By Rob Frank
The opening Shot:
Week five of the 2025-2026 Greenbrier East Wrestling season is in the books. The women’s team made the long trek to Parkersburg for the Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic, and the men’s team went to Summersville for the 2026 WV Army National Guard Duals Wrestling Tournament.
This past Friday, GEHS women wrestled in the second annual Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic. Parkersburg High School has long been a dominant force in West Virginia High School wrestling, with multiple men’s individual and team championships. As women’s wrestling continues to grow, Parkersburg High School, its coaches, and administrators have committed to the same standard of excellence in their women’s program as in their men’s program. Parkersburg High School’s commitment goes beyond its own team, using its expertise and resources to grow women’s wrestling and to provide a venue for young women to compete and to grow in the sport.
The Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic is a premier early season tournament allowing the best women wrestlers from West Virginia and surrounding states to take the mat, test themselves against high-level competition, and determine how they can improve as the season progresses. 2025 was the first annual Women’s Winter Classic, hosting 125 high School and middle school girls. 2026 almost doubled that number by hosting 240 girls this year! The wrestlers, coaches, parents, sponsors, and volunteers of Greenbrier East High School thank Coach Chris Way and the Parkersburg High School Big Reds wrestling program for hosting the Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic and inviting our women to wrestle.
Friday and Saturday, the men’s team wrestled in the 2026 WV Army National Guard Duals Wrestling Tournament. This year is the 18th year of the tournament. This tournament is held in memory of former Richwood wrestling coach and Oak Hill resident Lee Parlier. In 2009, Coach Lee Parlier had the idea of starting a tournament in a dual format that could serve as an alternative to the established WSAZ tournament. The idea was to allow wrestlers who would only get four matches at the WSAZ tournament to have the opportunity to get eight to ten matches in an alternate venue. Coach Parlier’s commitment to give young wrestlers opportunities to wrestle led to a tournament which is a cornerstone of West Virginia wrestling, attracting teams not only from West Virginia but from surrounding states. Coach Parlier passed away on Dec. 5, 2016 having directed the WV Army National Guard Duals for nine years.
On Coach Parlier’s passing, tournament responsibility was passed to his good friend David Vincent, Head Coach of Oak Hill’s wrestling program. Oak Hill boasts one of the top wrestling programs in West Virginia on both the men’s and women’s sides. Coach Vincent is dedicated to the memory of Coach Parlier and Coach Parlier’s commitment to provide opportunities for young wrestlers. This tournament is unique in part because it is intended as an opportunity for young men and women to learn of opportunities to serve and to grow in the WV Army National Guard. At the tournament, guardsmen often work the scoring tables, assist with tournament administration, and provide one-on-one interaction with the wrestlers and their families. Wrestlers excel in military service, and Coach Parlier’s (now Coach Vincent’s) tournament allows an opportunity to learn of the opportunities available in the WV Army National Guard. There is perhaps no greater calling than military service and the discipline instilled in young wrestlers provides them the foundation to succeed as soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, guardsmen, and guardians. If you wish to learn more about opportunities in the WV Army National Guard, contact Master Sergeant Ballengee at 304-890-3036.
The Week in Review:
Illness hit both the men’s and women’s teams hard this past week, causing multiple wrestlers to miss tournament time. Despite rosters somewhat depleted by illness, Greenbrier East competed well on the mat.
GEHS Women’s Division: The competition at the Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic is intentionally tough with multiple state champions and place winners at most weight classes. Congratulations to Hannah Gill and Sativa Dunbrack for wrestling in their first high school matches. While Hannah is new to wrestling, she is an explosive athlete with a background in lacrosse. In her very first wrestling match, Hannah was pitted against a nationally ranked, returning West Virginia State Champion. Despite the daunting task, Hannah took the mat and acquitted herself well against a very tough opponent. Sativa, an incoming freshman, is an accomplished and experienced wrestler, and her tenacity and experience showed on the mat. Sativa finished just out of the medal rounds and will win many tournaments before her high school career is over. Izzy Blankenship and Ava Taylor wrestled hard but did not place. Makaylee Bennett finished second place in the tournament, with her only loss coming in the championship match. Her final match was a back and forth battle with a 2025 state place winner that could have gone either way. In the first two tournaments of the year, Makaylee has a first and second place finish.
Men’s Division: In a dual team format, holes in a roster can make the difference between winning and losing any specific dual. Due largely to illness and having a young team, GEHS had multiple weight classes in which wrestlers were unable to compete. This negatively impacted GEHS’s ability to win on the first day of the two day tournament. However, despite illness and holes in its roster, GEHS went undefeated on the second day of the tournament. Each of the GEHS wrestlers individually finished with a winning record in the tournament. The young GEHS roster continues to grow and to accumulate the experience necessary for future success.
Past Wrestlers of the Week, Kaden Stone (Week 1); Mason Miller (Week 2); and Harrison Smith (Week 3), finished the tournament with eight wins, and one loss (8 – 1). This week’s Men’s Division Wrestler of the Week Sonny Herbert finished with an undefeated nine wins and zero losses (9 – 0). Head Coach Davis Solak commented, “Our wrestlers performed very well individually. When we get our full roster healthy and able to wrestle, we will be competitive in every dual that we enter.”
