Wrestling season kicked off Saturday, as Andrews and Murphy wrestlers took to the mats.
Andrews was in action at Chase High School in Forest City, while Murphy wrestled in Swain County to start the 2025-26 season.
Andrews
The Wildcats traveled to Rutherford County to start their season Saturday. They took on teams from across the state as Chase High School in Forest City hosted the fourth annual Plowboy Brawl.
In the tournament, Hayden Virtanen advanced the farthest on the team. He made it to the 190-pound semifinals after a quarterfinals win. After his loss in the semifinals, he also suffered a loss in the consolation semifinals.
Chase Beasley and Ford Ashe also wrestled in the quarterfinals in their respective weight classes. Beasley defeated Alexander Muller of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in the first round to advance. He then fell in the quarterfinals.
In the second round of the consolation second round, he got a win by pinfall to advance in the consolation bracket. Beasley then fell in the third round of the consolation bracket.
Ashe received a first-round bye, then lost by fall in the quarterfinals. He then got a bye in the consolation bracket before losing by fall in the third round of the consolation bracket.
Ethan Davis was also in action at Saturday’s meet. He lost by technical fall in the first round, sending him to the consolation bracket. He received a first-round bye, then lost by fall in the second round.
The Wildcats will compete in a duals event at Polk County High School on Saturday. They will then host their first event as the Wild West Duals will take place at Andrews High School on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Murphy
The Bulldogs opened their season at Swain County at the Maroon Devil Invitational on Saturday.
Multiple Murphy wrestlers earned third-place finishes at the meet, including defending Smoky Mountain Conference girls champion Ivy Werner. Also earning third-place finishes were Weston Adams, Braden Edwards and Josiah Niebla.
Werner’s tournament started with a win by fall in the first round. In the quarterfinals, she lost to They Morrison of Enka by fall.
In the second round of the consolation bracket, she earned pinfall wins in the second and third rounds. In the third-place match, she faced Morrison again and got revenge by earning the pinfall win.
Also wrestling for the Lady Bulldogs were Kyndle Garett and Gianna Mayner. Garett fell in the first round, then lost again in the first round of the consolation bracket.
Mayner got the pinfall win in the first round, then lost in the quarterfinals. Her day came to an end with a loss in the second round of the consolation bracket.
To take third place in the 113-pound weight class, Adam got a win in the quarterfinals then lost in the semifinals. He then earned a win in the consolation semifinals before defeating Ledger Ball of North Buncombe in 35 seconds to secure third place.
In the 138-pound division, Edwards got a win in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals. He then earned wins in the second and third rounds of the consolation bracket. In the consolation semifinals, he got a pinfall win in 1:27 to advance to the third-place match, where he defeated Donavin Turner of Stephens County in 2:07.
Niebla got a win in the quarterfinals after a first-round bye before falling in the semifinals. He then got a win in the consolation semis to advance to the third-place match, where he defeated Branch Browning of Franklin in a 4-3 decision.
Murphy also had boys wrestling in almost every weight class Saturday.
Reyden Galarza received a bye in the first round and quarterfinals to send him to the semifinals. He lost in both the semifinals and consolation semifinals.
Lucas Castell in the 120-pound division got a bye in the first round, then fell in the quarterfinals. He then received a bye to head to the third round of the consolation bracket, where he lost by a 17-14 decision.
James Garrett in the 132-pound division got a win in the first round, then lost in the quarterfinals. Garrett lost again in the second round of the consolation bracket.
In the 150-pound division, Tristan Nicholson got a bye before falling in the quarterfinals. He then got a second-round bye, then got a win in the third round of the consolation bracket. His day ended with a technical fall loss in the consolation semifinals.
Jeremiah Bateman lost in the first round of the 157-pound division, then received a bye in the first round of the consolation bracket. He then fell by a 9-2 decision in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Canyon Hughes received a bye in the first round of the 165-pound division before falling in the quarterfinals. He then lost by fall in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Branson Crocker got a bye in the first round before falling in the quarterfinals of the 175-pound division. He then got a bye, then earned a pinfall win in 1:38 in the third round of the consolation bracket. He then fell in the consolation semifinals.
Jonathan Cowan fell in the first round of the 190-pound division. He then got a bye in the first round of the consolation bracket before earned a win by fall in 3:54 round of the bracket. His day ended with a loss in the third round of the consolation bracket.
In their next match, the Dogs will travel to Towns County, Ga., for the King of the Mountains event Saturday.