UCA wrestler wins rare fourth state title; local wrestlers win seven in all

GREENSBORO — Lorenzo Alston had his hand stretched high into the air, the referee guiding him to face each side of the jammed First Horizon Coliseum Saturday night. A couple of excited fist pumps were followed by a high backflip, Alston making a perfect landing back on the wrestling mat before jumping into the arms of his Uwharrie Charter Academy coaching staff. 

Alston reached rarified air by becoming just the 16th wrestler in NCHSAA history to capture four state championships. And although it was done once prior to Alston achieving the feat Saturday night and once more after, giving the state 17 wrestlers who completed this accomplishment, it certainly didn’t dampen the celebration for a large contingent of Eagles fans in the coliseum. 

Alston led another strong showing of Randolph County wrestlers at the state meets Saturday night as seven wrestlers — four from Trinity, two from Wheatmore and Alston — captured state championships.  

THS’ Aiden Burkholder (113 pounds), Omega Edge (132), Hezekyah Matson (138) and Joseph Trahan (285) joined Wheatmore’s Ayden Sumners (126) and Dominic Hittepole (190) in capturing state crowns with Alston. For Burkholder, Sumners and Hittepole, it was their second straight state championship. 

A total of 41 male wrestlers from Randolph County competed in the state meets with 23 wrestlers placing in the top four. THS had four firsts, three seconds Wrestling 

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and three fourths; WHS had two firsts; Eastern Randolph had two seconds and a third; UCA had one first, three thirds and two fourths; Providence Grove had one third; and Asheboro had one second. 

This was the first year that the state tournament featured eight wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes. The classifications increased from four to eight and instead of 16 wrestlers per division in each class, only the top eight qualified. 

Last year, 25 wrestlers from the county were medalists with the 1-A division honoring four places and the remaining three classifications honoring six. 

It didn’t matter what classification, what conference, what day of the week or what he was wearing through his four years as a wrestler for UCA, Alston was dominant. He had little trouble recording an 8-1 win over Jacob Reigel of Mount Pleasant for his fourth individual title. 

“It’s a blessing, it’s been a long, long road,” said Alston, who recorded more than 200 wins in high school and signed with NC State earlier this year to continue his career. “I don’t know how to put it into words right now. A lot of emotions. Super happy and thankful for my coaches.” 

Alston showed quite a future in wrestling when he was very young. 

“We have been saying since we’ve known him that he was going to be a four-time state champion,” UCA wrestling coach Hayden Waddell said. “Since I was in high school, a senior, he has been coming to practice. He was coming to high school practice and wrestling as a fifth grader and beating kids up.  

“Everything he’s got, he’s earned. He has done all the work. He’s here because he earned it. It’s an experience not a lot of coaches get to have. Seeing him grow is more than just coaching. He’s family.” 

Alston’s 8-1 win Saturday night looked effortless. He recorded a take-down in the first period and a reversal in the second period for a 5-0 lead. 

“When I went up by five in the second period, I knew I could hold on and secure the W and celebrate,” Alston said. 

There was an awful lot of celebrating by an awful lot of Randolph County wrestlers. The night started at the 144-pound weight class where Trinity’s Simeon Hammett dropped a hard-fought 5-4 decision to Michael Fischer of Mount Airy, a nailbiter that went down to the last few seconds. 

After Alston earned his win at 175, Wheatmore’s Hittepole won his second straight title, recording a 6-3 win over Styler Blackwell of Polk County. “This one feels special because two is greater than one, so it feels so good,” Hittepole said of his back-to-back wins. “Tonight’s gameplan was to come in, get a takedown and have mat control and secure the win.” 

He did just that. 

The 285-pound match featured THS’ Trahan and Eastern Randolph’s Maddox Carson, one of two weight classes that included two Randolph County wrestlers. Trahan trailed 2-1 in the third period when he recorded a three-point takedown. 

“Beyond excited,” he said seconds after having his arm raised. “All the hard work and dedication I put in since sixth grade, all the blood sweat and tears. It’s been a great journey to be a part of and I’m glad I went out this way. This is the hardest fight I’ve had all year.” 

