C.B. Aycock matmen stick Goldsboro

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 22, 2010 1:47 PM

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Charles B. Aycock got the confident boost it needed.

Goldsboro continued to experience growing pains.

Coming off an uncharacteristic poor outing just three days ago, the Golden Falcons put a weekend practice to good use against their county rival Tuesday evening. Travion Lewis and heavyweight Jorge Flores recorded back-to-back falls within a 61/2-minute span, and sparked Aycock to a 59-18 victory at Wayne Academy.

"It was a good confidence builder after a lackluster performance the other night at Eastern Wayne," said Golden Falcons head coach Marc Peck. "It was a good performance overall. We got some kids on the mat tonight who usually don't get a chance to wrestle, so that gives us some reps for depth.

"We're kind of hurting right now because we have some starters out of the lineup, so we were able to get that done."

Just four days ago, several Golden Falcon grapplers got turned to their backs and surrendered valuable points. The more-experienced wrestlers earned either decisions or major decisions, but couldn't compensate for the scoring difference.

Aycock (10-6 overall) secured the initial takedown in seven of eight contested individual bouts against Goldsboro. The Golden Falcons recorded four pins, which gave them 95 as a team for the season and logged two decisions.

"(In practice) we emphasized staying off our back, fighting from bottom and it showed tonight," said Peck.

The final score didn't indicate the Cougars' effort.

Goldsboro (0-7) emerged victorious in two matches and 189-pounder Devin Crim drew a forfeit. Augustus Altman, a senior 112-pounder, scored a first-period fall over Jamar Owens. Teammate Jamelle James fought off his back and pinned the Golden Falcons' Andrew Chambers at 130 pounds.

"I'm proud of our guys going out there, making the effort," said Goldsboro head coach Jim Phillips. "The guys who didn't get pinned and ended up losing by points, I feel were out-matched as far as experience.

"At this point in the season, I'd like to see some guys making quicker decisions, but the heart is there. The drive is there."

Jordan Bailey, middle weight Zach Rhue, Khaleil Owens and Nick Simmons each triumphed on the mat for the Golden Falcons. Nick Jones, David and Daniel Romo, Preston Tucker and Aaron Pate each collected a forfeit.

"Zach, we gave him a chance tonight to start and he won a 9-3 decision (over Kurtis Durham)," said Peck. "He's a hard worker and he deserved a shot to get into the lineup ... pulled it out for us. Owens stayed awesome for us, is probably our most reliable wrestler at 152 and 160.

"He wrestled their best wrestler (Maurice Yelverton), a great athlete who is very strong. When it came time to make the move and get the takedown he needed, he (Khaleil) got it done.

"We emphasized finishing on a good note going into the holiday weekend and we'll take this as preparation going into the Pilkington (Duals) next week."