HAMPTON, Va. - After a tough opening round matchup, The Apprentice School wrestling team won three straight duals to earn ninth place at the Virginia Duals this weekend.

The Builders faced NCAA Division II Findlay in the opening round where the Oilers had their way, winning 48-6. Owen Cherry tallied the lone points in the match for the Builders, earning a win by fall with just seconds remaining in the third period.

Apprentice bounced back in a big way against Greensboro in their very next match, winning over the Pride, 46-5. After an opening forfeit by Greensboro, Aiden Vasquez earned a win by fall in the second period before Landon Yoder grinded out an 8-5 win. After Michael Phoutasen and DJ Wince each had wins by fall, Cherry kept his strong weekend going with a 14-1 major decision win.

The match of the dual came at 174 pounds as Logan Eastman found himself down 3-2 after two periods. Eastman kept battling, getting a takedown with just under a minute to go in the period to take a 5-3 lead and rode his opponent for the remainder of the match to earn the decision. From there, the two teams split the final matches with DJ Uribes earning a fall in the third period.

The Builders came back Saturday with a 33-14 win over Muhlenberg, jumping out to a 27-0 lead before their opponents scratched the scoreboard. Lucas Vannostrand earned an 18-1 tech fall, followed up by a fall from Vasquez, a 25-7 tech fall by Yoder, a 10-3 win by Phoutasen and a 25-9 tech fall by Wince. Cherry improved to 3-0 on the weekend with a 4-1 decision at 165.

The weekend finished up with a 28-13 win over Centenary. Vannostrand took the opening match in a 10-9 thriller to get the match started on the right foot. After a Vasquez 17-4 major decision and a Centenary tech fall, Phoutasen got a late takedown and fought off the shots of his opponent to take a 6-5 win. After that, Wince earned another tech fall, this time by a 21-6 score, and Cherry finished off a perfect weekend with an 11-3 major decision. Lucas Sumners got a win by fall midway through the third period, while David McElravy, Jr., earned an 8-0 major decision win to wrap up the weekend.

The Builders will take to the mats again on Saturday at home in the Builder Invitational. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.