By DAVID WALSH -- The Herald-Dispatch
[email protected]
 

Randy Snyder/The Herald-Dispatch  Robbie Williams gets a consoling hug from coaches Rob Archer, right, and Bill Archer following his loss to Ripley's Matt Smith on Saturday.

HUNTINGTON -- The final wrestling season for seniors Robbie Williams and Jason Mays of Huntington High and Erica Dye of Wirt County had gone according to schedule, until they stepped onto the mat for the final time Saturday night at the Huntington Civic Arena.

In the championship round of the 55th annual West Virginia High School Tournament, Williams and Mays saw their bid for perfect seasons dashed and Dye�s dream of becoming the first female champion in state history didn�t materialize.

"We both went out there, and he was better than me for that six minutes," Williams said after Matt Smith of Ripley scored a takedown with one second left to secure a 3-1 victory in the Class AAA 130-pound title match.

"I got caught in a weird position. He fell on me, and I couldn�t go anywhere," Mays said of his match against Nathan Pickens of Parkersburg South at 160. Pickens scored a pin at 4:32 and the decision contributed to the Patriots capturing their fourth straight state title and seventh in the last eight years. They had 206.50 points to 174 for runner-up and rival Parkersburg.

Dye lost to Madonna�s Anthony Valles, 9-1, in the Class AA/A 103-pound title match. Still, she is the only girl to ever place second, bettering her fourth-place finish of year ago when she also lost to Valles.

"He wrestled very well, and this was not my best match by far," said Dye, who received standing ovations from the fans before and after the match. "I�m a little disappointed now. When I think about it some, I�m sure I�ll be happy. The ovations were nice. I�d like to tell everyone thanks."

Williams, who had finished second and third in the last two state tournaments, and Mays finished with 44-1 records. Dye closed at 35-7. A win in the semifinals Friday night gave him 100 career victories.

"It�s rough. We both wanted it," said Williams, who had beaten Smith earlier in the season. "It hurts. I didn�t wrestle my best, but I�ll keep my head up and go on. There are greater tragedies in life."

Mays also tried to put the match and his career in perspective. He had won the state at 145 as a junior.

"It was pretty much even," he said of the match that was scoreless at the time of the pin. "Whoever makes the first good move wins it. It�s over now and I can�t worry about it."

As a team, Huntington High finished sixth with 90 points.

Huntington coach Bill Archer said his two seniors gave their all.

"Robbie had a banged up leg and didn�t wrestle well," he said. "Smith�s a good kid and it was a great match. Jason wrestled somebody better than he was.

"Both have been in the finals a total of four times. They�ve carried the Huntington High wrestling program the last three years."

For Dye, when the final whistle sounded, she dropped to one knee looking down, her energy spent. Several coaches congratulated Dye after she accepted her second-place award, and even the referee who worked her match came over to shake her hand.
-----
Dye (100-21 career record) said she will compete in the U.S. high school girls nationals next month. She also inspired the United States Girls� Wrestling Association to hold a state tournament at Wirt County in March.

For now, Dye said she plans to get on with life in general.

"I�ve been putting off everything," she said. "I�ve got to figure out what to do in college and for a career. I don�t have a clue."

The unkind remarks Dye heard when she started in wrestling have all but disappeared. Even though she�s a girl, she�s won acceptance.

"Would I do it again? I think I would," she said. "I got used to all the things I heard and saw. I get kidded about it now. It�s been worth it."

"When I was out there, I thought of her as just another wrestler," Valles said. "If she wants to be out there with us, she has to wrestle like us."

Does Dye believes she�s qualified for role-model status?

"That�s what a lot of people tell me," she said. "They look up to me. I gave it my all. That�s what it takes to make it."

Info