Herndon Wrestling Team Places 4th In Conference 5 Championships

From Herndon HS: The Herndon wrestling team placed fourth at the Conference 5 Championships behind the individual titles of sophomore Trey Passmore and junior Chris Estrada. Passmore won the title at 160lbs. while Estrada claimed his at heavyweight. Passmore was the number three seed coming into the tournament and Estrada was the top seed in his respective division.

Passmore defeated the #1 and #2 seeds on his way to the 160 lbs. title. In the semi-finals, he disposed quickly of the second-seeded Justin Meeks of Westfield with a pin in the first period. The championship finals pitted Passmore against top-seeded Haydon Rockman of Robinson. Passmore scored the initial takedown within the first 30 seconds of the match. Rockman quickly got to his feet, but Passmore lifted Rockman into the air and returned him to the mat. The resulting mat return ended with a dislocated shoulder for Rockman, and he was unable to continue the match. Passmore was awarded the victory due to a medical default.

Estrada entered the tournament as the #1 seed having had a perfect 5-0 record through the conference dual meets. He pinned Robinson’s Alex Hazard in the semi-finals to advance to the championship match.

There he faced Oakton’s Pierce Banbury. In perhaps one of the most exciting matches of the night, Estrada was down 3-0 late into the match. In the third period, he was able to escape from bottom to trim the lead to 1-3. After several shot attempts and forcing the action to Banbury, Estrada was awarded a point due to two stalling calls against Banbury. With only 20 seconds left in the match, and down 2-3, Estrada was able to score a takedown on the edge the mat and ride Banbury out for the remaining four seconds to claim the heavyweight title, 4-3.

A total of seven Hornets qualified for the Northern Region championships as a result of their finishes at the tournament. That group includes sophomore Caleb Clayborne 4th at 106, freshmen K.T. Elston 3rd at 113, senior Daniel Lyons 4th at 145, Passmore at 160, sophomore John Proctor 2nd at 195, senior Cole Cooksey 4th at 220, and Estrada at heavyweight.

Robinson won its fifth consecutive team title totaling 221 points, while Westfield was second at 165 points, and Chantilly was third with 162 points. Herndon was fourth with 85.5 points while Centreville finished fifth with 77 points. Oakton was sixth with 42 points.

The 6A Northern Region Championships will take place February 10-11 at Fairfax High School.

Images Courtesy Of Herndon HS