Moorefield wrestling wins first Class A state title on shoulders of Van Meter family
MOOREFIELD, W.Va. (BVM) — It was a close finish for the Moorefield High School Yellow Jackets wrestling team during the West Virginia Class A state wrestling championship on April 22. When the team totals were posted, the Yellow Jackets won the championship by a total of 0.5 points. That was all that separated Moorefield from Cameron High School for the team to win its first Class A state championship.
鈥淚t feels pretty good,鈥� Moorefield head coach T.J. Van Meter said. 鈥淥bviously 0.5 points we needed a little help on day two. 鈥� Coming into day two we weren鈥檛 mathematically eliminated, but we were going to need some help from some other teams to beat some of the other schools鈥� top guys. It was something crazy like 12 or 13 matches went our way and each one we needed and each one went our way.鈥�
Mission accomplished!
— T.J. Van Meter (@o1dmanstr3ngth)
The biggest win of the day for the Yellow Jackets came from their team captain senior Isaac Van Meter. Isaac, who won the state championship a year ago in the 170-pound class, again found himself in the championship match, this time in the 220-pound class. Once again, Isaac would be victorious as he would beat Clay County鈥檚 Noah Castro 5-2 while leading the entire match.
It was a culmination of a great and successful career for Isaac. The senior finished his career with a 190-8 record while also never being pinned during his four years. Isaac made the tournament each of his four years with the Yellow Jackets, earning third place in the 160-pound class as a freshman and a runner-up finish in the 170-pound class as a sophomore prior to his state championship victories as an upperclassmen, so the ability to go out not only as an individual champion, but a team champion was a huge accomplishment for the senior.
鈥淗e was wanting it for the team,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淗e was wanting it for the guys he鈥檇 grown up with, who he wrestled peewee with, who he鈥檇 wrestled all through high school with. 鈥� That鈥檚 what really pushed him to come back to wrestling this year.鈥�
The achievement was made even sweeter by the fact that the team win also helped Isaac鈥檚 coach, T.J., win the first team championship as the head of the Yellow Jackets.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great feeling. It鈥檚 sort of bittersweet watching your kids grow up and they move on to bigger and better things and he鈥檒l be missed,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淚鈥檒l miss him as a father and I鈥檒l miss him as a coach. He鈥檚 a great kid. 鈥� A good, well-rounded, well-grounded kid that any program would be happy for him to be a part of.鈥�
In total, Moorefield sent six wrestlers to the state championship, which tied the most of any Class A team. Ty Clayton won the 160-pound fifth-place match and 120-pound Layne Spitzer, 182-pound Kevin Wetzel, 195-pound Ryan Hardbarger and 285-pound Vincent Cyrus each also appeared in the championship tournament.
Though the team didn鈥檛 have many individual champions, it was more about how the team worked as a unit than any one wrestler. While the season wasn鈥檛 nearly as long as it traditionally would be, T.J. will hold the season in special esteem moving forward.
鈥淭hey were fighters, they got better every week,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淚鈥檒l remember this season as one we should鈥檝e been able to enjoy longer, but it was great the way that it was. You couldn鈥檛 ask for a better ending to the season.鈥�
Now, the Van Meters, both father and son, will enjoy some time away from each other as Isaac will attend Division I Mount St. Mary鈥檚 University as a student-athlete. However, he won鈥檛 be a wrestler like one may think, but a baseball player.
鈥淗e鈥檚 done both and done both at a high level for a long time,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淚 guess as he started his high school career he started leaning towards baseball. 鈥� He loves both, but his heart lies in baseball and I respect that as his dad and his coach.鈥�
I鈥檓 very excited to say I鈥檓 verbally committed to play baseball at Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 University. I鈥檓 very thankful for God, my family, coaches and teammates for getting me to the next level.
— Isaac Van Meter (@zeekthefreak_15)
Isaac was named the 2019 Potomac Valley Conference Player of the Year, a 2020 Perfect Game/Rawlings and Baseball Factory/Under Armour All-American and has won two state titles with Moorefield. So far in his baseball career with the Yellow Jackets, Isaac has a 13-1 career record with a 1.50 ERA which includes 73 strikeouts as a sophomore (he didn鈥檛 play a junior season due to COVID-19 canceling the year) and has also been named all-state in both 2018 and 2019.
鈥淚saac is a power right-handed arm,鈥� The Mount head baseball coach Scott Thompson said . 鈥淲e look for Isaac to compete for a possible closer and as a starter.聽 He is very athletic and works very hard to be the best that he can be.鈥�
However, it was Isaac鈥檚 baseball career that almost derailed the wrestling team its opportunity to make history. In August, Isaac had Tommy John surgery on his elbow and it would take him months to recover. However, thanks to the season being pushed back, Isaac was able to return to the mat for his senior season. It was his win, the last match for Moorefield on the weekend, that secured the state title making his return crucial for the Yellow Jackets.
鈥淎t the time he made that decision, we thought wrestling was out of the question, out of the picture,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淥bviously with COVID and everything going on, dates were pushed back and seasons were shortened unfortunately, but it worked to our benefit to be able to get him out on the mat.鈥�
Though his wrestling career may have come to an end, Isaac will be able to go out on top as a champion, alongside his father. With the program鈥檚 first Class A championship now in their trophy case, the Yellow Jackets can thank the Van Meter family for the hardware.
鈥淸I鈥檒l remember] all the people鈥檚 hard work, all the dedication, all the miles on the vehicles taking kids to tournaments and time in the room going to coaching clinics and camps to help these kids compete for a state title,鈥� T.J. said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really almost unfathomable to imagine the time effort and energy that went into this to make it happen.鈥�
