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HUNTINGTON -- Buckhannon-Upshur's Ian Cornett and Liam Garcia will wrestle for state titles this evening inside Mountain State Arena.
Cornett, a junior, earned a spot in the Class AAA 113-pound finals by defeating Washington's Caleb Sprinstead by pin fall in the quarterfinals and also pinning Parkersburg South's Cole Smith in the semifinals.
Cornett faces Woodrow Wilson junior Garrett Johnson in the championship at approximately 6:14 p.m. today.
Garcia, in the 120-pound weight class, pinned Cabell Midland's Isaac Wiseman in the quarterfinals and then took an 8-2 decision against Parkersburg South's Cade Staats in the 120-pound class.
Garcia, a senior, will now battle Washington sophomore Kai Plinski in a rematch of the 2023 title bout -- won by Plinski by pin fall -- at approximately 6:21 p.m.
The Bucs' Andrew McDowell lost to Huntington's Garrin Arthur in the 138-pound quarterfinals by a 4-3 decision and then defeated St. Albans' Eli Derr in the consolation round by pin fall.
McDowell then assured himself of a spot on the podium by pinning Spring Mills' Blake Messic. He meets Greenbrier East's Kaden Stone this morning, with the winner advancing to the third-place match and the loser going into the fifth-place match.
In the 215-pound weight class, B-U's Oscar Blonn lost to Parkersburg South's Ayden Morris by pin fall in the quarterfinals and later defeated Capital's Elias Cottrell by pin fall in the consolation bracket. He then lost to Woodrow Wilson's Landon Jones by a 7-3 decision.
Jeremiah Thompson, meanwhile, defeated Greenbrier East's Carlos Rodrigo by pin fall in his first consolation match at 175, before falling to Washington's Adrian Lopez by a 12-6 decision.
In Class AA-A, Philip Barbour's Marshall Nuzum claimed a 6-3 win over Liberty-Raleigh's Isaac Williams in the consolation bracket at 150 pounds, then lost to Moorefield's Riley Pillus by pin fall.
Elkins' Tucker Twigg (138) lost to Greenbrier West's Jon Painter, 12-5, in the consolation bracket and Philip Barbour's Kylen Rosencrance (106) lost by pin fall to Poca's Nick Graley at 106.
The consolation finals are on tap for this morning and afternoon, with the championship matches getting underway this evening.