Southern Wayne celebrated senior night with a doubleheader non-conference sweep of North Lenoir and cross-county rival Eastern Wayne. From left are assistant coach Brandon Proctor, assistant coach Brian McCorkle, senior Gabriel Carmack, senior Oswaldo Quiroz, head coach Tori King and assistant coach Don DeGarmo. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Isaiah Smith gets taken down by Eastern Wayne’s Kaylee Rivers during their 113-pound match Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Yusef Ceballos, top, works against Eastern Wayne’s Jaydin Chapman during their 195-pound bout Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Andrew Dickens, top, earns a first-period fall against Eastern Wayne’s Novella King at 157 pounds Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior Oswaldo Quiroz, top, keeps the pressure on Eastern Wayne’s Kryshawn Summers during their 138-pound match Thursday evening. Quiroz pinned Summers. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
In no particular order, Southern Wayne teammates Yusef Ceballos, Dary Perez-Lucas and Oswaldo Quiroz cheer on teammate Catherine Chavarria during her 215-pound match against Eastern Wayne on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Catherine Chavarria, top, works against North Lenoir’s Chris Gutierrez-Fuentes during their 215-pound match Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior Gabriel Carmack, bottom, escapes getting pinned by North Lenoir’s Everett Rouse during their 175-pound match Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne first-year grappler Jordan Valentine, right, and North Lenoir’s Mohammed Sarah shake hands before their 150-pound match Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Amari Thomas, top, keeps control against North Lenoir’s Phillip Jefferson during their 144-pound match Thursday evening. Thomas earned a second-period fall over Jefferson. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Nathan Carlton, bottom, works to break the hold of North Lenoir’s Michael Barrow during early first-period action Thursday evening. Carlton concluded the night 1-1. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Southern Wayne healed up, rested and has gained some momentum on the wrestling mat after a week-long break.
Head coach Tori King couldn’t be more pleased.
For the third time in their last four outings, the Saints emerged victorious — this time with a doubleheader, non-conference sweep of North Lenoir (40-36) and cross-county rival Eastern Wayne (40-27) on Thursday evening.
“We sent our seniors out with two wins tonight,” King said.
Before the North Lenoir match, the Saints recognized seniors Oswaldo Quiroz and Gabe Carmack. The two grapplers combined to post a 3-1 record and increased their chances of clinching spots in the 2023 NC High School Athletic Association Class 3A east regionals in late January.
Quiroz scored a 12-0 major decision over North Lenoir’s Tim Kimberlin and pinned EW’s Kryshawn Summers in 2 minutes, 19 seconds at 138 pounds. Carmack rebounded from a loss against North Lenoir with a first-period fall over EW’s Devin Davis in the 175-pound division.
Southern Wayne (7-16 overall) logged a 7-8 worksheet in contested matches – two major decisions and five falls. King’s team also profited from seven forfeits.
“[I’m] very proud of the way our kids have been battling as of late,” King said. “They are sticking to the fundamentals and having fun as a team. They support each other, are starting to listen better and not make the same mistakes that they did early on in the year. They wrestled really well and continue to improve.”
In addition to Quiroz, four other teammates each filed a 2-0 worksheet — Omar Solar Sanchez, Andrew Dickens, Amari Thomas and Dary Perez-Lucas. Thomas has fully recovered from an injury that sidelined him for over a month. Sanchez joined the team after sitting out the first semester.
Nathan Carlton and Isaiah Smith each posted a 1-1 record.
Southern Wayne concludes regular-season action with a Quad County 3A tri-meet against Wilson Hunt at Smithfield-Selma on Jan. 17. The third annual QCC individual championships are Jan. 20 at East Wake High School.
Southern Wayne 40, North Lenoir 36
113: Omar Solar Sanchez (SW) by FF; 120: Angel Lee (NL) by FF; 126: Double FF; 132: Michael Barrow (NL) wbf Nathan Carlton (SW), 2:56; 138: Oswaldo Quiroz (SW) MD Tim Kimberlin (NL), 12-0; 144: Amari Thomas (SW) wbf Phillip Jefferson (NL), 3:05.5; 150: Mohammed Sarah (NL) wbf Jordan Valentine (SW) 5:25.8; 157: Andrew Dickens (SW) by FF; 165: Dary Perez-Lucas (SW) by FF; 175: Everett Rouse (NL) wbf Gabe Carmack (SW), 3:44.6; 190: Yusef Ceballos (SW) by FF; 215: Chris Gutierrez-Fuentes (NL) wbf Catherine Chavarria (SW), 2:10; HWT: Kane Moore (NL) by FF; 106: Isaiah Smith (SW) by FF.
Southern Wayne 40, Eastern Wayne 27
120: Double FF; 126: Double FF; 132: Nathan Carlton (SW) by FF; 138: Oswaldo Quiroz (SW) wbf Kryshawn Summers (EW), 2:19; 144: Amari Thomas (SW) MD Javan Joseph (EW), 11-2; 150: Nesir Williams (EW) wbf Jordan Valentine (SW), 1:11.2; 157: Andrew Dickens (SW) wbf Novella King (EW), 1:10.8; 165: Dary Perez-Lucas (SW) wbf Ahmir Jones (EW), 2:30; 175: Gabe Carmack (SW) wbf Devin Davis (EW), 1:19.8; 190: Jaydin Chapman (EW) dec. Yusef Ceballos, 9-2; 215: Emmanuel Smith (EW) wbf Catherine Chavarria (SW), 3:34.8; HWT: Issac Bryant (EW) by FF; ` Omar Solar Sanchez (SW) by FF; 113: Kaylee Rivera (EW) wbf Isaiah Smith (SW), 1:42.3.
