CPHS Soph. Riley Weir competes at Mid Summer Mat Bash in Texas
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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
Charles Page High School sophomore Riley Weir crossed State lines this past weekend to compete at the Mid Summer Mat Bash in Justin, Texas as part of team Texas Dynamite. The dual tournament featured twenty-four teams from eleven states.
Texas Dynamite won five duals and lost seven for an eleventh place finish overall. Weir won seven matches and lost five, competing at 110 and 118 pounds.
In the first round of pool play Weir was pitted against Matt Wilde, a Pennsylvania State Qualifier with a 42-12 junior-year record. Wilde came out on top with a 4-1 decision as the Turks Head team doubled down on Texas Dynamite 44-21.
Weir and his teammates got in the win column in their next battle against the lone Oklahoma team in the tournament. Geary went down 53-12 and Weir easily handed Logan Buchanan a 9-0 major decision. Next to fall was Kansas Silver 39-28. Weir pinned Carlos Gaeta in a mere 0:20 seconds.
The Dynamite streak continued with a 43-24 win over the 806 Elite and a 12-1 major decision from Weir over UIL State Qualifier Jesse Martinez. The Sandite followed it up with another quick pin in 0:36 over Jackson McCall of Kansas Black. Texas Dynamite won that dual 46-27.
The team met their match in the boastfully titled Best Trained team who defended their proud claim with a 51-12 dominating victory. Texas State Champion Jonathan Ortegon overcame Weir with an 11-3 major decision. Weir rebounded with an 0:52 pin of Grayson Fries, but his team was defeated 39-18 by the Nebraska Patriots for a fourth place finish in Pool B.
Moving to the Silver pool, the Dynamite suffered another series of losses to the tournament's toughest competitors.
Weir overcame WCA's Kaleb Getz 13-8, and his team won 40-28.
The Dynamite dual against Wrestling Factory was a close one both for the team and our Sandite. Weir got the edge for a 5-4 decision over Texas State Champion and Cotton Bowl National Champion Karsten Johnson, but Dynamite fell 39-30.
The Nebraska Warriors were the next to take down the Dynamite 46-24, and Nebraska State Champion Gage Krolikowski dealt Weir a 14-7 decision. Vision Quest won their dual 37-36, including a 1:15 pin of Weir by USAW National Runner-Up Aaden Valdez. Finally, the Texas Dynamite team came full-circle for a 46-19 defeat by Turks Head. Weir was pinned in 0:57 by Lukas Richie.
This tournament brings Weir's record for 2016 to 25-15, or 14-8 since the high school season concluded. Weir went 21-12 in his freshman year and qualified for State after a third place finish at Regionals while wrestling with an injured arm. He returned to action at the Junior Freestyle Duals in June and helped Team Oklahoma to a seventh place finish, then claimed All-American status with a fourth place finish at the USAW Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota in July.
