We met at ATA around 8:00 PM Wednesday night and got on the road around 8:30; stopping at the Hampton Cove Walmart to top up on gas. We stopped in Gurley to pick up the Buckhorn guys then drove through the night. We made a couple of gas stops and then slept for about an hour and a half near sunrise. We pulled into Va Beach around noon local time. We were able to check in right away (thanks Red Roof Inn). We unpacked and made a grocery run to Walmart. The weather was very cool and breezy, but sunny.
After Walmart, we settled into the hotel and rested until weigh-ins. Weigh-ins went smoothly and we were out by about 7:30 and decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner. Apparently so did everyone else. It took a while to get seated and served and it was almost 10 by the time we got back to the hotel.
Friday morning we were up, out, and at the VBCC by 7:30. This was a long day (and not too successful). Four of the six took losses in their first matches. We went back to the hotel and everyone had their leftovers from Olive Garden for dinner.
Saturday was a tough day of wrestling. Five of the six lost their first matches of the day and were eliminated from competition. 
Late in the day our sixth wrestler lost his consolation match and ATA's high school tournament was over. Some of the wrestlers met Olympic and World Champion, Jordan Burroughs. He was gracious to take a picture with them. Neither of the middle school wrestlers had Saturday matches so we went to a pizza place that was just off the beach and had dinner. Jordan had never seen the ocean, so that was a priority. The kids enjoyed a few minutes on the beach, highlighted by Isiah taking a cold water plunge in the Atlantic. The water temperature was 50 degrees. For comparison, the water temprature in Pensacola Beach was 70 degrees on that same day!
On Sunday, we wrapped up the middle school wrestling early, so we grabbed some lunch and hit the road. The drive home was long but uneventful (other than coach Hoyt missing a turn and getting us lost in downtown Va Beach). We stopped at Taco Bell just after sunset and filled the boys up. They then slept most of the rest of the way home.
Wrestling
Juniors
Isiah Franklin 152# - Wrestling in his first NHSCA Nationals, Isiah drew Vermont's Tyler Burgess in the round of 128. Burgess scored a second period fall to knock Isiah into the consolations. Zay went the distance, falling to Jacob Roub of West Virginia 4-3.
Ethan Pippin 170# - Ethan had the most success of any of our ATA wrestlers going 4-2 on the weekend. He opened with a pair of pins over Westin Keime of Arizona and Richard Tyler Maryland. He won his third match 1-0 against Aaron Carter of New Jersey in a match that seemed like Carter simply did not want to score. Ethan's first lost came against Luke McGonigal from Pennsylvania. McGonigal went on to the finals. Pippin then scored a first period pin over New Hampshire State Champion Daniel Curran. Ethan's last match was a 10-5 defeat by Virginia's Jordan Florence. Florence finish as an All-American.
Sophomore:
Jordan Hunter 160# - Jordan opened the tournament with a pin against Joseph Murray of Maryland in the second period. In his second match, Jordan scored the first takedown and then a mental mistake gave his opponent, Andrew Dibernardo of Pennsylvania a reversal and three nearfall points. Jordan was unable to recover and lost by fall. A mental lapse in his final match, with seconds to go, also cost Jordan his last match of the tournament. Trailing 6-3 with 40 seconds left, Jordan escaped and then scored a takedown on a low single to tie the match. After going out of bounds with 15 seconds left, Jordan was unable to ride his opponent and Jose Valdez of Florida was able to escape for the win.
Freshmen:
Gavin Taylor 132# - Another of our first time NHSCA National wrestlers, Gavin's first match was against Kaleb Dolina of Maryland. Gavin wrestled hard, but Dolina was just to much; scoring 17 un answered point to win by tech-fall. Saturday was not any kinder to Gavin as he had Gaige Crandall of Vermont in his first wrestle-back match. Crandall was able to win by pin in the second round.
Sebastian Berres 132# - Probably the most dissappointing thing about the weekend was losing Sebastion to injury in the first round. He was wrestling Coby Stevens from New York in a match that had already gotten a little chippy in the early minutes. A shove out of bounds, and a trapped arm return had the official talking to both wrestlers to settle down. Stevens drew a penalty with mat return that saw him take Sebastian straight over Stevens head. A stunned Sebastian was able to finish the match but lost 12-1. Further evaluation by the medical staff resulted in a recommendation that Sebastion withdraw from the tournament.
Garret Taylor 132# - Rounding out our freshman, Garret also made his first trip to Virginia Beach. Garret faced wrestlers from Massachusetts and Oklahoma. MA's Evan Goodall scored a first period pin over Garret on his way to a fifth place All-American finish. In his second match Garret faced Enrique Barcenas. Barcenas won by fall in the second period.
Middle School:
Evan Pippin 142# - Evan started his first trip to Virgina Beach with a match againts Joe Stover from Oklahoma. Stover scored first on a takedown and Evan retaliated with a quick reversal. Stover score his own reversal soon after that led to a pin. In the consolation bracket, Pippin faced a solid wrestler from Maryland, Mason Alford-James. The match went the distance for a 6-1 win in Alford-James favor.
Warren Hoyt 142# - For the second year in a row Warren faced the eventual tournament champion. This year, unfortunately it came in his first match. Scoring first on a takedown and 2 near-fall points, Warren led Montana's Coy Cohenour 4-0. Cohenour then escaped, and after an upper body struggle, came out on top and secured a pin just before time expired in the first. Warren's next opponent, Porter Faulk of Georgia, controlled the match from the begining and won 10-0. Faulk went on to place 7th as an All-American.
Expenses
We estimated a budget of $1000 for the club to make this trip and came in just under that estimate. We over estimated a little on gas, and under estimated slightly for the hotel rooms.| Description | Estimate | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel (2 Rooms at the Red Roof Inn) | $500.00 | $520.80 |
| Gasoline (2 cars, approx 1700 miles) | $300.00 | $253.88 |
| Coaches' badges (2 @ $100) | $200.00 | $200.00 |
| Total | $1000.00 | $974.68 |