C.B. Aycock captures Falcon Invitational title

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 19, 2007 1:48 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Six titles in a row.

Count 'em.

Despite losing seven starters to graduation, Charles B. Aycock remained the only team to ever win its Falcon Invitational late Saturday evening. The Golden Falcons placed wrestlers among the top four individuals in 10 weight classes and piled up 192.5 points.

County archrival Eastern Wayne finished a distant second with 161 points, followed by D.H. Conley with 151. Knightdale edged J.H. Rose 135-134 for fourth-place honors.

"We did wrestle well as a whole for this early in the season," said Aycock head coach Mark Bass. "I was especially impressed with our conditioning and takedowns. We had the initial takedown in nearly every match, and for the most part, our conditioning never got in the way of our wrestling."

Even more impressive was the fact Aycock had just one grappler -- heavyweight Khiry Reid -- to win a gold medal. Drake Gurley (119 pounds), Kevin Carmel (135) and Jarrett Covar (215) each seized a silver medal in their respective divisions.

Justin Farrel (112), Brandon Bailey (130), Josh Grimes (171) and Brian Diorio (189) each ended up third. Nick Bentley (103) and Joseph Conner (125) each took fourth place.

Covar dropped a 2-1 decision to Eastern Wayne's Foy Coley in the championship tilt.

"It was a hardfought match with each man working and countering the other to the end," said Bass. "As usual, with this type of match, it was decided in the final seconds ... leaving both men exhausted with a great deal of work to do before the next meeting."

Coley and fellow senior Chris Tesar captured gold for the Warriors, the reigning Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference tournament champions. Brandon Darby (171) and Jon Lagrone (189) each finished second. Second-year starter Drew Tesar (112) and Jordan Harris (130) each wound up fourth overall.

Rosewood's Josh Holmes emerged the 145-pound champion. Teammates J.D. Baker (125) and Andrew Sass (160) ended up second and fourth, respectively, in their weight classes.

Southern Wayne heavyweight Josh Robinson, a senior, lost to Aycock's Reid 3-2 in the title bout. Teammate Jake Hunter was fourth at 215 pounds.

Princeton's Zack Stevens posted a runner-up finish at 160 pounds.

The day-long competition drew 17 teams in every classification. More than half the field appeared in the 2007 N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team playoffs.

Aycock begins the dual-team portion of its schedule at home Wednesday against Greene Central and Princeton.

"Though we did wrestle a little up and down as the day went along, this is to be expected of a young team," said Bass. "We are going back to the practice room and continue to work hard, and build confidence and consistency in our wrestling."