By DAVID WALSH - The Herald-Dispatch
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HUNTINGTON -- Huntington High School is 5-for-5 in wrestling tournaments this season. Making it six straight won�t be easy for the Highlanders.

Huntington defends its title today in the Mountain State Athletic Conference Tournament at Parkersburg High�s Memorial Fieldhouse. The No. 1 challenger figures to be the host Big Reds, who finished runners-up to the Highlanders last year and are on a major roll since a loss to rival Parkersburg South in mid-December.

"They�ve gotten much better," Huntington coach Bill Archer said.

The MSAC tournament format has changed. It�s a straight tournament with brackets instead of pools from which the top three teams would emerge for the semifinal round. Action begins at 10 a.m.

"We�re going the way we need to go," first-year Big Reds coach Scheny Schenerlien said. "The kids have stepped it up."

Huntington won the St. Albans Duals, Myrtle Beach Invitational, Floyd Central Duals, Nitro Invitational and WSAZ Invitational. Its only loss in duals was against John Marshall.
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Parkersburg South beat Parkersburg, 48-24, on Dec. 12 at Parkersburg. Since then, the Big Reds have not lost. They are 16-1-1 overall compared to 10-12 at this time last year.

Last Saturday, the two Parkersburg schools battled to a 29-29 draw at Memorial Fieldhouse. The Big Reds went on to beat Grundy, Va., 38-33, and Wirt County, 51-15, in the quad.

"They�ve got new life," Archer said of the Big Reds. "Coach Schenerlein is doing a great job."

Wednesday, Parkersburg beat Wheeling Park (71-6), Morgantown (66-10) and Williamstown (33-16) in a quad at home.

Huntington High�s key performers are Steve Riner at 112 pounds, Robbie Williams at 130 and Jason Mays at 160. Depth is a plus for the Highlanders as well.

When the Big Reds won the 2002 Winner�s Choice/Rotary tournament at Fairmont, they had two champs and three runners-up. Robert Shyver won at 103 and Brandon Rader did so at 112. Placing second were Chance Litton at 119, Derrick Knapp at 130 and Chris Daggett at 189.

Nitro and Ripley could pose threats as well. The Nitro Wildcats have five individuals who could win their respective weight classes -- Anthony Easter at 103, Matt Easter at 119, Jacob Frerichs at 125, Robbie Ripley at 140 and Mitch Casto at 152.

Ripley�s dynamic duo consists of Matt Smith at 130 and Mitch Smith at 135. Both are unbeaten. In Wednesday�s 49-18 loss at Parkersburg South, the two Smiths were victorious.

Schenerlein said his team has forgotten last Saturday�s draw with its city rival.

"It was gone on Sunday," he said. "Nitro has those five kids. They score a lot of points and in small tournaments that goes a long way. Ripley and Huntington have good teams. It�s going to be tight.

"We�re ready to go. We take what we�ve done and build on it. We want to climb the peak at the right time."