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The Grayson County High School senior was victorious in the 150-pound weight class during the VHSL Class 1 state wrestling tournament on Saturday at Virginia High鈥檚 Bearcat Den and earned some atonement in the process.

He was the leading rusher for Grayson County鈥檚 football squad, which suffered a 22-0 loss to the Essex Trojans in the state finals and that setback set in motion a mission to mine some gold in another sport.

So, Peterson returned to the mat after taking a couple of years off from the sport. Good choice.

鈥淲e got really close to doing it in football,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淚 really wanted to get a ring, so I had to come get it.鈥�

His season-long quest was completed as he capped a winning winter by pinning Parry McCluer鈥檚 Jackson Brockenbrough in 5:18 in the finals.

Did that ease some of the sting of that runner-up finish in football?

鈥淵eah, it does,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淎 lot.鈥�

Peterson celebrated the occasion by performing a backflip after sticking Brockenbrough鈥檚 shoulders to the mat.

Grayson County 126-pounder Caleb Thompson also had a first-place finish as he pinned Fort Chiswell鈥檚 Jack Hughes in 4:38.

Other Timesland winners included junior John Smith of Giles (175) and the Rural Retreat trio of Houston Bear (106), Caleb Gibson (120) and Chaz Penwright (144).

Smith has a common name but one that will be remembered in school history as the first-ever state wrestling champion for the Giles Spartans.

鈥淚t feels great,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭his is just my third year ever wrestling.鈥�

Smith showed plenty of poise in the finals as he gutted out a 5-4 win over Grundy鈥檚 Brody Ford.

Ford got a first-period takedown and held that 3-0 lead into the third period, relying on stalling tactics to retain his lead.

鈥淚 knew I was in trouble when he got that first takedown,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淛ust a crazy match.鈥�

Smith finally scored with time running out.

鈥淚 just said I have to go for it,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淔ifteen seconds on the clock, I didn鈥檛 have (time) to wait anymore.鈥�

Bear, Gibson and Penwright didn鈥檛 have such trouble in helping Rural Retreat finished as runner-up to Grundy鈥檚 juggernaut in the team standings. The Golden Wave finished with a total of 278.5 points in winning their 10th consecutive team title and 28th overall.

Grundy鈥檚 six individual champions included 215-pounder Wyatt Bush, who won his fourth championship.

The Indians (192), Grayson County (171.5), Bath County (88) and Holston (85.5) rounded out the top five.

Bear鈥檚 finals match began at 10:11 p.m. and a few seconds later he gained the upper hand in an eventual 9-0 major decision over Grundy鈥檚 Colton Clevinger.

鈥淛ust keep in control of the match, that鈥檚 the key,鈥� Bear said. 鈥淓specially against Grundy, you let them get an inch and they鈥檒l take a mile. You have to stay in control the whole match.鈥�

Gibson became a three-time state champ with an 8-1 decision over Grundy鈥檚 Bryce Looney, his longtime nemesis.

Looney had beaten Gibson in the Region 1D title match.

Gibson won in the final chapter between the adversaries.

鈥淚鈥檓 pretty sure that鈥檚 the fifth time I鈥檝e wrestled him,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淎ll of them except that one were decided by one point.鈥�

How did Gibson flip the script from his previous loss to Looney?

鈥淚 have no clue,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 just the mindset. Coming in with confidence.鈥�

Gibson showed little emotion after the win with no histrionic celebration.

鈥淣ah, I like staying calm,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淚 just want to keep getting better.鈥�

Penwright was pumped up after he posted a 7-1 decision over Grundy鈥檚 Graham Pittman in the finals.

鈥淚t feels amazing,鈥� Penwright said. 鈥淚 just relied on the thought of how hard I have worked to get to that point and take what I deserve.鈥�

He also watched his teammates precede him with triumphs.

鈥淚t definitely boosted my confidence knowing we had already been dominating,鈥� Penwright said. 鈥淚t just gave me the will and desire to go out there and win another one.鈥�

While Rural Retreat went 3-0 in its head-to-head showdowns with Grundy grapplers, the Indians finished as runner-up in the team race to the Golden Wave for the fifth time in eight years.

鈥淚t honestly feels great because they dominate in a lot of places,鈥� Penwright said. 鈥淭o be able to dominate enough to come up second feels good and we have an amazing program too.鈥�

Grayson County鈥檚 Bo Anders (113), Fort Chiswell鈥檚 Jack Hughes (126), Chilhowie鈥檚 Jaxson Guinn (132), Brockenbrough, Galax鈥檚 Braeden Whitaker (157), George Wythe鈥檚 Trey Sparks (190) and Fort Chiswell鈥檚 Brenden Mabry (285) had second-place showings.

