From left, Southern Wayne’s Eli Hulet, Daylan Kornegay and head coach Tori King wait for their dual match to start against Raleigh Athens Drive on Wednesday.
Southern Wayne’s Josiah Bell, top, works against Athens Drive’s Michael Wirt during their 120-pound match at the Sass-Memorial Duals held at Rosewood on Wednesday.|(Rudy Coggins/mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Josiah Bell, top, scores nearfall points against Athens Drive 120-pounder Michael Wirt.|(Rudy Coggins/mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior Daylan Kornegay, top, needed three periods to pin Athens Drive 170-pounder Wesley Cohn on Wednesday.
Southern Wayne multi-sport athlete Oswaldo Quiroz takes North Johnston’s David Fitzgerald to the mat during their 132-pound bout Wednesday. Quiroz pinned Fitzgerald in 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
Southern Wayne multi-sport athlete Oswaldo Quiroz takes North Johnston’s David Fitzgerald to the mat during their 132-pound bout Wednesday. Quiroz pinned Fitzgerald in 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
Southern Wayne’s Lamontez White, back, looks toward his coaches for instructions during his battle with North Johnston’s Camden Creech at 220 pounds. Creech slipped past White, 17-15.
Southern Wayne’s Omar Soler Sanchez, top, scored a 34-second pin against North Johnston 113-pounder Joshua Ceron on Wednesday.
ROSEWOOD – Don’t think, just wrestle.
It’s a mantra Southern Wayne has adopted on the mat and it’s slowly paying dividends this season.
Team wins have been scarce.
Individual triumphs, on the other hand, are occurring in abundance compared to the last two winters under the direction of SW alum and head coach Tori King.
“The kids are enjoying wrestling and they are eager to improve on things that they are making mistakes on … generally know which things when I ask them, which is good,” King said. “It’s a matter of getting their bodies to respond and not thinking so much. That is always a challenge with young wrestlers.”
Nine different Saints combined for 18 wins and two wound up unbeaten during the annual Sass-Holmes Memorial Duals contest at Rosewood High School on Wednesday. Daylan Kornegay turned in a 4-0 worksheet. Heavyweight Nagha Miles stuck North Johnston’s Austin Lett just 46 seconds into the first period.
Omar Soler Sanchez and Lamontez White each ended up 3-1. Oswaldo Quiroz, Amari Thomas and heavyweight Eli Hulet picked up two wins apiece. Josiah Bell contributed one win. Sanchez claimed a 9-7, sudden-victory over Bunn 113-pounder Spencer Stallman.
SW posted 14 falls (pins) and earned the initial takedown on 18 occasions. However, 17 forfeits factored into the outcomes.
Short-handed due to holiday commitments, Southern Wayne dropped dual encounters with Athens Drive (54-30), Bunn (63-15), North Johnston (50-30) and former Eastern Carolina 3A-4A Conference foe South Central (42-36).
“It’s tough because [experience] comes from repetition, so having all those matches is such a short time is good for them,” King said. “We are improving every day and I’m excited to see them progress from week to week.”
The Saints (0-6 overall) open their Quad County 3A campaign at home Tuesday against South Johnston and Wilson Fike.
