Dylan Ramage, of East Wilkes, works to defend a turn by Jacob Regitz, of Bishop McGuinness.
Eight wrestlers from the Elkin, Jonesville, Boonville, Roaring River, and Ronda communities qualified for the individual state wrestling championships on Feb. 18 and 19 at the Greensboro Coliseum. Two members of the Starmount Ram contingency managed to survive the “blood round” and earn places on the podium on Saturday evening.
Five of the eight area qualifiers posted quarterfinal victories on Friday afternoon. Elkin’s David Rojas, in the 115-pound weight class, became the first area wrestler to advance to the evening’s semifinal contests by pinning Cooper Wingate of the North Carolina Leadership Academy.
Starmount’s Cole Nixon pinned Rosewood’s Michael Linko in their 134-pound bout to advance to the semifinals. Steven Sullivan, competing in the 222-pound division, joined his Ram teammate in the semifinals by felling Chatham Central’s Jarrett Mashburn.
East Wilkes claimed two quarterfinal victories in the 147 and the 154-pound weight classes respectively. Kole Lambert pinned Pamlico County’s Jake Whitley while Dylan Ramage felled Carson Robinson of Uwharrie Charter.
Elkin’s Adrian Rodriguez was pinned by the eventual state champion, Grayson Roberts of Uwharrie Charter, in their quarterfinal match in the 162-pound division. Starmount’s Johnatan Argueta was felled by Thomasville’s Deshawn Holman in the 287-pound class.
The final area qualifier was Kaden Royal of East Wilkes in the 140-pound weight class. Royal was unable to compete in the state championships due to an injury that he sustained in the WNCHSAA Regional Tournament.
Friday evening’s semifinal matches were not as kind to the local grapplers. Elkin’s Rojas was pinned by the eventual state champion Ben Jordan of Avery County.
Nixon and Sullivan of the Rams also fell in defeat. Nixon dropped a 7 to 3 decision to Bryson Church of Alleghany while Sullivan was pinned by Robbinsville’s Ben Wachacha, the eventual state champion.
East Wilkes’ Lambert lost an 8 to 3 decision to Avery’s Johnathan Cable. Lambert’s Cardinal teammate Ramage was pinned by Chase Miller of Cherryville.
The opening consolation round on Saturday morning was a successful one for local athletes. Rodriguez of Elkin posted an 11 to 10 decision over Thomasville’s Alex Henderson and Starmount’s Argueta pinned Jake Morin of Uwharrie Charter.
The consolation semifinals are often referred to as the “blood round.” The winners in this round earn a prime spot on the podium as they can finish the tournament in no worse than fourth place.
The Elkin duo of Rojas and Rodriguez failed to advance through this round. Rojas lost a 10 to 9 decision to Brandon Jordan of Uwharrie Charter, while Rodriguez was felled by Alleghany’s Isaac Stoker.
Both of the competing Cardinal wrestlers ended their tournaments in this round. Lambert lost a 7 to 6 decision to Jaret Panama of Robbinsville, while Ramage was pinned by Jacob Regitz of Bishop McGuinness.
Starmount’s Argueta became the final area casualty of the “blood round.” He was pinned by Kohlton Neadeau of Swain County.
Two Rams managed to claim victories in this round to earn spots in the consolation finals. Nixon posted a 12 to 0 major decision over Mt. Airy’s John Cox and Sullivan felled Jaden Marion of Uwharrie Charter.
In the consolation finals, Nixon delivered a 16 to 6 major decision over Michael Linko of Rosewood to claim a third-place finish. Sullivan dropped a 12 to 1 major decision to Grayson Hoilman of Avery County and finished in fourth place.