126 鈥� Kelan Ventro (Wise Central) def. Conner Miller (Strasburg), medical forfeit; 132 鈥� Brayden Forbes (James River) dec. Eli Penix (Lee High), 5-3; 138 鈥� Bryson Cash (Riverheads) dec. Jadon Shanholtz (Strasburg), 11-6; 144 鈥� Wyatt Spencer (Richlands) dec. Nathan Stewart (James River), 7-0; 150 鈥� Brayden Keen (Lebanon) dec. Keith Gerhard (Madison County), 4-0; 157 鈥� Matt Marlow (Chatham) maj. dec. Andrew Boyd (Richlands), 11-2; 165 鈥� Ean Baker (Union) dec. Derek Kennedy (Poquoson), 1-0; 175 鈥� Carson Duckworth (Strasburg) dec. Adam Wimer (Fort Defiance), 13-7; 190 鈥� Kaden Dillman (Union) pinned Harper Sherman (Strasburg), 3:00; 215 鈥� Brayden Agnese (Poquoson) dec. Tre Wheeler (Randolph-Henry), 5-1; 285 鈥� Trevor Dupree (Richlands) pinned Corey McPhearson (King William), 2:46.

Fifth-Place Matches

106 鈥� Evan Brinkley (Wise County Central) def. Nick Yetzer (Glenvar), injury default; 113 鈥� Jack Yetzer (Glenvar) pinned Mariah Roberts (Riverheads), 4:40; 120 鈥� Jacob Flowers (Glenvar) dec. Ean Schenck (Union), 6-1; 126 鈥� Max Golliher (Marion) pinned Carson Crank (Riverheads), 2:18; 132 鈥� Braeden Martinez (Strasburg) tech. fall Matt Mayr (Clarke County), 19-2 (5:00); 138 鈥� Haden Henderson (Glenvar) pinned Mason Harrington (Virginia High), 1:31; 144 鈥� Mike Shifflett (Page County) dec. Owen Penix (Lee High), 9-6; 150 鈥� Leland Altizer (Graham) maj. dec. Tristan Faidley (John Battle), 12-3; 157 鈥� Mat McNeil (Liberty-Bedford) maj. dec. Colton Lewis (Nottoway), 11-2; 165 鈥� Hunter Blankenship (Richlands) tech. fall Cam McCarty (Clarke County), 17-1 (3:32); 175 鈥� Douglas Blevins (John Battle) pinned Pat Collins (Randolph-Henry), 2:37; 190 鈥� Zane Sayre (Fort Defiance) pinned Ethan Whitt (Marion), 0:16; 215 鈥� Luke Schumann (Floyd County) pinned Logan Moore (Union), 1:16; 285 鈥� Kylin White (Dan River) dec.. Cam Smith (Fort Defiance), 10-8.