Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Two area wrestling standouts are sharing the 2026 all-county/all-city wrestler of year honors.
Radford’s Cole Martin and Christiansburg’s Brady Hand both repeated as state champions this past month in their respective weight classes.
Martin pinned Carson Duckworth of Strasburg in 16 seconds during the finals to claim the mark at 190 pounds in the Class 2 ranks.
Last February, Martin won his 100th match. Martin placed fourth in the VHSL state tournament in both his freshman and sophomore before bringing the title belt the past two years.
Hand is a different story, having won four straight. This year, he won the Class 3 title at 150 pounds and has committed to wrestle at Appalachian State.
In April, Hand will be recognized as the 3A/4A athlete of the year and inducted into Virginia’s National Chapter of Wrestling Hall of Fame.
