Randolph County boys - 41 of them - wrestle their way into the state meet

Boy’s wrestling in Randolph County is in a great spot right now, evident by four teams still alive entering the third and fourth rounds of the dual meet tournament at the beginning of the week.

A big exclamation point was added last weekend at the various regional tournaments as 41 wrestlers, the exact same amount as last year, qualified for the state championship meets scheduled for later this week at the Greensboro Coliseum. 

A total of 17 won regional championships this year, the exact same amount as last year when Randolph County finished with nine state champions, the most in county history.

Trinity High School won the team competition at the 3-A East Regional at Ayden-Grifton High School while placing 12 wrestlers to the state tournament, and Uwharrie Charter Academy won the 4-A East Regional at Moorehead High School and placed 11 for the state meet.

Wheatmore High School had eight wrestlers advance to the state 3-A meet with Eastern Randolph placing five and Providence Grove three. 

Randleman placed one for the 4-A meet and Asheboro High School had one advance to the state 6-A meet.

UCA had another strong performance in the 4-A regional meet as the Eagles earned four regional titles, three second-place finishers, two thirds and two fourths. The Eagles placed first as a team with 235 points.

“New division, same results,” UCA coach Hayden Waddell said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to go in and perform like we did, going from 1-A to 4-A.

“I am certainly pleased with everyone’s performance. Even the ones who didn’t make it. They battled.”

Winning regional titles were Ayven Virasone Chitavong at 106, Andrew White at 120, Paxton Kearns at 126 and three-time defending state champion Lorenzo Alston at 175.

Caleb Saldana (138), Ric Riccardella (150) and Ryan Alvarez (190) placed second; Huntley Adcock (132) and Travis Nobles (157) placed third; and Chase Wooley (113) and Brennan Worrell (144) placed fourth.

Randleman’s Alex Raymundo was third at 106 and advanced to the state meet.

UCA hosted the dual meet championships this past Tuesday night as the Eagles went for their fourth straight dual meet state championship. The final stages of the dual meet tournament were pushed back because of the snowy and icy weather that the state experienced a few weeks ago.

“It’s all about keeping the mindset right,” Waddell said of wrestling for the dual meet and then competing in the state tournament the same week. “It’s been a weird year. I love wrestling, but I don’t only want to develop them into great wrestlers, but great people. Life is hard and there is going to be adversity. We have to handle that adversity.”

In the 3-A East Regional at Ayden-Grifton High School, 28 wrestlers advanced, including 12 regional champions. Capturing regional titles were Trinity’s Jeven Palmeri at 106, Aiden Burkholder (113), Stephen Cross (120), Omega Edge (132), Hezekyah Matson (138), Simeon Hammett (144), Harris Idrees (165), Anees Kahn (175) and Joseph Trahan (285); and Wheatmore’s Ayden Sumners (126), Spencer Moore (150) and Dominic Hittepole (190).

Seven wrestlers placed second, including Eastern Randolph’s Lucas Kennedy (120), David Lambright (126) and Maddox Carson (285); Providence Grove’s Ayden Terwilliger (132) and Malachi Combo (175); Wheatmore’s Nolan Hammonds (138); and Trinity’s Addam Bernal (157).

Placing third were WHS’ Terry Gillespie (113), PG’s Jeremiah Payne (120),  ER’s Jamie Crabtree and THS’ Grayson Carroll (190).

Qualifying fourth were THS’ Edgar Vasquez (126), WHS’ Dylan Harris (106), Brodie Bates (165) and Peyton Russo (285) and ER’s James Combs (215).

In the 126-pound finals, WHS’ Sumners and ER’s Lambright, who had both won state titles last year, battled each other for the regional title. 

In the team competition, Randolph County teams took four of the top five spots in the 23-team field with Trinity rolling to the win with 294.5 points. Wheatmore was second (173.5), Eastern Randolph fourth (126) and Providence Grove fifth (86.5)

Six of the 13 weight classes featured two Randolph County wrestlers in the finals.

In the 6-A West Regional meet held at the Kernersville Recreation Center, Oscar Zelaya was the only Blue Comets wrestler to advance. He placed first in the 126-pound classification, defeating Michael Milton of Dudley High School by major decision (13-3) in the finals. He went 4-0 in the tournament.

“I think it went pretty good, I wrestled to my best ability,” Zelaya said. “Throughout the week I just kept telling myself I was the best 26-pounder there and getting mentally prepared. Go out and run through him. Put it on him.”