The 1958 Tournament was held at Parkersburg's Memorial Field House on February 22, 1958. Forty wrestlers represented fourteen high schools from four regions. Only regional champions qualified for the tournament. The finals were witnessed by over 500 spectators. Tournament Director was Parkersburg High School Athletic Business Mananger, T. Cross. Officials were Grover McLaughlin of Nemacolin, PA, and Robert de Antonis of Morgantown.
Parkersburg proved to be one of the dominant teams in state history in 1958. They went undefeated for two years winning nineteen dual matches, two regional titles and two state championships. In 1958, they clinched the team title after the first round of competition by advancing eight of nine wrestlers from ten weight classes to the finals. They more than doubled the team score of their second place counterparts, with a final count of 83 to 41. Out of twenty wrestlers within those two years, they had 19 regional champions, 11 state champions, 3 state runner-ups and 5 third place state finishers. Every participant won a match at the state tournament in those two years.
The 1958 tournament saw four former state champions claim another title for themselves. Fairmont West's Terry Dunscomb made history by becoming the second wrestler to win three State Championships. He was the first African/American to accomplish this feat in the state and had made history at the 1956 tournament when he became the first African/American State Champion.
Joe Zaleski won his second title in three years for University High School. Zaleski won his first title in 1956 but missed the 1957 tournament while serving in the Armed Forces. Parkersburg's Jim Mattern and Ron Wines also successfully defended their state titles in grand style, with Wines capping an undefeated season while Mattern was undefeated two years. All of Mattern's victory came by pinfall in his senior season.
Other notable names from the 1958 tournament were Hinton's Jackie "Jess" Plumley and Barboursville's Roger Jefferson. Plumley helped establish one of the first small fry programs in the state when he coached many years in the Wood County Recreation program. Jefferson went on to become a successful wrestling and football coach for Stonewall Jackson and Capital High School. George Nedeff went on to wrestle at WVU and hold various positions in the athletic department there, including head wrestling coach. He is the author of the book "The Emergence of High School Wrestling in West Virginia".
Special thanks to Ron Wines for providing his Scrap Book. Other Sources: The Parkersburg News & Sentinel, The Parkerburg High School Journal and George Nedeff's book "The Emergence of High School Wrestling in West Virginia"
FOLLOW THIS LINK for a photo of the 1958 State Champions
| 1. | Parkersburg* | 83.00 |
| 2. | Fairmont West | 41.00 |
| 3. | Beckley | 29.00 |
| 4. | Barboursville | 19.00 |
| 5. | Sophia | 12.00 |
| 6. | University | 11.00 |
| 7. | Morgantown | 9.00 |
| Hinton | 9.00 | |
| 9. | Shady Springs | 8.00 |
| 10. | Kingwood | 5.00 |
| Richwood | 5.00 | |
| 12. | Wayne | 4.00 |
| 13. | Webster Springs | 2.00 |
| 14. | Weirton | 1.00 |
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