By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer | garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
The Woodruff High School wrestling teams have been navigating a gauntlet of dual matches and tournaments since the holidays, with region competition underway as well.
Despite injuries, the men’s team has competed well with the girls’ team, also placing well in tournaments. It continues the strong turnaround under head coach Austin Weathers, who returned to coach at his alma mater following a successful tenure at Hillcrest, which included the 5A team state championship in 2021.
The Wolverines competed in the T.L. Hanna Jacket Invitational on December 27 and finished sixth as a team with 95 total points. Josh Mulak won first place in his weight class, with CJ Smith and Grayson Butler taking runner-up honors, and Rachel Hayes and Adrian Hill finished third.
Despite missing four starters, Woodruff finished 11th out of 20 teams at the West-Oak KO Sportswear Invitational on January 4. Mulak finished third at 150 pounds while Butler and Smith took home fourth-place honors against a stacked field of competition.
The Wolverines opened region competition with a duals match at Broome High School on January 7, again missing several starters, and fell in a tight 45-33 match despite many standout performances.
The girls’ wrestling team competed at the Lady Rebel Invitational at Byrnes High School on January 10 and came away with a seventh-place finish out of 18 teams with 104.5 points and several individual honors.
At Byrnes, Rachel Hayes took home runner-up honors, with Mattie Rhodes and Tylar Smith finishing in third place. Itzary De La Garza and Zirhianna Stoudemire each finished fourth in their respective class.
Woodruff will jump back into region duals over the next couple of weeks, with a home duals match against Mountain View Prep coming up on January 21.
Author: gmitchell85
