If Bridgeport High School had a full roster of wrestlers, there’s a chance they could place extremely high in this weekend’s Class AA-A state wrestling tournament in Huntington. The Indians are one of 55 schools that have representation at the event starting Thursday and finishing Saturday at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

 

Despite having six participants among the 14 weight classes, only eight of the 55 schools involved have more wrestlers participating than the Tribe. Just how well they do will be determined starting Thursday.

 

The good news, according to second-year Coach Chris Courtney, is that the entire team – including those not qualifying – have had a good week of practice. And they’ve done so despite the distractions involving rumors the entire meet could be scrapped or postponed with the planned statewide teacher walkout set for Thursday and Friday.

 

“We had a good week of practice,” said Courtney heading into this week. “The whole team practiced.  They were dialed-in.  It is very refreshing to see our non-qualifiers showing up and putting in effort to prepare their teammates,” said Courtney. “This will go far next year in getting them ready for next season.

 

“We took a couple of days off from mat work and worked on strength and conditioning,” Courtney continued. “We have transitioned back to more mat work cleaning up our techniques and getting mentally prepared for Huntington.”

 

The team will be heading out Thursday morning. The group of Kavaughn Summer, Kemo Summers, Aidan Gibson, Addison Courtney, Austin Gibson and Benson Bassell.

 

“All the guys have the same chance at the start of the tournament. They have all shown improvement over the last few weeks. They all deserve to be in the top 16 of their weight class,” said Courtney. “Their records are essentially 0-0. They all need to focus on their first opponent and battle for six minutes.  They can cast aside previous matches with opponents, won or lost. Anything can happen during a six minute match.”

 

The tournament is bracketed. Courtney said regional will face fourth place finishers from other regions and the regional runner ups will face off with third place finishers from other regions and vice versa. 

 

“This format seeds the tournament but means nothing else.  Once the whistle blows we have to get after it.  The task at hand is win one match at a time.  We are not approaching it any other way,” said Courtney.

 

Starting at the 126 class, Aidan Gibson will bring his 40-10 mark to Huntington. He will battle Nicholas County’s Kyle Baker (34-14) in the opening round.

 

Kemo Summers, 36-10, will get the call at 132. He faces Lincoln County’s Tyler Messinger (19-9) on Thursday.

 

At 138, Addison Courtney will represent the Tribe and bring at 28-14 mark into the event. He faces Khaleb Fazenbaker (37-12) of East Fairmont to start things off.

 

Austin Gibson will wear the Tribe’s colors at 152 and will bring a 38-11 mark with him. Gibson will battle Wahama’s Ethan Herdman (37-9) Thursday.

 

The 170-pound classification will see the Indians’ Benson Bassell (38-14) squaring off against Greenbrier West’s Chase Patterson. Patterson is 42-5.

 

At 220-pound, Bridgeport will have junior Kavaughn Summers looking to bring home a title and enters Huntington with a near flawless 31-1 mark. He will square off against Logan Price of PikeView (37-12).

 

Courtney said he’s prepared the team in the same manner he would regardless of the ongoing teacher situation. He said that’s what he’s paid to do.

 

“My job remains the same. I need to get my six wrestlers mentally and physically prepared. We have taught them to focus on their performances only,” said Courtney. “I can't have them focusing on what they cannot control. If the state event is changed in some fashion I will rely on the guidance of our experienced administration.”

 

Weigh-ins begin for the ‘AA-A’ division at 4 p.m. Thursday. The first session, which consists of 224 matches on eight mats, starts Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The session is expected to last nearly four hours.

 

Action continues on Friday with a 9:30 a.m. weigh-in followed by two sessions. The second session starts at 11:30 a.m. and includes the quarterfinals, and the first and second round consolation brackets. The third session starts at 7:30 p.m. and features the championship semifinals and the third round consolation matches.

 

For those still left, they will compete Saturday. Weigh-in is at 8:30 a.m. with the consolation finals and semifinals beginning at 10:30 a.m. At 6 p.m., the championship finals will take place.

 

Cost to attend is $8 for adults and $7 for students. Click HERE for the entire brackets for the Class AA-A division.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Kavauhgn Summers, while his brother Kemo Summers is in the middle. Bottom photo shows the Indians' Austin Gibson.