Southern Wayne head wrestling coach Tori King, left, demonstrates a move with Omar Soler-Sanchez from the sideline to a wrestler on the mat last season. The Saints open their 2024 campaign Nov. 13 at Rosewood. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Block by block, the work continues to rebuild a once-prominent wrestling program at Southern Wayne.
Alum Tori King has been the architect.
He hasn’t quite found a consistent heartbeat from his grapplers since workouts began nearly two weeks ago.
But, don’t fall asleep on the Saints.
“I feel like we are still growing in the right direction as a program,” King said. “The [wrestling] room isn’t quite as full as I would like it to be, but coming from where we were a few years ago to now, I am pleased with the growth. I am confident in the group that I have returning.”
Six starters return off last year’s team, including four that placed in the season-ending Quad County 3A Conference individual championships.
Junior Omar Soler-Sanchez emerged as the 106-pound QCC champ. He placed fourth in the east regional and became the first Saint to qualify for the NC High School Athletic Association state tournament since 2017.
The team’s lone senior and multi-sport athlete, Amari Thomas finished as the QCC runner-up at 144 pounds last winter. He missed half of the season due to an injury.
Sophomore Jordan Valentine started to blossom as the season progressed. His talent translated into a bronze medal (third place) at 150 pounds in the QCC tournament.
Yusef Ceballos logged a fourth-place peformance at 190 pounds. He’s joined by returnees Isaiah Smith (103) and middle weight Zach Sauls.
“Omar is obviously our bright spot returning this year and is anxious to put together a full season this year … add to his state championship run again this year,” King said. “We’re expecting Amari to have a breakout year. Jordan and Yusef are also looking to improve from last year.”
King expects his experienced matmen to lead their inexperienced teammates. He hopes it results in a positive manner and helps the Saints make a postseason push — individual and dual-team wise.
SW placed sixth as a team in the QCC tournament.
The Saints open the season Nov. 13 with a quad [four-team] meet at traditional powerhouse Rosewood. County rival Goldsboro and Rocky Mount will also participate.
Three days later, Southern Wayne plays host to the third annual Saint Takedown King Invitational. There are two additional, multi-team home duals scheduled, but King’s grapplers also have numerous road swings that involve either dual or individual competition.
“Hopefully, we can get some young guys to catch on and help contribute,” King said. “It’s still early to have a pulse on the team, but if the past is any indication, we will have a resilient, hard-working group of kids. That’s always a good thing.
“We’ve lost a few coaches, so we will be hurting from that standpoint. But [assistant coach] Devin McCorkle and I have been working really hard to help change the culture around here. He has been very vital in everything that we are trying to accomplish here and I would be lost without him.”
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
