Southeast Guilford Wrestling Team State Champions get their Rings:Evan Surgeon(44-0) and Carson Smith(40-0) among the memories

The Southeast Guilford Wrestling team repeated as 4A State Champions this year as they outscored Ben L. Smith (3rd with 92 points) and West Forsyth (2nd with 98 points) and SEHS (115 points).

“It was a very different experience this year. Last year the kids and coaches felt a lot of pressure because we knew we had the talent to win and it all came down the final 4 championship matches, this year we mathematically clinched the title before lunch time before the finals even began” said head coach Jed Cox in his 12th season at SEHS and 4th as Head Coach. This was the very first team in school history to win back-to-back state titles in any sport. The team qualified 7 kids to enter the 4A state championships and placed 6 of those wrestlers in the top 5 of their weight classes.

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Josh Wilson (9th) lost first round to an opponent that he defeated easily during the regular season and battled all the way back to win 4 matches in the consolation round to place 5th at 106 pounds. “When we got Josh in November, he was a immature but very talented boy, When he finished wrestling on the final day, he was a man ready to go against anyone” – Cox.

Levi West (11th) had to medically withdraw from the State Tournament last year because of a head injury and was heartbroken. This year, West fell in the Semi-finals to the eventual champion and also finished in 5th place at 220 lbs.

Austin Robinson (12th) had never qualified for the state tournament in the past and punched his ticket to the finals when he upset his opponent from Pinecrest that beat him handily during the regular season. Austin fell in the championship finals to a wrestler from Moresville and finished 2nd @ 132 pounds.

Michael Johnson (12th) finished in 6th place last season and was looking to improve on his State Tournament performance this year. Michael won 3 straight matches and fell to Jalen Davis from Riverside High School in the state finals. Johnson finished 2nd at 195lbs.

Evan Suregon (12th) had some unfinished business to take on as he has finished 2nd at 220lbs in 2015 and 2016. Surgeon won his first three bouts by pinning his opponents and met Alex Crawford of Southern Alamance High School in the finals. Surgeon had defeated Crawford in a Metro 4A conference dual match 6-2 during the regular season but only needed 90 second to pin him in the championship finals. Suregon finished as the first wrestler in SEHS history to go undefeated, 44-0, and the only wrestler in SEHS history to reach the state finals three times. Surgeon will go to Wingate University in the fall on a full scholarship to play football.

Carson Smith was 2nd last season and entered the state tournament undefeated at 40-0. He cruised to the finals where he met Isaac Toe from High Point Central. Carson defeated Toe easily to win the 4A State Championship at 113lbs. He became the 2ndwrestler in SEHS to finish a season undefeated.

All 31 team members and coaches received a state championship ring this past Friday night at the team cookout. Coach Cox says “These rings aren’t about 7 guys making it to the State tournament, it’s a real team effort. The kids in our middle and high school programs work hard to create a championship environment and culture. We had lots of kids continue to come to practices and workouts just so they could help our 7 prepare for the state tournament. It was very important to us that every team member get a State Championship ring because they were part of the process”.

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Continuing with program tradition, the state qualifying wrestlers all dyed their hair blonde to show team unity. Cox was again, forced to participate in the hair dying because he made a bet with the team that he would join in the coloring fun if they qualified 7 or more wrestlers for the state championship.

The Falcons move down in classification to 3A next season and look forward to some new challenges with new opponents.

One thought on “Southeast Guilford Wrestling Team State Champions get their Rings:Evan Surgeon(44-0) and Carson Smith(40-0) among the memories

  1. Great job Southeast!! They worked hard for this goal.I am so proud of this group of young men. They will be continue to do great things.

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