Conditioned Falcons top Saints

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 5, 2005 1:57 PM

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DUDLEY -- The whistle blew and the official raised his left arm indicating two takedown points for red. Charles B. Aycock fans roared their approval, while shock registered on the faces of Southern Wayne's wrestlers.

Aycock's Derek Lancaster climbed to his feet and stared at the official in disbelief.

"Who? Me?" he asked.

The official affirmed Lancaster's query and raised his hand in victory after a 3-1 overtime decision against the Saints' Jon McKinney. The mid-match win helped spark a 23-7 run as the Golden Falcons prevailed 50-16 in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference tilt.

Conditioning proved to be the difference in Lancaster's match, as well as several other bouts during the 79-minute intercounty clash. The Aycock coaching staff emphasized conditioning during the holiday break, while several Saint grapplers missed practices and didn't compete in a dual-team tournament late last week at New Bern.

"We stressed the importance of wrestling six-minute matches and I really think Derek's conditioning paid off for him tonight," Aycock coach Kevin Smith said. "He looked a lot fresher late in that match and when overtime came around, he got what he needed."

Lancaster dictated the match tempo and prevented McKinney from securing single- and double-leg takedown attempts. Neither wrestler scored a takedown, but each managed an escape point during regulation.

The two locked heads during the one-minute overtime session and Lancaster managed to get enough of advantage for the match-clinching takedown. It was his first victory in three tries against McKinney this season.

"Derek wrestled a smart match," Smith said. "He had a game plan going in and knew he wanted to score off free shots. He wanted to get his offense off the other kid's offense allow the kid to come to him, suck him in and get a takedown.

"There were several instances where Derek was very close to a takedown. I was really happy with his match because he wrestled a smart match against a very good wrestler."

Aycock (2-1, 2-1 ECC) claimed 10 of the 14 matches and scored the initial takedown on six occasions. The Golden Falcons won four of seven matches that lasted three or more periods.

John Robertson (171 pounds), heavyweight Dustin Gurley, David Rose (125) and Randy Meisenhelder (145) each pinned their respective opponent. Ngu Tran (119) earned a technical fall, while Jason Steed (160) and Ronald Lynn (135) each collected a decision.

Turner Wood (189) and Tim Harrison (152) each received a forfeit.

"The long layoff and not wrestling this weekend really hurt our main guys," Saints assistant coach Ricky Lofton said. "Overall, I'm pretty satisfied because Aycock is real tough. I take my hat off to them. When you wrestle them, you have to be focused."

Doni Wilkins (215), Doogie Niemond (103), Thomas Mosshammer (130) and Vic Darden (140) each picked up a win for Southern Wayne. Mosshammer remained unbeaten in 16 outings.

The teams return to action Saturday in the annual Terry Pilkington Memorial Duals at C.B. Aycock.

Notes: Senior 125-pounder Greg Coudriet reinjured his left knee during the Cary News Invitational and is scheduled to see a doctor today. ... The Golden Falcons are 6-0 against the Saints since the ECC's inception in 2001. ... Aycock is a combined 9-0 against Southern Wayne and Eastern Wayne, which travels to Pikeville on Jan. 25.