WRESTLING: Rosewood matmen retain Falcon Invitational team title

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 2, 2017 9:57 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- The "machine" continues to hum.

The Rosewood wrestling team, that is.

The talented and technically-sound Eagles walked away with four individual championships and the 2016 Falcon Invitational team crown on Friday afternoon.

"I don't think we've ever had eight wrestlers in the championship finals of a major tournament before," said RHS head coach Bill Edmundson, whose team piled up 207.5 points -- 55 points more than runner-up Northern Durham.

"I think that speaks volumes about the competitive drive our guys have developed this season. As defending state (dual-team/individual) champions, our guys know that every time they step on the mat everyone is going to give us their best effort."

Defending state champ Tim Decatur (113 pounds), Reid Amodeo (126), Jordan Todd (138) and Seth Finney (152) each claimed first in their respective weight classes. Amodeo won his first individual gold of the season.

Fellow Eagles Christian Decatur (106), Chris Hill (120), Jayden Thomas (145) and Cam Helt (182) each placed second overall.

But the day's two best efforts were turned in by grapplers who wore the powder-blue singlets of Invitational host Charles B. Aycock.

Freshman Tyler Hughes trailed Bunn senior Jalen Kelly 10-6 midway through the third period, and seemed destined for a runner-up finish at 160 pounds.

He had other thoughts.

The No. 2 seed, Hughes relentlessly attacked Kelly as second by second ticked off the clock. A takedown and few back points later, he secured a heart-stopping, come-from-behind 12-11 victory.

"The most-exciting match of the tournament," boasted first-year CBA head coach Brian Doyle.

Hughes rose to 30-6 this season.

Austin Doyle exacted revenge at 106 pounds. The junior dropped a 6-3 decision to Rocky Mount sophomore David Jacob in quarterfinal-round action. The two met again for the third-place match -- an 8-3 result in favor of Doyle, who boosted his record to 25-6.

Named the Invitational's Most Outstanding Wrestler, senior Joshua Wallace remained unbeaten in 32 outings by taking the 182-pound weight class -- a six-man round-robin due to the lack of entries. Wallace pinned three of five opponents in just 2 minutes, 36 seconds, and logged decisions over Leesville Road's Christian Bascom (7-1) and Helt (9-4).

Zach Creel shared third place with Athens Drive's Jason Hurst at 145 pounds due to the five-match rule.

CBA took fourth overall with 103 team points.

"Overall, I was impressed with our guys," coach Doyle said. "The faster pace/tempo and reps in the practice room really showed today. I really like where I believe these guys are getting to (on the mat).

"We need to have them start peaking in about three weeks and they are on the way with the effort they displayed today."

Southern Wayne senior Kimari Johnson pinned Leesville Road junior Adam Aldridge just 89 seconds into their quarterfinal-round match at 160 pounds. Johnson lost to Hughes in the semifinals, but worked his way back through the consolation bracket.

Johnson racked up an 18-6 major decision over Western Harnett's Aiden Keenan-Gray in the semifinals. He endured a 6-4 loss to Athens Drive senior Solomon Cornish in the third-place match.

The Saints brought just eight matmen who combined for 11 pins as a team and and scored 50 points -- good enough for an 11th-place showing in the 19-team marathon affair.

Eastern Wayne received opening-round wins from Christian Torres (126), Victor Skinner (145) and Anthony Ackee (170). Each stumbled in quarterfinal-round play and battled back through the losers' bracket.

Torres, Skinner, Nate Matthews (152) Jaleek Lewis (132), Dilissus Council (195) and Skinner were each eliminated in third-round consolation action. Ackee, Billy Bryant (138) and Mekhi Levins-Williams (120) each suffered a day-ending second-round consolation defeat.

"We came out aggressive in some of our early matches, but didn't keep the same pace throughout the entire tournament," second-year EW head coach Aaron Lynch said. "We like the improvements we are seeing in our wrestlers' techniques. We're going to get back in the practice room and continue to work hard for our upcoming matches."

Princeton's Kyle Balageo wound up fourth at 152. He advanced to the semifinals before top-seeded Quadarius Hopkins of Tarboro handed him a 6-0 loss. Balageo, a junior, needed just win -- a 13-11 decision over Rocky Mount's Travon Hatch to reach the third-place match.

Balageo fell 2-1 to Garner Magnet's Kam Bridgers.

Bulldogs heavyweight Zach Mills pinned three opponents and came within one shy of reaching the medal round. PHS recorded nine team pins on the day and ended up 12th overall in the team-title chase with 47 points.

Eastern Wayne returns to the mat Tuesday for an Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference match at Southern Wayne. Aycock launches its ECC campaign the same evening at South Central.

Rosewood travels to Hunt.