New Kent’s Darber wins state weight class; Trojans place ninth overall in 3A wrestling

New Kent’s Caden Darber won his weight division while teammate Cade Sanders placed second in his classification at the 3A state wrestling championships held Feb. 19-20 in Salem. The Trojans scored 49 points to finish ninth overall.

Darber (46-5) opened competition in the 132-pound division with a 10-0 major decision over Staunton River’s Nathan Kearnes. In the semifinals, he posted a narrow 3-1 decision over Cave Spring’s Josh McCray before easing past Christianburg’s Josh Linkous 9-3 for the title.

Sanders (45-3) entered as defending state champ at 160 pounds. He won major decisions in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, first topping Waynesboro’s Colin Cook 16-8 and then turning back Culpeper’s Eric Galloway 9-1. In the final, however, he fell by a 9-1 count to Christianburg’s Hunter Bolen.

Trent Ragland (43-11) garnered New Kent’s final points with a fourth place finish at 182 pounds. He won a 3-0 quarterfinal decision over Christianburg’s Erik Eva, but lost by fall in the semifinals to Staunton River’s Elijah Seay. In the consolation bracket, he defeated Western Albemarle’s Nathaniel Riley 5-4, but dropped a close 4-3 decision to Warren County’s Jacob Schneider in the battle for third place.

Four other New Kent wrestlers — Bryson Mitchell (126), David Ellis (152), David Taylor (170), and Michael Dorer (285) — qualified for the state tourney, but all four lost quarterfinal and consolation round matches.

Christiansburg won the 3A team championship with 168.5 points. Cave Spring took second with 148 while Poquoson and Brentsville District tied for third with 97.