2018 1A Dual Team Wrestling: Rosewood holds off Robbinsville for Eagles’ third DT Championship
Rosewood battled back from an early 9-0 deficit to knock off defending 1A Champions, Robbinsville, in the 2018 NCHSAA Dual Team Wrestling State Championship. Joey Behrend was named the match MVP for his performance at 160 pounds, pinning Colton Phillips with 36.7 seconds remaining in the second period. The pin sealed the third Dual Team State Championship for the Eagles.
Wess Hooper led off the match with a bang for the Knights, pinning Rosewood’s David Brown with 1:08 to go in the second period. Fredy Romero followed that with a 9-3 decision win over Blake Jarman to put Robbinsville in front 9-0 through two of the event’s fourteen bouts.
Rosewood finally got on the board in the 285-pound division as Nyterrius Williams won by forfeit with no wrestlers eligible for Robbinsville, trimming the lead to 9-6. Christian Decatur gave the Eagles their first lead at 106 pounds as he pinned Luke Wilson with 1:04 remaining in the first which gave Rosewood a 12-9 advantage.
After a forfeit at 113 pounds that briefly put Robbinsville back up front, Timothy Decatur stepped into the circle for his 120 pound bout with Braden Millsaps. Timothy Decatur dominated Millsaps, reeling off 17 unanswered points to win by technical fall and put the Eagles up 17-15. Tanner Smith also won by technical fall at 145 for Rosewood, besting Christian Queen.
Collin Pendergraph won the 170 pound division by pin for Rosewood, ending the bout against Austin Lovin with 1:39 remaining in the first period. That victory came with the match in hand and put Rosewood on top 41-21.
Jordan Todd won a major decision victory over Cooper Cable, shutting Cable out 14-0 in the 138 pound bout. Reid Amodeo was the lone decision winner for Rosewood, knocking out Nathan Fisher in a tightly contested 3-2 bout at 126 pounds.
2018 2A Dual Team Wrestling: West Lincoln runs away from Croatan 54-16
West Lincoln ripped off three straight first period pin wins in the early portion of their 2A Dual Team Championship match against Croatan, running out to a 24-4 lead through five bouts, on their way to a dominating 54-16 win over the Cougars. Rebels grappler Keaton Norman was named the match MVP, opening the match with a pin victory over Colton Sullivan at 138 pounds. Norman set the tone early for West Lincoln, pouncing on the opportunity for a pin victory with just 21 seconds gone in the opening bout.
After a major decision win by Croatan’s Justin Jolin narrowed the score to 6-4, the Rebels saw Nathan Hull (152), Canon Bridges (160) and Hayden Thomas (170) all pin their opponents in the first period of their respective matches, stretching the lead out to 24-4. The three pins pushed the Rebels on their way to their third State Dual Team Championship and their first since 2015.
Croatan battled back in the heaviest four divisions. Walker Gladwell stopped the 18-0 run with his 17-10 decision over Luke Scronce at 182 pounds. Kyle Kort gave the Cougars a little more momentum with an 8-2 decision over Alex Hall, cutting the West Lincoln lead to 24-10. Tyger Hall narrowly missed a major decision, winning 11-4 at 220 pounds as Harley Scronce scrapped to get a late point in the match.
The heavyweight battle between Croatan’s Nathan Waltrip and West Lincoln’s Brock Steele was the match’s most competitive bout. The two wrestlers each earned one escape point through the match’s first three periods, forcing overtime. Neither grappler managed to strike in the sudden victory period and each managed to escape in the two :30 second overtime periods forcing the bout to the ultimate tiebreaker. Waltrip managed to nab a 2-point takedown and claim a 4-2 win in the Ultimate Tiebreaker, bringing the Cougars within eight at 24-16.
West Lincoln put the foot on the gas after the heavyweight bout with Langston Hoffman (106), Luke Stewart (113), Ricky Reynolds (120), Chance Norman (126) and Xander Pendergrass (132) all winning their respective matches by pin. Stewart’s pin of Luke Walker with 1:18 remaining in the second period clinched the title for the Rebels.
2018 3A Dual Team Wrestling: Piedmont bests Orange for second straight title
For the second consecutive year the Piedmont Panthers knocked off Orange in the 3A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship, winning this year’s match by a 33-31 count. Piedmont’s Luis Oropesa took home MVP honors for his decision victory over Daylen Alston in the heavyweight bout as Oropesa outscored Alston 9-6.
Oropesa’s win stopped a string of 10 unanswered points for Orange and put Piedmont in the score column for the first time on the night. His victory started a string of seven straight wins for Piedmont wrestlers on their way to the school’s third Dual Team State Championship and second consecutive title.
Orange jumped on top early, claiming a pin victory in the opening bout of the match followed by a major decision victory. Josiah Ramirez pinned Travis Murphy with 1:31 remaining in the second period to get Orange out to a 6-0 lead after the 195 pound bout. His teammate Brandon Homsey followed that up with a 17-9 major decision victory over James Price at 220.
Kylan Thomas sealed the title for Piedmont, pinning Mario Manduiano with 1:38 remaining in the third period of the 152 pound bout, lifting Piedmont to an insurmountable 33-13 lead with just three division remaining. Tripp Collins (106) and Mason Fisher (138) also won by pin for Piedmont. Collins tapped down Kessell Summers with just one second remaining in the second period. Fisher bested Michael Phillips with 26 seconds to go in the first period.
Bailey Wicker (113), Nathan Huntley (120), Angelo Gilvary (126) and Colby Funderburk (132) all won by decision for Piedmont. Levi Anderson (145) was the lone decision victory for Orange.
2018 4A Dual Team Wrestling: Cary holds off West Forsyth 38-32 to win ninth DT Crown
The Cary Imps claimed their ninth ever Dual Team Wrestling State Championship with a thrilling 38-32 victory over the two-time defending champions, West Forsyth, in the 4A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship. Cary’s Conrad Shiess was the match MVP, winning the match’s final bout by pinning Kyle Perkins with 1:10 remaining in the first period to win the 132 pound division and the title.
The match was tightly contested through all 14 weightclasses, but the Imps only trailed once following Tyler O’Neal’s pin victory over Wesley Alexander at 160 gave West Forsyth a breif 10-9 lead through four bouts.
Cymek Shaw pinned Eli Muckelvene in the 138 pound match, giving the Imps a 6-0 lead right out of the chute. Paul Grena followed that victory with a 4-2 overtime decision over Andres Perez, boosting the Cary lead to 9-0.
West Forsyth’s Preston Broadus toppled the building momentum, earning a 12-3 major decision victory over Marlon Toruno at 152 pounds, trimming the lead to 9-4.
Cary answered back with a short run of success as Ryan Wolfram dominated Jordan Aladwan 24-8 in the 170 pound bout, winning by technical fall and pushing the Imps back in front 14-10. Wolfram’s teammate Nick Straight followed that performance with a pin victory over Gus Smith, tacking Smith to the mat with 22 seconds remaining in the first and extending the Cary lead to 20-10.
Cary got pin wins from Devin Vann at 220 and Kobe Early at 113 to keep the pressure on the Titans in the match’s late stages. Vann pinned Evan Andrews with 1:42 remaining in the first while Early got the best of Sam Reavis with 1:06 to go in the opening period. Early’s victory put the Imps up 32-23 with just three bouts remaining.
The two-time defending 4A Dual Team Champions, West Forsyth, responded in the 120 and 126 pound bouts, evening the score at 32 following a pin victory for Evon LaBella at 120 and Ethan Wright’s gutty 4-3 decision victory in the ultimate tiebreaker period, setting up a winner-take-all match at 132 between Shiess and Perkins.