Wrestling - Golden Falcon grapplers pin Clayton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 9, 2005 2:03 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- "Don't ride the roller coaster."

The pre-match reminder probably echoed through the Charles B. Aycock wrestlers' heads when Clayton claimed a 12-0 lead after earning pins in the first two individual matches.

But the Golden Falcons quickly stopped the roller coaster from turning into a runaway train. Returning starters Ronald Lynn and Bryant Lancaster collected back-to-back falls, which ignited a 46-point run and sparked a 55-18, non-conference victory over the Comets on Thursday evening.

"I knew there was a possibility we might be down 12-0 starting there (130 pounds) and I also knew our kids had the opportunity to win those matches," said C.B. Aycock coach Kevin Smith. "It was a 50-50 (chance) in both cases."

Kevin Carmel, a first-year starter, extended the Comets' Bryce St. John into the second period. St. John earned an escape and takedown before pinning Carmel in 3 minutes, 1.7 seconds.

The Golden Falcons' Josh Overton notched the initial takedown against Clayton's Dale Elliot in their 135-pound bout. But Elliot escaped Overton's hold, recorded a takedown of his own and secured a pin in 1:29.9.

"The kids handled it real well and they didn't seem to get tore out of the frame about it," said Smith. "(Clayton) had good matchups (early) against our younger kids. I told them the mistakes they made are correctable errors and we know -- as a coaching staff -- that those younger kids just need mat time."

Lynn, coming off a gold-medal effort in the Pierce-Davis Memorial, put the unbeaten Golden Falcons (2-0) on the board with a first-period pin at 140 pounds. Lancaster pinned the Comets' Jerry Elliot in 1:43.6 to force a 12-12 tie overall.

First-year starter Steve Bentley wrestled a solid technical match against Josh Hawley en route to a 12-3 major decision. Tim Harrison fended off a furious third-period rally by Rusty Wagner and won 8-7. Josh Grimes, another first-year starter, avoided getting locked in a cradle in the third period in a 5-2 decision at 171 pounds.

Aycock led 22-12.

"Ronald and Steve took care of business, and everybody settled right back in and started wrestling their matches," said Smith, whose team grabbed the initial takedown in 11 of 14 matches. "A dual match can be like a roller coaster with ups and downs. The kids did a good job tonight of keeping a steady, concentrated focus on what they needed to do and not let going down 12-0 affect them too much."

Jason Steed and Jarrett Covar continued the match-turning run with first-period pins at 189 and 215 pounds, respectively.

Heavyweight Shane Lozier avoided first-period trouble and finally took control against Clayton's Alexis Simms. Simms tied the match at 2-2 with an escape before Lozier scored a takedown and eventual pin.

"Shane relaxed and stayed patient," said Smith, who is four career wins shy of reaching the century mark. "When he got the opportunity, he put the kid on his back. We were in pretty good control in all of our matches. The kids wrestled smart.

"Clayton has big, strong kids and when you're wrestling strong kids, you have to maintain your control ... composure for the entire match. You have to be patient with a kid like that and give him the opportunity to make the mistake. Shane's match is a good example of that."

Drake Gurley (103 pounds), Ngu Tran (119) and Derek Lancaster (125) finished off the Comets with pins.

The Golden Falcons, who will participate in a six-team dual match Saturday at Smithfield-Selma, picked up their 33rd regular-season victory since 2003.

C.B. Aycock 55

Clayton 18

130 -- Bryce St. John (C) wbf Kevin Carmel, 3:01.7; 135 -- Dale Elliot (C) wbf Josh Overton, 1:29.9; 140 -- Ronald Lynn (CBA) wbf Xan Chandler, 1:12; 145 -- Bryant Lancaster (CBA) wbf Jerry Elliot, 1:43.6; 152 -- Steve Bentley (CBA) maj. dec. Josh Hawley, 12-3; 160 -- Tim Harrison (CBA) dec. Rusty Wagner, 8-7; 171 -- Josh Grimes (CBA) dec. Justin Ramirez, 5-2; 189 -- Jason Steed (CBA) wbf Errol Boston, 0:37; 215 -- Jarrett Covar (CBA) wbf Alex Stephanis, 1:03.2; Hwt -- Shane Lozer (CBA) wbf Alexis Simms, 2:36; 103 -- Drake Gurley (CBA) wbf Dean Lancaster, 0:54; 112 -- Solomon Tzintzun (C) wbf Jordan Pearson, 0:57; 119 -- Ngu Tran (CBA) wbf Richard Thorpe, 0:41; 125 -- Derek Lancaster (CBA) dec. Mike Larson, 10-4.

Records: C.B. Aycock 2-0, Clayton 10-4.