Southern Wayne freshman Omar Soler Sanchez, front, tries to break free from South Johnston’s Ethan Brownlee during their championship battle at 106 pounds in the Quad County 3A wrestling tournament Saturday. Brownlee pinned Sanchez 41 seconds into the second period. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne junior heavyweight Eli Hulet, top, keeps pressure on Charles B. Aycock’s Jadon Best during their semifinal-round match in the Quad County 3A wrestling tournament Saturday. Hulet pinned Best in the second period. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Amari Thomas gets taken to the mat by South Johnston’s Nathaniel Stanley during their first-round match at 138 pounds in the Quad County 3A wrestling tournament Saturday. Stanley pinned Thomas. The two met again for third place, this time Thomas had his hand raised in victory after Stanley was disqualified. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Southern Wayne continues to climb up the Quad County 3A wrestling ladder under the leadership of head coach Tori King.
The Saints matched their medal count from a year ago and had six grapplers finish among the top four in their respective weight classes during the QCC tournament contested Saturday.
“[I] saw some good things from the kids,” King said. “They really have come a long way this season. I’m really proud of the kids and all of their hard work. We are ready to head to regionals and see what happens.”
Freshman Omar Soler Sanchez and junior Eli Hulet emerged as the QCC runner-up at 106 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Sanchez fell to South Johnston’s Ethan Brownlee, who won the 113-pound title in 2022.
The top seed, Hulet endured a 9-1 loss to Fike’s Nick Rodgers.
Teammate Amari Thomas experienced a bizarre finish at 138 pounds.
The sophomore trailed South Johnston’s Nathaniel Stanley in match points and faced a possible technical fall. Stanley turned Thomas onto his back and appeared to have enough points to seal the outcome.
What happened next stunned everyone.
The referee stopped the action and didn’t award the nearfall points. Stanley voiced his dissatisfaction with the decision and was immediately disqualified. The ref raised Thomas’ hand in victory as Trojan fans booed from the bleachers.
The controversial ending cost South 11 team points and opened the door for defending QCC tournament champ Charles B. Aycock. The Golden Falcons vaulted back in front and retained their crown with a 208-166.5 decision over the Trojans.
More Saints results
Senior Mia Glaspie-Leach (113 pounds), junior Antonio Solice (160) and junior Lamontez White (220) each ended up fourth.
Glaspie-Leach drew the crowd’s support when she avoided a pin and grabbed the upper hand against East Wake’s Antonio Mitchell. He regained his composure and pinned the Saint grappler at the 1-minute, 47-second mark.
Josiah Bell picked up a win at 120.
Teammates Matt Whitley (170), Narderon Cox (182) and Yuseff Ceballos (195) also competed in the day-long, double-elimination tournament.
King said the team missed sophomore Dary Perez Lucas and junior Oswaldo Quiroz. Lucas suffered a dislocated left elbow. Quiroz sat out with a head injury.
Team results
The Golden Falcons had four individual champions – Russell Davis (138), Axl Perry (145), Dawson Sauls (170) and Travis Burton (182). Three grapplers logged second-place finishes, while five teammates returned to Pikeville with bronze medals.
Jaden Bevell joined Aycock’s “Century Club” with his 100th victory after he pinned East Wake’s Eathon Eaton in 41 seconds. Teammates unfurled a banner recognizing Bevell for his achievement.
Bevell wound up second at 126 pounds.
Aycock recorded 21 pins as a team.
Bolstered by a tournament-high five individual champions, Fike amassed 131 points. East Wake took fourth with 99 points, followed by West Johnston (72), Southern Wayne (67.5), Smithfield-Selma (44.5) and Hunt (31).
Brownlee, fellow Trojan Israel Guerra (113), and Fike’s Barrett Klutey (132) successfully defended their QCC titles from 2022. Guerra wrestled for West Johnston a year ago, but donned a South uniform this season.
