C.B. Aycock-Fike wrestling
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 1, 2011 1:48 PM
PIKEVILLE -- Overconfident from its early-season unbeaten start, the Charles B. Aycock wrestling team nearly tumbled from the mountaintop Wednesday evening.
The Golden Falcons wasted a double-digit advantage, but received a crucial decision from 160-pounder Khaleil Owens and dumped Wilson Fike 45-33 in non-conference action on the mat.
Aycock (6-0 overall) yielded four pins, one decision and one forfeit in the 62-minute affair.
"After our quick start, we got the mountaintop experience and coming in here (tonight) we thought we were just going to roll over Fike," said third-year Aycock head coach Marc Peck. "That's the not the way it turned out. They brought their 'A' game tonight and caught a couple of our wrestlers off guard."
Jorge Flores, one of seven returning starters, ignited an 18-0 run with a first-period fall over the Golden Falcons' John Glennon at 220 pounds. Teammates Bradley Fisher (heavyweight) and Zack Howard followed suit with pins over their respective opponents.
A freshman 106-pounder, Howard was extended to three periods by Fike's Brian Weaver. Howard earned the fall with 40 seconds left in the match after escaping a hold and pinning Weaver after a takedown.
"I've known Zack since I was in the military with his dad in Germany," said Peck. "He's been wrestling a long time and he's kind of an unknown for a lot of people. He's real smart, too."
The Golden Demons (1-4) tied the match at 18-18 with consecutive pins at 113 and 120 pounds.
The Golden Falcons answered with a 24-0 run on pins from David Romo, Daniel Romo, Charlie Mills and Preston Tucker. The Romo brothers and Mills are a combined 18-0 this season.
"When you can run three pins in a row and we get Tucker's pin at 145, it's like a buzz saw and it's kind of tough to come back from that," said Peck. "It definitely changed momentum."
Fike pulled within 42-24 and sent Kentucky transfer Jacob Squires onto the mat to face Owens. The lanky Squires controlled the tempo and built a 5-1 lead through 1 1/2 periods.
A returning state qualifier, Owens pulled off a reversal and took a 6-5 lead with three back points. Squires drew a match-tying stalling point as time expired to force the one-minute overtime session before Owens collected the match-clinching takedown.
"Word was he (Squires) came from a state-championship caliber program, had a wealth of knowledge and got a lot of reps (on the mat)," said Peck. "Certainly he was an unknown and that was part of the underestimating factor that we had for Fike tonight in a couple of weight classes.
"The bright side of that is Khaleil came back. If he can scramble and get a victory on his off night, that's a positive."
Owens' victory, his sixth of the season, sealed the overall outcome. Fike won the final two individual bouts.