VHSL Class 1 State Tournament

March 1

At Virginia High鈥檚 Bearcat Den

Team Scores

Grundy 278.5, Rural Retreat 192, Grayson County 171.5, Bath County 88, Holston 85.5, Galax 69, Giles 68, Parry McCluer 64.5, Mathews 63, George Wythe 57.5, Eastside 57, Fort Chiswell 57, Westmoreland 55.5, Castlewood 49.5, Northampton 40.5, Northwood 40, Buffalo Gap 35, Chilhowie 33, Honaker 29.5, Rappahannock 22.5, Essex 16.5, Cumberland 13, Lancaster 10, King and Queen Central 9, J.I. Burton 7, Franklin 6

Championship Finals

106 鈥� Houston Bear (Rural Retreat) maj. dec. Colton Clevinger (Grundy), 9-0; 113 鈥� Hunter Dye (Honaker) dec. Bo Anders (Grayson County), 3-2; 120 鈥� Caleb Gibson (Rural Retreat) dec. Bryce Looney (Grundy), 8-1; 126 鈥� Caleb Thompson (Grayson County) pinned Jack Hughes (Fort Chiswell), 4:38; 132 鈥� Talan Hall (Grundy) pinned Jaxson Guinn (Chilhowie), 1:26; 138 鈥� Nick Ward (Eastside) def. Brody Coleman (Grundy), 2-1 (OT, TB-1); 144 鈥� Chaz Penwright (Rural Retreat) dec. Graham Pittman (Grundy), 7-1; 150 鈥� Aaron Peterson (Grayson County) pinned Jackson Brockenbrough (Parry McCluer), 5:18; 157 鈥� Shaiem Gordon (Grundy) tech. fall Braeden Whitaker (Galax), 20-2 (2:16); 165 鈥� Carson Deel (Grundy) maj. dec. Jake Bush (Castlewood), 10-2; 175 鈥� John Smith (Giles) dec. Brody Ford (Grundy), 5-4; 190 鈥� Talen Looney (Grundy) pinned Trey Sparks (George Wythe), 1:00; 215 鈥� Wyatt Bush (Grundy) tech. fall Aiden Acord (Buffalo Gap), 18-3 (3:17); 285 鈥� Luke Shelton (Grundy) dec. Brenden Mabry (Fort Chiswell), 8-6

Third-Place Matches

106 鈥� Dalton Arden (Holston) pinned Alliya Walker (Grayson County), 2:31; 113 鈥� Eli Castellanos (Westmoreland) tech. fall Gradyn Gibson (Rural Retreat), 19-4 (3:43); 120 鈥� Cole Dipietro (Holston) pinned JT Porter (Grayson County), 2:41; 126 鈥� Franklin Cardenas (Mathews) dec. Cristhian Zaldivar (Galax), 8-4; 132 鈥� Justin Walker (Rural Retreat) dec. Salvador Cardenas (Mathews), 5-4; 138 鈥� Hayden Collini (Giles) dec. Sarmont Badziev (Rural Retreat), 9-2; 144 鈥� Ed Morales (Galax) pinned Ed Sherlinki (Grayson County), 1:59; 150 鈥� Hunter Pennington (Rural Retreat) dec. Mason McCoy (Eastside), 8-5; 157 鈥� Ivan Schaible (Mathews) dec. Gabe Foster (Holston), 11-5; 165 鈥� Trenton Hall (George Wythe) pinned Ethan Bryant (Bath County), 2:47; 175 鈥� Preston Jones (Grayson County) pinned Adolfo Valencia (Westmoreland), 4:39; 190 鈥� Ken Madison (Rappahannock) pinned Grayson Irvin (Rural Retreat), 3:12; 215 鈥� Will Brown (Northwood) pinned Tyler Stafford (Giles), 3:54; 285 鈥� Jacob Young (Castlewood) dec. Ty Shaver (Bath County), 7-1.

Fifth-Place Matches

106 鈥� Caleb Harrington (Bath County) pinned Jake Coffey (Buffalo Gap), 1:53; 113 鈥� Dodger Sluder (Holston) pinned Cal Hudson (King and Queen Central), 0:42; 120 鈥� Brody Julian (Parry McCluer) maj. dec. Isreal Birch (Northampton), 14-1; 126 鈥� Gabe Crewey (Rural Retreat) dec. Maddox Buchanan (Holston), 4-3; 132 鈥� Jordan Brockenbrough (Parry McCluer) dec. Joel Bush (Castlewood), 9-4; 138 鈥� Cyler Driscoll (Parry McCluer) pinned Dylan Bock (Westmoreland), 2:58; 144 鈥� Paxton Rivenbark (Bath County) pinned Andrew Daggins (Northampton), 4:22; 150 鈥� River Diaz (Lancaster) maj. dec. Jessie Monastyrly (Mathews), 13-2; 157 鈥� Jeremy Burns (Bath County) pinned Benton Wagoner (Grayson County), 2:28; 165 鈥� Ian Bear (Rural Retreat) dec. Kylian Martin (Chilhowie), 1-0; 175 鈥� Dayton Stanley (Eastside) pinned Riley Hall (George Wythe), 2:24; 190 鈥� Jamie Dean (Cumberland) pinned Jerry Sturgis (Northampton), 1:40; 215 鈥� Palmer Hubbard (Northampton) pinned Levi Blevins (Fort Chiswell), 3:36; 285 鈥� Austin Huffman (Westmoreland) pinned Gabe Frye (Northwood), 0:17