The VHSL Class 3 Region D wrestling tournament was held at Staunton River High School on Feb. 7 with 13 schools participating. Cave Spring (Roanoke) finished in first place while Staunton River finished in second. The complete order of finish is below with total team points:
- Cave Spring (218.5)
- Staunton River (190.5)
- Northside (168)
- William Byrd (167)
- Christiansburg (160)
- Lord Botetourt (140)
- Pulaski County (120)
- Magna Vista (89.5)
- Hidden Valley (71.5)
- Tunstall (54)
- Abingdon (43.5)
- Carroll County (32)
- Bassett (27)
Seven Golden Eagle wrestlers advanced to the championship round of the regional tournament. Finishing in first place were:
- Graydon Martin (126 pounds)
- Nolan Milton (138 pounds)
- Lawson Ayers (165 pounds)
- Colton McGuire (175 pounds)
Runner-up regional finishers for Staunton River were:
- Cam Moore (113 pounds)
- Cael Short (132 pounds)
- Owen Borden (150 pounds)
Staunton River won back-to-back state title in 2023 and 2024 and finished second in the state tournament in 2025. Several wrestlers from that historic run graduated last year including Noah Nininger, Macon Ayers, Landon Jobber-Spence and Colin Martin—all of whom are currently wrestling at Division I schools. Nininger finished his career at Staunton River winning four state titles; Macon Ayers and Colin Martin finished with three state titles; Jobber-Spence finished with two.
This year’s team is young, but Head Coach Scott Fike said they are working hard to maintain and exceed the standard the program has set.
On what’s been the biggest obstacle this year, Fike said, “We are young team, so I would say just going through the ups and downs throughout the year and not getting too high or too low and just continuing to get better week by week,” he noted. “[We’re working] to find what works best for each wrestler while striving to get better for the post season and to peak at the right time.”…