Congratulations Drew Collins, State Champ!

[Sportsman*]

This one deserves it's own thread. Congratulations Drew on a job well done, 215 pound State Champion.

[pvfan]

Congratulations to the young man. Hopefully, JJK honors him as they do team state champions. I'm assuming he automatically goes up in the hallway?

[Sportsman*]

Yes his picture will go up.

[Unchained]

Very touching story on the young man from RC

Calep Bartee took a second to celebrate with a familiar teammate.
Himself.
As his opponent, Parry McCluer?s Nathan Tomlin, stepped away, the Rye Cove senior pumped his arms in front of his chest and let out a bellowing yell toward a small, but loud, contingent of Rye Cove fans after his pin with 56 seconds left in the match.
Then all of Southwest Virginia?s wrestlers and wrestling fans poured out of the Salem Civic Center stands toward the mat as Bartee, the only wrestler to walk the hallways of Rye Cove High School, collapsed into his father?s arms.
That?s when Bartee buried his face into his father?s shoulder, broke down and cried.
?This,? Bartee said after winning his Group A 140-pound title match, ?is the best thing to ever happen to me. It makes everything worth it. I finally won.?
Bartee?s coach, his father, Chris, got permission from the Virginia High School League to coach Calep as the lone representative from Rye Cove. His one-man team became a traveling road show with a 30-minute, one-way drive to practice with the Powell Valley team. The work slowly began to pay off when he finished fourth in Group A in 2009, third in 2010 and worked his way back to the tournament this season.
Members of the Viking squad, along with J.I. Burton and other Southwest Virginia schools, were the first ones waiting for Calep as he walked off the mat after his win.
As Calep cried, he stopped to hug everyone and his plain white singlet with ?The Cove? ironed on the back became the landing spot for a flurry of pats as he slowly made his way through the crowd.
Chris Bartee, in a shirt and tie, began to cry as his son worked his way through the fanfare.
?My baby, my state champ, I love you so,? yelled Teresa Williams, Calep?s ?Mawmaw,? as she pushed her way through the human wall and wrapped him in her arms.
Calep?s friend, Ryan Petelle, lifted him off the ground with a bear hug.
Chris could only wipe quickly at his eyes. Still watching.
?He wanted it so bad,? Chris said. ?He wasn?t going to let anybody stop him. I wore out three vehicles driving him [to practice in Big Stone Gap]. This answered it all. This answered all our prayers.?
One match later, Calep and J.I. Burton?s Colby Dean would embrace after Dean, a sophomore, won his second straight state title. In the 145 match, Dean used a third-quarter escape out of the down position and held on for the 1-0 win.
?Hopefully,? he said, ?I can get two more.?
Getting one, however, was elusive enough for Grundy?s Sean Van**** heading into his fourth, and final, appearance in a state-title match. Having lost the previous three times and leaving Salem with silver, Van**** gave himself breathing room ? and a three-point lead with a third-period reversal as the clock hit :35. He would hold on to win 5-4 and the large Grundy contingent, waving gold pom-poms, exploded in cheers.
?It?s like a monkey off my back,? Van**** said. ?It feels great.?
Grundy left Salem with four state titles, the team?s best showing since 2001 ? the Golden Wave?s last Group AA state championship before Christiansburg took over ? when they brought home six.
Jeremy Hurley (130) followed with a first-period pin of Brookville?s Trung Duong. Cody Rife (152) beat John Sharp of Millbrook, 8-6, in overtime and Tyler McClanahan (171) finished off Grundy?s four-win night with a 5-2 decision over Derek Thurman.
The Golden Wave ended their last Group AA tournament with 133 points, second to Christiansburg?s 258.
Next year, Grundy drops to A where Manassas Park won the team title with 169.5 points. Floyd County came in second with 122.5 and Strasburg a distant third with 106.
J.J. Kelly?s Drew Collins brought a second 2011 title to the Lonesome Pine District with a 4-2 decision over Clarke County?s Logan Large at 215.
?I was able to get in on him at the end,? Collins said.
Kelly coach Luke Owens, a three-time state champ at Grundy, said he knew if Collins kept it close, his grappler would have a chance go get some points and the win.
Rural Retreat?s Travis Anderson came up short against Jonny Falls of James River in the 152-pound match in an extra period, 4-2, and Castlewood?s Ryan McCall couldn?t finish his reverse in a two-point match as time expired, keeping him on the losing end in the 140-pound match.
?I just ran out [of time],? the senior said as his silver medal dangled from his neck and tears filled his eyes. ?It?s hard knowing how hard you work and coming up that short so many times.?
McCall?s coach, Todd Glover, said McCall was devastated after his fourth, and final trip, to the state tourney. He had finished fifth, second, third and second again in his four years as a wrestler for Castlewood.
As Calep Bartee stood on the podium to receive his medal and the framed 140-pound tourney bracket, members of the Powell Valley team he practiced with, his mother, father and several other fans wearing Rye Cove shirts took photos. As word spread of Bartee?s four-year struggle, the Civic Center crowd cheered when his name was announced.
With a face still red from tears, he turned toward a large Strasburg and Stonewall Jackson fan section behind him and thrust his index finger into the air.
Slowly, he turned toward the Rye Cove and coalfield contingent that stood in front of him, cameras ready.
?It?s the best feeling you can imagine,? he said.
Then he held the framed bracket over his head.
Again, Southwest Virginia erupted and Bartee, with his finger now in the air, smiled back.

[email protected] | Twitter: @Sacco_BHCSports | (276) 645-2572

[1inStripes]

Ive known Calep and his father since coaching little league baseball when Calep was 8 or 9. Both are outstanding people and very deserving of the hard work they put into it.

[Unchained]

Ive known Calep and his father since coaching little league baseball when Calep was 8 or 9. Both are outstanding people and very deserving of the hard work they put into it.

You can use his example as the ultimate testament to dedication and hard work. I am so very glad that this young man got exactly what he deserved.:2thumbsup: