Bentonville boys, Rogers girls claim Dual State titles

ROGERS — The Rogers Lady Mounties and Bentonville Tigers walked away as repeat Class 6A Dual State wrestling champions on Saturday at Mountie Arena.

But it wasn’t easy for either team.

The Lady Mounties defeated defending 6A state champion Springdale Har-Ber 48-36, while Bentonville outlasted Cabot 45-30.

The Dual State tournament is different from the upcom- ing state bracket tournament as teams are matched up head to head in all 14 weight classes. In the state tournament, which will be at Little Rock later the month, individuals are matched up in brackets of each weight class.

The Tigers got a key win by sophomore Aidan Rother, who had to fight hard to keep from getting pinned in the opening period. He would later trail 5-2, but rallied for the 7-5 win to stem the tide. Cabot had strung together three consecutive pins to slice a 36-12 lead to just 36-30 heading into the match at 113.

Cabot appeared to keep its momentum going early in that match as Tristin Risley had Rother in trouble in the final seconds of the first period. But Rother managed to avoid being pinned and rallied late to get the win.

Rother extended Bentonville’s lead to 39-30, and Xander Graves finished it off with a first-period pin. If Rother is pinned in that situation, that makes the dual a 36-36 tie with one match remaining.

Bentonville Coach Jason Adams said Rother definitely fought out of a tough situation.

“We were in a bad spot, but that kid has a lot of heart,” Adams said. “He’s very disciplined. I mean, I knew he could do it. It’s just him actually going out and do it.”

The Tigers reached the tournament final with a 45-23 win over Springdale Har-Ber in the opening round and then downed Little Rock Central 4233 in the semifinals.

Bentonville went 12-4 in duals this season, but all of those losses came out of state. Adams said they seek out top competition to prepare them for the state tournament.

“Our goal is to get out of state as much as possible not only because we don’t want to see the same competition over and over,” Adams said. “I want the state tournament to be one easiest tournaments we go to. All our out-of-state tournaments are tougher than our state tournament.”

On the girls side, Rogers overcame four open weight classes to claim the dual state title.

Lady Mounties Coach Willie Wright, who is in his first year at Rogers, has just three seniors, but he said he was pleased with how they performed.

“We had some first-year wrestlers really step it up,” Wright said. “They are doing amazing for first-year wrestlers, probably only been wrestling for about nine months.”

Wright pointed specifically to the win at 145 pounds by sophomore Ashley Thompson was a key in winning the dual. Even Har-Ber Coach Nika West agreed that was a pivotal match.

“I think getting pinned at 145 was a huge swing,” West added.

West, Wright and Adams all said they will now focus on the upcoming regional qualifier for the state tournament to be held next Saturday at Rogers

Heritage. Wrestlers must finish in the top four in their weight class to qualify for the state tournament in Little Rock on Feb. 23-24.

“It’s always great to enjoy a win, but I hope we re-focus and get ready to take top four to qualify,” Wright said. “That’s very important.”

CLASS 5A AT SYLVAN HILLS

Van Buren boys claimed their third consecutive Class 5A Dual State title, edging Hot Springs Lakeside 39-30 in the final. The Pointers defeated Mountain Home 48-31 in the semifinals and rolled over Russellville 69-12.

CLASS 4A AT POTTSVILLE

Gravette’s boys finished as state runner-up, falling 3931 to Pottsville in the final. Gravette defeated Bauxite 60-21 in the opening round and dominated Mena 60-12 in the semis.