ROGERS -- Bentonville High established momentum early in its finals dual against Springdale Har-Ber to claim the Arkansas Coaches' Association Class 6A Dual State title.
The Tigers won five consecutive matches en route to the 50-24 win over Har-Ber on Saturday at Rogers Heritage's War Eagle Arena.
Arkansas Wrestling Coaches’ Association Class 6A Dual State tournament
At War Eagle Arena, Rogers Heritage
Championship
Bentonville High 50, Springdale Har-Ber 24
Third-Place
Bentonville West 42, Fayetteville 33
Fifth-Place
Rogers High 43, Little Rock Central 30
Har-Ber won two of the first three matches to take the 12-6 lead, but the Wildcats won only two more matches the rest of the way.
After Har-Ber's early success, it was pretty much all Bentonville, which lost in the dual state finals to Har-Ber a year ago.
Quinn Graves earned a 10-1 major decision at 120 to start Bentonville's streak of five straight wins. Jake Adams and Walker Fox picked up pins, while Obi Smith claimed decisions and the Tigers led 29-12.
Max Salinas stopped the Bentonville surge temporarily with a second-period pin at 152, but the Tigers again responded with three straight wins before the teams traded forfeits in the final two weight classes.
Bentonville coach Jason Adams couldn't have been more pleased with his team's effort.
"We had a bye that first round, so I was afraid we were gonna be a little sloppy," Adams said. "Overall, a really good day. Kids wrestled well. I think we just wrestled better throughout the day and finished off strong right there.
"I knew our starting point there in the finals at heavyweight, it was going to be some back-and-forth matches and who could get the most team points there and getting the momentum throughout the rest of the dual."
Adams said his wrestlers are still learning but pointed out Graves for his effort on Saturday.
"We've got some guys improving on getting back points and trying to rack up bonus points for duals," Adams said. "Trying to maximize each match and get the most points possible, not being satisfied winning 4-2.
"Quinn Graves has been very consistent all year, and he's wrestling very well right now. He does the right things on and off the mat, and he's just a great role model for our kids. I'm just happy to see where he's at and where he was a year ago is night and day."
Har-Ber earned a first-round bye and cruised into the finals with a 57-19 win over Little Rock Catholic in the quarterfinals and 54-22 over Fayetteville in the semifinals. The Tigers roared to the finals, downing Springdale High 58-21 and handling crosstown rival Bentonville West 50-24.
Bentonville West, which lost to Bentonville in the semifinals, edged Fayetteville 42-33 for third place. The event matches the top dual teams from the West and Central but is not sanctioned as a state championship by the Arkansas Activities Association.
Adams said his team will go back to work on Monday in preparation for the Big West conference tournament next weekend and the state tournament on Feb. 22-23 in Little Rock.
"Now the end is in sight, and we know where we're trying to improve," Adams said. "We'll try to get every guy peaked out here in about three weeks. I think our guys feel good right now, but we're not gonna be satisfied with this."
Preps Sports on 02/03/2019