Motley's quest for state berth fuels Tunstall wrestling

As a sophomore and a new member on the Tunstall wrestling team, Elijah Motley watched as several of his teammates earned berths into the Group AA state tournament.

It is a lasting image that the Tunstall senior has used to motivate himself to get to that stage in his final season.

“I’ve been working real hard the past three years. I can think back to my first year seeing guys go to state and after that, I just worked very hard. I believe if I can get my endurance up to the point where I can go hard for a full six minutes and get some more takedowns from the bottom position, I could really make it. I could place in states if I actually get the skills I want to enhance.

The first step for Motley and the Trojans (17-9) on the way to the state tournament is the Piedmont District wrestling tournament, which begins at 9 a.m. today at Martinsville High School.

Motley, with a record of 25-5 this season in the 160-pound weight class, has been one of two leaders for Tunstall’s wrestling team this season and he’s been in several hotly contested matches throughout the season at arguably the most competitive weight class.

“Just making the states right now is acceptable for me,” Motley said. “My goals are making it to the second day of states. I’ll be OK if I make it to states, but I want to make it to the second day.”

Junior Jacob Barnette (26-8) has excelled in the 182-pound weight class and found ways to win against tougher competition, especially in the closing stages.

“I just go out there and I know when I wrestle good kids better than me, I know what I’ve got to do,” Barnette said. “I’ve got to pace myself and work hard in practice to prepare myself for those matches.”

What Motley and Barnette have been able to provide is leadership for a young Trojans squad that has gotten better each week.

“Both of them coming in, they’ve been our leaders all year,” Tunstall coach Randy Hunsicker said. “We have a good senior class and our juniors have been the leaders. Both those people have been around the last three years and I’ve seen them grow from people that didn’t know a thing to people showing everyone around how to wrestle.

“It’s been great to see how much they’ve matured in the last three years. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll be going to states together.”

Jamison Canavan (120) and Austin Canavan (106) sport identical 20-11 records, while Glenn Odum (195) and Mitchell Shields (113) sport winning records at 14-5 and 12-7, respectively.