NOVA WRESTLING RANKINGS: Top 15 Wrestling teams in Northern Virginia (Jan. 15th)
by: Ted Proctor
1-15-2024

Wrestling Round up… Thomas Edison shows strength at the Freedom Duals; Woodgrove takes the gold at the Judges Invitational; Virginia Duals highlights; and the NOVA Rankings - Jan. 15th.

NOVA Events:

One of the biggest NOVA events this past weekend was the Freedom Duals that took place at Freedom HS. (South Riding). Sixteen NOVA teams came to battle in a round robin bracket format. Here are those top 10 results.

1st Place - Thomas Edison
2nd Place - Warren County
3rd Place - King George
4th Place - Herndon
5th Place - Loudoun County
6th Place - Stone Bridge
6th Place - Riverbend
8th Place - John Champ
9th Place - James W. Robinson
10th Place - Broad Run

Freedom Duals: Complete results

Handley HS. hosted the Judges Invitational which was an individual wrestling event that took place on Saturday, Jan. 13th. Chantilly HS., Fairfax HS., and the 2024 Judges Champions Woodgrove HS., all wrestled at this event. The top 10 finishing teams listed below:

1 Woodgrove 519
2 Fairfax 413
3 Martinsburg 352
4 Chantilly 337.5
5 James Wood 288.5
6 Powhatan 285.5
7 Colgan 275
8 Chancellor 263.5
9 Blacksburg 263
10 Tuscarora 259

Judges Invitational: Complete results

Paul VI also hosted an individual wrestling tournament, The Panther Invitational, where they won the event and Independence took home the silver.

Panther Invitational: Complete results

The 43rd Virginia Duals:

The biggest state event of the year by miles was the Virginia Duals, hosted by the Peninsula Wrestling Association that took place at Hampton, VA. They have put a staple with the best in season Virgina wrestling event. Ten wrestling mats on the Hampton Coliseum main floor, with six more mats under the stadium bleachers for team warm-ups and drilling purposes, makes a terrific show for all the sightseers to witness.

The 43rd Viginia Duals, which people call “The Granddaddy of them All,” hosted 26 colleges and 48 high schools and continues to showcase the best in Virginia wrestling.

The Corner of the Mat was able to witness Skyline, Westfields, and McLean who competed in the Virginia Duals - TowneBank HS division, and Battlefield who wrestled in the Virginia Duals - and Cliff Keen HS division. The eye test puts a stamp on the note that these four teams are in the mix with and rest in the 2024 NOVA Wrestling Rankings. Event note - all NOVA teams went 2-2 while at this event with some exciting and highly battled matches.

More on Virginia Duals event: Complete results

138 Ben Spudic (Battlefield) in-Action at the 43rd Virginia Duals, Hampton, VA. Photo credit: Corner of the Mat.

Rankings as of 1/15/1024:

The Dual season ramps up as the Corner of the Mat continues with the weekly rankings. As noted, we have stretched the field to 15 teams in 2024. The second week will show that these rankings are being adjusted from 4 to 15.

1. Mountain View – Last week #1; Mountain View participated in the highly ranked wrestling tournament Escape the Rock. They entered 12 wrestlers as 139 lbs Tyler Travis was their only wrestler that placed as he took home first place status. The Wildcats finished in 20th place as a team.

2. Woodgrove - No change in their ranking either from last week to this week as they placed first at the Judges Invitational which took place at John Handley High School. The Wolverines had 13 placers at this event. Woodgrove also had two district dual wins mid-week.

3. Paul VI - Last week #3; They hosted the 2024 Panther Invitational and won the event. Outside Independence HS., most of the schools at this event were private schools as many teams did not have full line-ups.

4. Thomas Edison - Last week #8; Edison wins the Freedom Duals and takes victories over Loudoun County, Herndon and Warren Co. The Eagles moved up four spots and proved that they are a very good dual team. Edison also had two district dual wins mid-week.

5. Independence - Last week #4; They took second at the 2024 Panther Invitational behind Paul VI who won the event and are in front of them in the ranking. They earned two champions at this individual wrestling event. Mat note - The Tigers also had a wrestler at the Escape the Rock individual tournament in PA, 114 Aidan Shufelt earns 5th place status. They keep hold of a top five ranking for the second week.

6. Skyline – Last week #13; The Hawks make the biggest jump up to sixth in the ranking after the wrestling team makes it to the Semi Finals of the 2024 Virginia Duals TowneBank HS and places 4th as a team. Going 2-2 at the Virginia Duals, the eye test of team Skyline shows that they are a top 10 NOVA team and were incorrectly placed in the first NOVA rankings last week.

7. Chantilly – Last week #5; They take sixth place at the Judges Invitational 2024 and move down two spots. Mat note - The Chargers also had four wrestlers at the Escape the Rock individual tournament in PA, and two placed - 107 Carter Shin, 5th Place and 152 Benjamin Weade, 7th Place. Chantilly also had two district dual wins mid-week.

8. Westfield - Last week #6; The Bulldogs went (2-2) and earned in 10th place at Virginia Duals - TowneBank HS division. Moved down due to Thomas Edison and Skyline showing strength as a team.

9. Battlefield – No change in their ranking either from last week to this week. Team Battlefield goes 2-2 at the 2024 Virginia Duals - Cliff Keen HS division and place 10th as a team. The Bobcats also had one wrestler at the National event, Escape the Rock in PA, that did not place. Battlefield also had a district dual win mid-week.

10. Fairfax – Last week #11; The Lions finished in second right behind Woodgrove at the Judges Invitational 2024 and jump up one spot. They had six placers in this individual tournament event and moved into the top 10 of the rankings.

11. Loudoun Co. Last week #12; While the Thomas Edison defeat Loudoun Co. 51-26 at the Freedom Duals, they fought back and earn 5th place at Freedom duals. Loudoun moves up one spot in the ranking.

12. Robinson – Last week #7; Took 11th place at the Freedom duals and unranked Herndon defeated Robinson 38-31. Mat note - The Rams also had two wrestlers at the National event Escape the Rock that did not place.

13. McLean - Last week #14; Westfield defeated McLean 37-33 at the 2024 Virginia Duals TowneBank HS. They finish strong with a win over Eastern View 42-32 and finish in 11th place. The Highlanders squad is filled with upper classmen that are showing their experience. They move up one spot by attending the Virginia Duals and going 2-2.

14. Woodbridge – Last week #10; The Vikings take 11th place at the War on the Shore 2024 with just two placers. Woodbridge also had two district dual wins mid-week.

15. Warren Co. – Were not ranked last week. The Wildcats earned second place at the Freedom Duals and had a super close match in the dual finals with Thomas Edison, losing 39-33. On 12.15 and 12.16 they finished in first place Turner Ashby Holiday Tournament.

While the wrestling season continues, look for the Corner of the Mat to do additional team ranking in the weeks a head.

Last week rankings: NOVA WRESTLING RANKINGS: Top 15 Wrestling teams in Northern Virginia (Jan. 7th)

External Links:
Corner of the Mat
The Fauquier Wrestling Feed
Virginia USA Wrestling


The Mission: to help promote the sport of wrestling in the Northern Virginia area and around the state of VA.