Last Friday, Ryan Almond, Sean Raftery and Billy Knabe did something none of their grappling Hornet predecessors had never done before—they participated in the State AAA wrestling meet.
Fresh off their stellar regional runs, the Hornets traveled to Robinson High School in Fairfax to battle with the state’s best. And while none of the three came home state champions, Almond and Raftery earned places on the podium with sixth and seventh-place finishes, respectively.
Almond, the regional runner-up in the 152-pound class, opened his state tournament by beating Ocean Lakes’ Paul Dadaian 8-5. But in his next match, he lost 6-4 to eventual state champion Beau Donahue of Westfield. Dropped to the losers’ bracket, Almond beat Franklin County’s Justin Altice 5-1, before falling to Stone Bridge’s Jonathan Faulconer 3-0. In the fifth-place match, he fell to Thomas Dale’s Alex Turley and wound up sixth.
Raftery, the regional 160-pound champ, blanked Menchville’s Brad Sullivan 10-0 in his first match. In his second match, he lost 7-4 to state runner-up Ryan Forrest of South Lakes. In the losers’ bracket, Raftery topped Patrick Fleming from J.R. Tucker High School 11-0. In his next match, Raftery fell to Salem’s Torrance Brown, setting up a match for seventh place. There, he topped Hickory’s Mason Mele 6-5 to finish seventh.
Billy Knabe (285), who was third at the regional meet, opened with a loss to Mario Ramirez of Atlee and then fell to Yorktown’s Charlie Whelden to end his state title hopes.
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