Heading into the finals, the two leading teams were neck and neck with John Marshall having a 2.5 point advantage and 4 finalists to Weir's 3 contenders. The tournament's outstanding wrestling, Chris Pryor, gave Weir the early lead by pinning his championship opponent in the third period of the 126 pound class and winning his second state title with a undefeated season. John Marshall was quick to reclaim their lead at the next weight when the Monarchs 132 pound entry, Ron Griffin, claimed his title with a pin in the second period.
John Marshall had a chance to extend their lead at the 155 pound finals but Ron Koontz lost a 2-1 lead in the third period when South's Steve Bosley escaped with 33 seconds left to send the match into overtime. Bosley then went on to claim his second state crown by building a 7-1 lead before the final overtime score of 8-4. Bosley also finished his high school career with his second consecutive undefeated season.
At the next weight class, John Marshall's Scott Lehasky gave the Monarchs a cushion by narrowing out a 4-2 championship win at 167 pounds. But the key match-up occurred at 185 pounds when John Marshall's Mike Cain meet up with Weir's Mike Kovalick. A win by Cain and the Monarchs would wrap up their third straight team championship but Kovalick would not be denied and put the Red Riders in position to pull out the Cinderella Story with his 7-2 victory over Cain.
This left Weir's undefeated heavyweight Eric Frankovitch a chance to pull off a double win by claiming not only an individual crown for himself, but also the team title for the Red Riders. He would have to go through Jefferson County's once beaten behemoth in 280 pounder Steve McDonough and was doing just that with a 3-2 lead in the third period and in control of the match. McDonough did not quit and caught Frankovitch riding to high and the Eastern Panhandle grappler was able to roll his Northern Panhandle foe and garner the pin and spoiled the coronation of a new team champion.
The 1974 tournament doubled the number of participants from the previous year by allowing Regional Runner-ups to qualify for the first time ever. This allowed for 192 wrestlers to showcase their stuff, representing 52 schools. The format used was a follow the leader style, meaning, if a wrestler lost their first round match, they could only advance through consolations if their victor won their second round match.
South's Jimmy Weatherholt joined Pryor and Bosley by claiming his second of three titles. Weir's George Kovalick was named coach of the year by his peers. Seventeen wrestlers entered the tournament undefeated and only four came out unscathed. Besides Pryor and Bosley, Brooke's Kevin Felton and Huntington's Richard Johnson both finished with 25 wins, 0 losses. A notable undefeated wrestler going into the tournament was Morgantown's Terry Bowden at 155 pounds with a 19-0-2 record. Terry, the son of then WVU football coach, Bobby Bowden, finished fourth in the tournament. Terry went on to become a successful college football coach at Auburn and would have a career in TV Broadcasting.
Sources: The Parkersburg News & Sentinel, "The Emergence of High School Wrestling in West Virginia" by George Nedeff.
