Ayden-Grifton denies Rosewood's tournament-title bid

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 11, 2013 1:47 PM

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Ayden-Grifton got the payback it desired Saturday afternoon.

The Chargers seized their second consecutive Carolina-4 Rivers 1-A Conference wrestling tournament championship with a tight 239.5-225 triumph over nemesis Rosewood.

The Eagles were denied their 16th tournament crown in program history.

Princeton placed third with 143 points. Goldsboro (33 points) and Manteo (15) rounded out the multi-team event wrestled at the Eagles' Nest on the Rosewood campus.

"We were very fortunate earlier in the year to be able to move our lineup around and beat them (Ayden-Grifton) for the dual-team conference championship," Rosewood head coach Bill Edmundson said. "For us to finish over them (in the tournament), we would have needed a couple of miracles and help from other schools there.

"I was extremely proud of our guys and their accomplishments at the tournament."

Rosewood senior 132-pounder Nick Quillen notched his 150th career pin and grabbed his fourth individual title. Teammates Malique Boyd (103 pounds), Matt Cruz (113) and Josh Drew (152) each emerged a conference champion.

Angel Jaramillo, one of three seniors, moved up a weight class this season to allow Cruz to step into a starting role. Jaramillo finished tournament runner-up to Brandon Armstrong at 120 pounds.

"Matt and Malique are getting stronger in every match and give us an advantage in the lower weights," Edmundson said. "Angel has wrestled some very tough matches this year."

The Eagles also received silver-medal (second-place) performances from Sam Drew (126), Jordan Batson (138), Evan Reiss (145), Dylan Melgar (182), Syhieem Peterson (195), Blake Dean (220) and heavyweight Rayquon Jones.

Princeton senior Alan Fader and junior Dillon Pace collected conference titles at 126 and 145 pounds, respectively. Teammates Jesse Tomljenovich (160) and Patrick Norris (170) each finished second.

Goldsboro got third-place efforts from ShaQuan Oliver (145) and Kurtis Durham (152).