Sponsor Spotlight:
We thank our week 5 tournament sponsors: Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic sponsored by Appalachian Bowes and WV Army National Guard Duals Wrestling Tournament, In Memory of Lee Parlier sponsored by Chris and Rachel Vass, Vass Engineering and Mineral Appraisals. Without the support or our sponsors our participation in tournaments would be significantly diminished. If you wish to sponsor a tournament, please call Rob Frank, 719-322-2985, or email to rob@rjflaw.com.
Wrestler of the Week (Woman’s Division) – Makaylee Bennett
Greenbrier East High School’s Week 5 Wrestler of the Week (Women’s Division) is Makaylee Bennett.
Makaylee Bennett is coming off of her second top-2 finish of the year. Makaylee has a high school record of 29 – 12 with 27 Pins. So far this season, she is 7 – 1.
In her own words:
We sat down with Makaylee to ask her some brief questions. Here are her responses:
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Why wrestle? Wrestling is incredibly difficult. When you first start, it would be easy to quit. But when you begin showing up every day to practice and tournaments it builds a dedication within you that makes you want to work harder and harder, to get better and to compete. This dedication spills over into other parts of your life and you find yourself no longer willing to quit at anything.
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What are your primary goals as a person, a student, and an athlete? As a person, my primary goal is to be successful in life and make the people around me feel loved. As a student it is my goal to make the best grades I can and make my mom happy and feel proud of me. As a wrestler, my goal is to continue to learn from my mistakes and losses and work toward becoming a West Virginia State Champion.
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What contributes the most to your ability to achieve these goals? My greatest support in my life is my mom. She is always there for me and continually helps me overcome adversity in my life. With her in my corner I feel like I can accomplish anything. She puts up with early mornings, late nights, and long drives so that I can wrestle. I don’t think I can say enough how important she is to me.
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What advice do you have for fellow students and athletes as they pursue their goals? Always stay with it. Even when you want to quit, keep with it. Do not give in. Even when you don’t have love for it, keep with it. You may have one bad tournament or even a bad year, but if you just stick with it, it will work out.
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What are your plans after high school? Eventually, I would like to have a position in law enforcement. I am considering pursuing opportunities in the military that will give me training in law enforcement and help to pay for college.
Wrestler of the Week (Men’s Division) – Sonny Herbert
Greenbrier East High School’s Week 5 Wrestler of the Week (Men’s Division) is Sonny Herbert.
Sonny is a two-sport athlete excelling in wrestling, and in baseball. Both sports require an ability to instantly evaluate a circumstance, determine a response, and execute the response in real time. Whether it is defending a takedown or hitting a fastball, the ability to perceive and react is essential.
In his own words:
We sat down with Sonny to ask him some brief questions. Here are his responses:
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Why wrestle? I wrestle because it’s hard. It challenges me both mentally and physically. It teaches me many good character traits I will carry through life and makes me a better overall athlete and person.
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What are your primary goals as a person, a student, and an athlete? As a person my goals are to keep a good head on my shoulders and work towards a career that will let me stay around athletics and athletes when I am an adult. As a student my goals are to develop as a student and keep my grades up so that I can attend college. My goals as an athlete are to continue getting stronger. I would ultimately like to play baseball and/or wrestle at the college level. As a wrestler I would like to reach 150 career wins in high school and place in the West Virginia State Wrestling Tournament. As a baseball player I would like to continue developing as a player and a pitcher. My goal is to consistently pitch in the 90 mile per hour range in the next year and keep developing my command of my pitches. I would like to help lead Greenbrier East High School on a deep playoff run.
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What contributes the most to your ability to achieve these goals? I would say my mental approach to life helps me the most to reach my goals. There is strength is serenity. I’m focusing on keeping a cool head and not letting things bother me both on and off the mat. I’m learning to block negative thoughts out and focus on the positive.
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What advice do you have for fellow students and athletes as they pursue their goals? My advice is to have a positive attitude and visualize success. Never doubt yourself and have faith in yourself and the work you have put in.
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What are your plans after high school? After high school, I would like to play college baseball and study kinesiology.
Upcoming Events:
On Jan. 7, Nicholas County High School came to Greenbrier East for a dual meet in the main gym. The home dual is sponsored by Patriot Painting. Patriot assisted in our offseason refurbishment of the wrestling facility and continues to support our team.
On Jan. 9, the women made the long trip to St. Mary’s, West Virginia for the Inaugural Par Mar Stores Lady Blue Devil Invitational at St. Mary’s High School. For this tournament, the 185 pound weight class is sponsored by the Fisher Family. The Fishers are long time pillars of Greenbrier East wrestling, with Dr. Rodney Fisher and Laurie Fisher coaching at the youth, middle school and high school level. Levi Fisher and Micah Fisher both wrestled for East, with Micah winning multiple women’s state championships.
On Jan. 10, the men traveled to Covington, Virginia for the Alleghany Duals Tournament at Alleghany High School, 210 Mountaineer Dr, Covington, VA 24426. This tournament is sponsored by DAI Developers.
If you wish to sponsor any tournaments, please call Rob Frank, 719-322-2985 or email me at rob@rjflaw.com.
Next Week:
Next week’s article will give results of the Nicholas County Dual, the Lady Blue Devil Invitational, and the Allegheny Duals Tournament, will give updates on upcoming events, and provide wrestler and donor highlights.
GEHS wrestling matches are now livestreamed and posted on the Greenbrier East Spartan Wrestling Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/1400059887620954. If you can’t join us live, please join us online.