| 1. | John Marshall | 60.50 |
| 2. | Weir | 58.00 |
| 3. | Huntington | 42.50 |
| 4. | Parkersburg South | 42.00 |
| 5. | Warwood | 32.00 |
| 6. | Brooke | 26.00 |
| 7. | Morgantown | 25.00 |
| 8. | Big Creek | 24.00 |
| 9. | Parkersburg | 23.00 |
| 10. | Charleston | 22.00 |
| 11. | Milton | 19.00 |
| Buckhannon | 19.00 | |
| 13. | Jefferson | 17.00 |
| 14. | Oak Glen | 15.00 |
| 15. | Nitro | 14.00 |
| 16. | Hurricane | 13.50 |
| 17. | Stonewall Jackson | 13.00 |
| Wheeling | 13.00 | |
| 19. | Greenbrier West | 12.50 |
| 20. | Shady Spring | 10.00 |
| Universtiy | 10.00 | |
| Phillip Barbour | 10.00 | |
| 23. | Spencer | 9.50 |
| East Fairmont | 9.50 | |
| 25. | St. Marys | 9.00 |
| Man | 9.00 | |
| 27. | Fairmont Senior | 8.00 |
| 28. | Liberty | 7.00 |
| 29. | Keyser | 5.00 |
| Sissonville | 5.00 | |
| 31. | Martinsburg | 4.00 |
| Petersburg | 4.00 | |
| Wirt County | 4.00 | |
| 34. | Herbert Hoover | 3.00 |
| Huntington East | 3.00 | |
| Beckley | 3.00 | |
| Berkley Springs | 3.00 | |
| 38. | Elkins | 2.00 |
| DuPont | 2.00 | |
| Barboursville | 2.00 | |
| South Charleston | 2.00 | |
| George Washington | 2.00 | |
| 43. | St. Albans | 1.00 |
| Braxton | 1.00 | |
| Point Pleasant | 1.00 | |
| Buffalo | 1.00 | |
| 47. | Greenbrier East | 0.00 |
| Ripley | 0.00 | |
| Wheeling Central | 0.00 | |
| Walton | 0.00 | |
| Mannington | 0.00 | |
| Dunbar | 0.00 |
Weight: 98FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Kevin Felton BRK 25- 0- 0 2nd: Ron Finley MLT 25- 1- 0 3rd: Tom Lumadue NIT 34- 1- 0 4th: Sam Bonasso FS 21- 2- 0 | Weight: 105FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Keviin Messinger MRG 24- 1- 0 2nd: Jim Fluharty WAR 24- 2- 0 3rd: Chap Fay BAR 27- 4- 0 4th: Ron Sturkey HUN 24- 3- 0 |
Weight: 112FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Duke Hanlin WHL 22- 4- 0 2nd: Jeff Felton BRK 17- 6- 1 3rd: Jeff Sole PS 22- 2- 0 4th: John Hastie CHR 25- 2- 0 | Weight: 119FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Jim Weatherhlt PS 21- 2- 0 2nd: Bill Cole PRK 16- 3- 0 3rd: Gary Dobbs JM 16- 8- 1 4th: Randy Golden GRW 31- 4- 0 |
Weight: 126FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Chris Pryor WEI 29- 0- 0 2nd: Fred Pepper PRK 15- 2- 1 3rd: Dale Zopp BUC 23- 1- 0 4th: Doug Anderson LIB 22- 5- 0 | Weight: 132FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Ron Griffin JM 24- 1- 0 2nd: Roger Riggs HUN 22- 1- 0 3rd: Mike Jones BC 23- 4- 0 4th: Greg Justice MAN 24- 9- 1 |
Weight: 138FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Richard Johnson HUN 25- 0- 0 2nd: Ron Jewell WAR 24- 2- 0 3rd: Mike Waldeck WEI 27- 6- 0 4th: Bruce Phillips UNV 20- 3- 0 | Weight: 145FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Dean Patterson OG 29- 1- 0 2nd: Harvey Morrell PB 22- 1- 0 3rd: Brian Brecht WEI 21- 7- 0 4th: Paul Finley HUN 23- 5- 0 |
Weight: 155FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Steve Bosley PS 22- 0- 0 2nd: Ron Koontz JM 23- 1- 0 3rd: Steve Payne BC 27- 2- 0 4th: Terry Bowden MRG 23- 2- 2 | Weight: 167FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Scott Lehasky JM 24- 1- 0 2nd: Fred Starr CHR 25- 2- 0 3rd: Pat Knapanshue BUC 22- 3- 0 4th: John Holliday HUR 29- 6- 0 |
Weight: 185FOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Mike Kovalick WEI 28- 1- 0 2nd: Mike Caiin JM 19- 4- 1 3rd: Jim Grace HUR 34- 2- 0 4th: Robert Holley MLT 29- 5- 0 | Weight: UNLFOLLOW THIS LINK to see the complete bracket1st: Steve McDonough JEF 28- 1- 0 2nd: Eric Frankovitc WEI 17- 1- 1 3rd: Dennis Haney WAR 24- 3- 0 4th: Mike McDonough EF 27- 4- 0
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