By Rob Frank
The opening Shot:
Week nine of the 2025-2026 Greenbrier East Wrestling season is in the books. Old Man Winter struck again, and the Lady Raider Rumble was cancelled. There are relatively fewer women’s tournaments, so each tournament lost to winter storms have an impact. The men wrestled in the 2026 WSAZ High School (and Middle School) Invitational. The Eastern Greenbrier Wrestling Club wrestled in the South Coalfield Regionals Tournament.
The Week in Review:
On Jan. 30-31 the varsity team wrested in the 2026 WSAZ High School (and Middle School) Invitational. The 2026 WSAZ Invitational – often referred to as “Zs” by the wrestlers – brings together 70+ Middle School and High School teams, not only from West Virgina, but also Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and even New Jersey. It is not unusual to have 50 to 64 wrestler brackets. Being seeded (ranked in the top sixteen in a weight class) in this tournament is an accomplishment, and placing in the tournament is an even bigger accomplishment. Kaden Stone (144 lbs.), Mason Miller (165 lbs.), and Harrison Smith (Heavyweight), were all seeded in the tournament.
At the close of two days of intense wrestling, Kaden Stone and Harrison Smith each placed with sixth place finishes. In the middle school ranks, James Godby (123 lbs.) placed third in the tournament. We cannot wait to get James on the high school team.
The young wrestlers of the Eastern Greenbrier Wrestling Club wrestled at the South Coalfield Regionals Tournament. EGWC brought nine wrestlers to the South Coalfield Regionals Tournament and all nine will be advancing to the Coalfield Championship next week! Places are as follows: Camden 3rd; Luke Pack 2nd; Hunston 3rd; Weslan 4th; Ariel 6th; Asher 3rd; Holden 2nd; Wyatt 4th; and Kellan 1st.
Wrestler of the Week – Week 8 – Men’s Division – Elijah Sherman
Elijah Sherman is the 165 pound champion of the Red Devil JV Rumble. He is one of the GEHS up-and-coming wrestlers with a bright future. We were not able to interview Elijah last week due to the storm, so we caught up with him this week.
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How long have you been wrestling? This is my second year. I have worked hard and have learned as much as possible from the coaches and other wrestlers during this time. I am making big improvements and will work hard to continue to get better.
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Why wrestle? Coach Solak has been consistent in encouraging me to wrestle. It started out as doing something new and something to keep me in shape. It grew to be something that caused me to constantly grow as a person and an athlete.
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What are your primary goals as a person, a student, and an athlete? As a person, my primary goals are to be an honest and loyal person. These values are especially important to me, and I do my best to live by them every day. Wrestling really encourages honesty as you need to honestly assess where you are as a wrestler and what you need to improve. There is no way to be dishonest or falsify things on the mat. As a wrestler my goal is to work hard enough to win the state tournament by my Junior or Senior year.
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What contributes the most to your ability to achieve these goals? I was raised around hard working people who set examples of what it means to work hard, and how hard work is necessary to achieve what it is you want to achieve. I have a mindset to never quit and to always do my best at everything that I do.
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What advice do you have for fellow students and athletes as they pursue their goals?
My most important advice is to be an honest person and to be loyal to the ones you care about. Second, is to keep working. Don’t give up. Hard work is the key to accomplishing worthwhile things.
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What are your plans after high school? My ultimate goal is to own my own business – perhaps a landscaping or mechanics business. After high school I will likely pursue trade school or a business degree to learn and to prepare me to run my own business.
Thanks to Elijah for a great interview and a job well done.
Wrestler of the Week – Week 9 – Men’s Division – Kaden Stone
This is the second Wrestler of the Week award for Kaden Stone – and it is well deserved. Sometimes it is hard not to choose Kaden every week.
In addition to placing at the 2026 WSAZ High School Invitational, Kaden Stone broke two important school records this weekend. Kaden boke Josiah Solak’s win record, attaining his 153rd win. Coach Davis Solak had mixed feelings – very happy for Kaden, not so much for his brother Josiah. All kidding aside, Coach Solak commented that “no one is more deserving of the record than Kaden. His hard work, dedication, and ability to learn are an inspiration to others.” The 2025-2026 wrestling season is not over, and Kaden hopes to top 165 wins before season ends, reaching a record that will likely stand for a very long time.
Kaden also broke John “Levi” Hobbs’ pin record, setting a new record of 101 pins. Coach Hobbs has worked hard with Kaden over the years, teaching him and pressing him hard in practice. Given how often they worked together, it is fitting that Kaden would break Coach Hobb’s record. We asked Kaden some questions about his records.
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What does it mean to hold the records? The records mean a lot to me as a reflection of the effort and the commitment it took to attain them. Every practice and every tournament went in to reaching these milestones. I am humbled to break the records of such great wrestlers as Josiah Solak and Coach Hobbs.
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Is there anyone you want to thank? I could not have reached these goals without the help of my parents, coaches, and wrestling partners over the years. They worked with me to make me better each and every day.
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I read online that you have committed to play football at Muskingum University in New Concord Ohio. Why did you choose Muskingum? Muskingum has very strong academic programs that will be important when I go from college to medical or dental school. The campus is beautiful and the people are truly kind. The school has a faith based culture which is important to me. The way they run their football program is consistent with this culture and I can’t wait to play.
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What position do you expect to play? Right now, it looks like I will play receiver. I still may have chance to play defensive back as well. I would love to be a two – way starter.
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Any chance you may wrestle at Muskingum? There is a chance. I love to wrestle and have had some very preliminary discussions with the wrestling program.
Congratulations Kaden! After a STELLAR career for the Spartans, he’ll be counting his BIG PLAYS at the NEXT LEVEL.
Events:
On Thursday, Feb. 5, GEHS traveled to Oak Hill for a dual meet. It is Oak Hill’s Senior Night, and the GEHS family sends its best wishes to Oak Hill senior wrestlers Kirclyn Coleman and Bryson Lego. On Friday Feb. 6, the GEHS women wrestled in the Red Dragon Tournament at St. Albans High School. As a team, GEHS is ranked twelfth. These last large women’s tournaments will go a long way to determining seeding for the State Championship Tournament.
The WV Dual Team State Championships were held Feb. 7 and 8 at the State Fairgrounds in Fairlea. This State Championship event brought together the top sixteen teams from across the state, including eight in Division 2 (Friday) and eight in Division 1 (Saturday). It is endorsed by the WVSSAC, sponsored by the West Virginia Wrestling Coaches Association, and hosted by the Greenbrier East Wrestling programs.
KB3 Towing assisted Greenbrier East wrestling Coach Davis Solak by transporting mats from Clifton Forge, VA and Greenbrier East to the State Fairgrounds of WV today.
Each year, a highlight of the WV Wrestling Dual Team State Championship is the guest speakers who present at the program. This year’s special guest speakers are Nick Hylton and Noah Adams.
Friday’s guest speaker is Nick Hylton. Nick is a two time WV State Champion from Liberty High School. Saturday the guest speaker is Noah Adams. Noah is a three time State Champion from Independence High school.
Thank you to all the local supporters who have helped make this event the premier State Championship in West Virginia. If you would like to sponsor, please feel free to reach out to me at 719 322-3985 or email me at rob@rjflaw.com.
Next Week:
Next week’s article will give results of the Oak Hill Dual, the Red Dragon Tournament, and the WV Wrestling Dual Team State Championship.
GEHS wrestling matches are now livestreamed and posted on the Greenbrier East Spartan Wrestling Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1400059887620954. If you cannot join us live, please join us online.