Trinity’s Jeven Palmeri dropped a 10-4 decision to North Wilkes Hunter Dancey in the 106-pound 3-A final before teammate Burkholder captured his second straight title with a 12-3 win over Angel Olalde of Mount Airy at 113. 

“I knew I was going to be with that kid all season, it was a match I was looking forward to,” said Burkholder, who led 8-0 after the first period en route to a 12-3 victory. “In the warmup room, pacing back and forth, anxiety through the roof and when you come out here everyone is looking at you. Once you get that first score, you know in your head you can win.” 

At 120, THS’ Steven Cross was involved with one of the most controversial matches of the night. The referees assigned to the match stopped action and discussed a number of situations a number of times. Cross would eventually fall 13-12 in the third overtime to Surry Central’s Jose Trojo. Apparently, the number of times Trojo was warned should have resulted in a point for Cross. 

“He lost the ultimate tie-breaker at 120 on a call you can’t forget in the state finals,” said THS coach Brandon Coggins on the one down note of an unbelievable weekend. “It’s unfortunate when a high school kid doesn’t let the moment be too big for him, but we have officials missing stuff.” 

Cross handled the controversy with class, hugging his opponent a few times before leaving the mat for the last time. 

WHS’ Sumners and ER’s David Lambright had one of the most competitive matches at the tournament as Sumners, who had recorded wins of 3-2 and 9-2 over his county foe, took the 3-A 126 title 1-0. Sumners recorded an escape in the second period and that was all the scoring. 

“It was a nailbiter again,” said Sumners, a two-time champ who beat Lambright, a state champion himself last year. “I couldn’t get my takedowns, but it was a lot of fun. I definitely felt pressure coming into this one as a state champion. It’s more that I protected what was mine.” 

While Sumners and Lambright were wrestling on mat 10, AHS’ Oscar Zelaya dropped an 11-6 decision to Caleb Edwards of Piedmont on mat 4. The match was tied at 4-4 after two periods before Edwards took control. 

The last two matches of the night provided unexpected thrills for the Bulldogs. At 132, Omega Edge recorded a 7-3 win over Madison’s Alexander Cecil and Hezekyah Matson led John Bryson Perkins 5-0 in the second period before recording a fall. 

“It feels amazing,” said Edge, easily the most excited about winning a title.  

“I’m not going to lie to you, I came to regionals and thought I might place third, but I just kept winning. That’s all it took. Support from my coaches, support from my family and the support from my friends. I swear it’s what got me through this.” 

Matson’s win was perhaps even a bigger surprise. The tall, slender Matson, who suffered a growth plate injury in his shoulder this past summer, recorded a second-period pin over John Bryson Perkins of Owen. 

“I didn’t think I would win the match tonight,” he said prior to getting his gold medal. “I was nervous. You just have to take your mind off it.” 

Placing third were UCA’s Andrew White at 120, UCA’s Paxton Kearns at 126, UCA’s Huntley Adcock at 132, Providence Grove’s Jeremiah Payne at 120 and ER’s Jamie Crabtree at 144. 

Placing fourth were UCA’s Travis Nobles (157), Caleb Saldano (138), THS’ Edgar Vasquez (120), THS’ Haris Idrees (165) and THS’ Grayson Carroll. 

Trinity dominated the state 3-A team scoring with 156.5 points.  

“An unbelievable two days,” said Coggins, who predicted this season would be a rebuilding year. “I was just talking to the coaches and all the trash we were talking about in October and here we are with four individual champions and seven in the finals. They have worked hard. The moments we have doubted, they have continued to work hard and prove us wrong. Overall, we have a lot to grow on.” 

ER was sixth in team points with 46.5 and Wheatmore seventh (46) and Providence Grove 17th (18). 

UCA finished third in the 3-A team portion of the event. Pisgah won with 108.5 points, while the Eagles had 83.5. Randleman did not score at the meet.