Wood's Bendure wins region title with dramatic comeback

WARRENTON — About 25 seconds into sudden victory overtime, Loudoun County coaches and fans were yelling for a takedown in the 113-pound Region 4C wrestling tournament championship match.

Ten seconds later, James Wood freshman Colton Bendure was yelling in celebration of an impressive comeback.

Bendure had one of the most dramatic wins of the tournament on Saturday at Fauquier, rallying from a 5-0 deficit in the third period and a precarious position in overtime to win 8-6 on a takedown with 26 seconds left.

Loudoun County senior Zach Rios (fifth in Class 4 last year, second at 106 in 2020) seemed to be well on his way to victory with 1:32 left in the third period. At that point, Bendure was penalized for stepping off the mat, and Rios was given an extra point for a 5-0 lead.

Bendure’s situation didn’t look good, but he wasn’t frustrated.

“The match is never over,” Bendure said. “I just had to keep my confidence up. You never get down, especially against a good opponent like Rios.”

Ten seconds later, Bendure took Rios down to make it 5-2. With the score 6-2 and the clocking winding under 30 seconds, Bendure locked up Rios’ head and dropped him to the mat to make it 6-6 with 19 seconds left.

“I knew I needed something big, so I just had to do a little outside trip,” Bendure said.

In sudden victory overtime, Rios got around Bendure’s back about 25 seconds into overtime. Loudoun County’s coaches began pleading for two points, but Bendure was still standing, and he circled around Rios’ back for a takedown about 10 seconds later. Bendure popped up off the mat and started yelling and jumping.

“I was able to peel off the wrist and circle behind,” said Bendure, who enjoyed having his brother Jett, a former star high school wrestler, travel from Bendure’s native Kansas to watch Saturday’s tournament. “I felt I was better conditioned than him, especially in overtime.”

James Wood coach Cory Crenshaw said Bendure really had nothing to lose when he fell behind 5-0, and he liked how Bendure attacked from there to earn the win.

“[In overtime], I didn’t feel like the takedown was to be awarded [to Rios], mainly because we were still on our feet and we were still wrestling the situation,” Crenshaw said. “It wasn’t that our hip or nothing was down.

“They could have said that everything was out of bounds, but luckily, it went our way, where they said there was still contact in the ring, and Colton was able to cut that corner and secure the takedown on the edge.”

James Wood senior Braden Sitton also won a regional tournament on Saturday, capturing the 132-pound weight class for his first regional title.

In the championship finals, Smith faced 2021 126-pound state finalist Patrick Smith from Heritage. The match ended after 50 seconds though when Smith couldn’t continue after a wild scramble between the duo that didn’t finish until they made contact with the scorer’s table.

Crenshaw said he had to check film but it appeared that Sitton connected with Smith on the nose unintentionally when he went in on a shot.

“We’re hard on [Sitton], because he’s a senior, and we’re trying to get everything out of him that we can so he has the most success possible,” Crenshaw said.

The Colonels — who placed fourth out of 16 teams on Saturday — will also send freshman Blake Messick (third at 126) and sophomores Connor Jordan (fourth at 138) and Jack Thompson (fourth at 285) to the state tournament, which will take place on Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Messick lost his quarterfinal 4-1 to Broad Run’s Joey Rezzonico but beat him 3-2 in the third-place match.

Crenshaw said James Wood qualified more people for the state tournament than the team expected. The Colonels also have an additional three people who will be alternates for the state tournament as a result of finishing in fifth place on Saturday.

“We had some boys all week that didn’t really have that confidence level,” Crenshaw said. “When we got here today and got that first win under our belts, motivation kind of changed and it really picked up spirits a little bit, and everybody kept wrestling.”

HandleyThe Judges will send three wrestlers to the state tournament, each of whom competed in regional championship matches on Saturday.

Junior Simon Bishop — who placed third at 152 pounds last year — defeated the Class 4 runner-up at 145 pounds last year in Dominion’s Logan Jones by a 4-0 score. Bishop improved to 43-2 with the win while Jones dropped to 36-3.

Bishop recorded a takedown with 14 seconds left in the first period and added a reversal with 1:16 left in the third period.

“I definitely scored when I had the opportunity, and wrestled the way that I know I can,” said Bishop, who won his second straight regional title.

Bishop earned his 100th career victory with the defeat of Jones.

“It was so exciting,” Bishop said. “I knew coming into the tournament that I was going to have to work to get it, but now that I’m here, it feels great.”

Handley coach Troy Mezzatesta said the Judges knew Jones would be a good test, and because of what Jones did last year a match against him would be a chance to make a statement.

“Simon handled his business,” Mezzatesta said. “He didn’t force any issues. He just wrestled a solid match. The kid was being super defensive on the bottom to keep us from getting any back points. I’m super proud of the work Simon puts in.”

Bishop will be joined by freshman Hayden Thompson, who was pinned in the 106-pound final in 5:12 by Loudoun County defending state champion Bryson Rios; and sophomore Nick Baker, who lost 15-3 to Sherando freshman Nick Lucchiani in the 120 final.

“Those guys keep finding their ways to finals,” Mezzatesta said. “Those guys are proving to themselves every week that they belong and they’re contenders. Hopefully, we can carry that success over into the state tournament.”

Mezzatesta thought fifth-place finishers Logan Westfall (126) and Quinton Mudd (220) had strong tournaments, and he felt Garrett Stickley’s difficult draw at 113 pounds might have cost him a shot at a state berth. After losing to Rios in the quarterfinals, Stickley had to face Millbrook’s Elliot Rivera, who was upset in the quarterfinals, in the consolation first round and lost 4-2.

“I’m really proud of all of our wrestlers today,” Mezzatesta said.

Millbrook The Pioneers will send junior Jett Helmut (second at 285) and the senior Rivera (third at 113) to the state tournament.

Helmut was pinned in 50 seconds by defending state champion and Penn State football commit Alex Birchmeier of Broad Run in 50 seconds in the title match, but he won his first two matches by major decision (8-0) and fall (2:34) to advance to his first state tournament.

Rivera, the Class 4 Northwestern District runner-up, was pinned in the quarterfinals by Ibrahim Barokah of Tuscarora 25 seconds into the second period after Rivera had built a 7-1 lead after one period. Rivera came back to win his last three matches, defeating Stickley 4-2, 2021 106 state runner-up Christian Eberhart by a 10-2 major decision in the consolation semis, then pinning Dominion’s Shane Maguire in 3:34 in the third-place match after building up a 7-1 lead.

Millbrook coach Jeff Holmes said he was proud of both Helmut and Rivers. Rivera didn’t get a chance to compete at the 2020 region tournament because of injury and Frederick County didn’t participate in last year’s Virginia High School League postseason. Rivera is heading to his first state tournament.

“Elliot got spladled and caught in his first round match,” Holmes said. “He dug deep and had to beat a couple of tough kids the rest of the tournament. He wrestled really well.”

Holmes noted that the Pioneers came close to qualifying a few more wrestlers for the state tournament. In the consolation semis, Isaac Churchill lost a 5-3 sudden victory overtime decision at 120 pounds to Loudoun Valley’s William Bell; Matthew Topham lost 5-4 to Sherando’s Devin Hardy at 132; and Ezra Doyle-Naegeli lost 4-2 to Liberty’s Kavon Bumbrey at 220. Both Churchill and Topham finished in fifth place.

Senior Seth Caballero (152 pounds) was unable to participate in the tournament after suffering an injury in practice this week.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Follow on Twitter @WinStarSports1