WRESTLING: Rosewood's Todd, Helt each win individual state title

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 20, 2017 9:57 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

GREENSBORO -- Moments after Rosewood's Jordan Todd emerged as the 132-pound state 1-A individual champion Saturday evening, he posed for an Instagram photo with Nick Quillen.

Quillen signaled No. 1 with his right index finger and wrapped his left arm around Todd as he held a light blue and pink wrestling shoe.

"I won in them," said Quillen, the first-ever two-time state champ in RHS wrestling history.

Todd held the other shoe and flashed the No. 1 sign.

Now, he's won in them, too.

"It feels amazing after being a state runner-up last year," said Todd, who celebrated his victory with a backflip. "It hit me later after my match and I started crying because of all of the hard work that I had put into it.

"Wow, I'm a state champ."

He wasn't alone.

Cameron Helt claimed the 182-pound title, which gave the Eagles five individual state champions in school history. Kaleb Taylor claimed back-to-back crowns in 2015 and 2016, and Tim Decatur -- in 2016 -- became the first-ever RHS freshman to seize a state championship.

The Eagles took nine qualifiers and six placed among the top four during the two-day N.C. High School Athletic Association championship meet. They amassed 106.5 points -- good enough to repeat as the team champion.

"When we lost the dual team (final to Robbinsville), it was a real eye opener," Helt said. "It allowed us not to be complacent any more, but made us work harder in the wrestling room to come out and be back-to-back state champions.

"Honestly, this week of practice was hard just because there were so many state qualifiers that we had to practice with. They're all good so you know you're getting a good workout."

Todd and Helt each described their respective experiences as "amazing."

The East region champ, Todd (48-7 overall) dominated Mt. Airy's Joan Ramirez and pinned Voyager Academy's Kyle Coward on the way to the championship round.

Elkin wrestler Jude Lloyd waited in the wings.

One year ago, an Elkin wrestler ruined Todd's state-title dreams.

"I couldn't let it happen again," he said.

The two locked up collar and elbow throughout the opening period, and Lloyd denied any hold Todd attempted. Todd eventually scored two back points on a nearside cradle and almost recorded a pin, but Lloyd survived.

"I really wanted to get the pin and was upset that I didn't get it," Todd said. "Once I got that two (points), that put pressure on him...made him nervous. There was only period left and he had to get some points."

Lloyd took the "top" position to start the third period.

Todd decided to play "frozen cat" and constantly flattened himself on the mat to avoid getting turned. He eventually earned three additional points and claimed the state title with a 5-0 decision.

Once a laid-back grappler, Helt -- at the urging of Todd -- transformed into "beast" mode toward the end of the season. His aggressive, point-scoring mentality enabled him to relax after the first and second periods, and eventually finish off an opponent.

Boy, did he ever.

The senior pinned Eric Olvera from Mt. Airy in the first round. He racked up a 17-2 technical fall over Trask's Joseph Chung in the semifinals. And he tossed Avery's Blake Williams around like a rag doll in the championship match -- a 21-12 major decision.

With two seconds left, the ref told each wrestler to remove his ankle strap. Helt (31-4) turned toward the Rosewood faithful, smiled big and flexed his muscles.

"My third match was the best of them all," Helt said.

A gold-medal performance at its finest.