Lancaster's Brad Smith (bottom) takes down a Mathews opponent during the Mathews Duals last Saturday. Photo by Tom Chillemi

Lancaster defeated Middlesex, 51-18, Franklin, 48-24, Bruton, 54-18, and Sussex Central, 54-24. The Devils’ only loss of the day came to host Mathews, 60-18.

“I was real pleased with the way our team wrestled this weekend,” said LHS coach Craig Oren. “We have been struggling all year to keep our team healthy and present at our competitions, but we haven’t yet had our full team compete together this season. This weekend was no exception. We had three starters out of the lineup. Despite those circumstances, the team had the ability to win 24 matches this season.”

Ronnie Cutler, Trey Fisher, Brad Smith, Thomas Hyde and Eric Keane all went 4-1 to lead Lancaster in Mathews.

“Hyde is typically a little inconsistent, but he caught his stride last Saturday with three pins,” said Oren. “When Hyde is on his game, he is a tough competitor.

“Fisher also put together a nice string of wins,” he added. “His choice of moves may not always be ideal but they prove to be effective most of the time.”

Danny McGrath and Kai Antonio both went 3-2 for the Devils and Christian Johnson was 2-3. Elijah Lewis went 2-0 and Beau Nickerson was 1-1.

“McGrath wrestled really well last weekend,” said Oren. “He is not a real big heavyweight, so he relies on good technique and his speed to beat his bigger opponents.”

Lancaster was scheduled to wrestle in the Northern Neck District tournament earlier this week and head back to Mathews February 11 for the Region A tournament.