Cary Wrestling, Generic Graphic
Feb 1, 2009
CARY — The margin of victory might be shrinking, but the end result’s still the same.
Cary, with six champions and 12 placewinners, compiled 247.5 points to win the Tri-Eight wrestling tournament for the 27th straight year on Saturday. Panther Creek, with four champions and 12 placewinners, was the runner-up with 224 points. Green Hope finished third with 165 points.
“We all know what’s expected of us when it comes to this, so we’re really focused right from the beginning,” said Cary senior Gabe Brotzman, who won the 152-pound title. “Everyone knows what their job is and what their part is in the whole big thing.”
Seven of the league’s eight teams had at least one wrestler reach a championship final, and six teams had at least one champion. But the day belonged to Cary and Panther Creek.
The teams that finished first and second in the Tri-Eight’s regular-season race were close as can be on Saturday, too. Panther Creek’s nine finalists were second only to Cary’s 10, and the Catamounts’ four champions were second only to Cary’s six. The only place Panther Creek bettered the Imps was in head-to-head matches (4-3).
Both teams won 24 individual bouts, but the difference was how they won them. Cary had 14 pins, one technical fall, one major decision and eight decisions, while Panther Creek had 10 pins, six major decisions and eight pins.
“More than two were one-pointers or nail biters in the semis, and anything can happen in a one-point match,” said Cary coach Jerry Winterton. “Kevin Puente and Chris Hare had two nail-biters that could’ve went the other way easily. If those don’t go our way, we don’t win and Panther Creek does.”
Cary’s Ben Creed won the Imps’ first title at 103 pounds, pinning both of his opponents in the first period along the way. Creed, the reigning 103-pound 4-A state champion, dispatched Panther Creek’s Saugot Nepane in the final in 1:19. Creed took Nepane down 47 seconds into the match before getting the fall.
At 119 pounds, Cary’s Harrison Rosenbaum scored a 1-0 decision over Panther Creek’s Ben Elliot. Tied 0-0 through two periods, Elliot let up Rosenbaum at the start of the third, giving him an escape point, and Rosenbaum rode the miniscule advantage the win.
At 135, Cary’s Ronnie Winteron won a 4-1 decision over Apex’s Nestor Avila. After a scoreless first period, Winterton escaped early in the second and Avila gave up a point after illegally locking his hands. Up 2-0, Winterton was called for stalling in the third period, but he took Avila down late to preserve the decision.
Brotzman, the state’s top ranked 4-A 152 pounder, cruised through his bracket. After a first-round bye, he scored a 16-1 technical fall over Green Hope’s Stephen Brown before pinning Apex’s John Adkins at the 1:54 mark of the first period of the championship match.
Cary’s Matt Colvard had a similarly dominant day in the 160-pound draw. Colvard pinned all three of his opponents, the first two in 71 seconds or less. In the final, he took down Green Hope’s Alex Chapla seven times before pinning him with 35 seconds remaining in the second period.
Palma, the No. 1 heavyweight in the country, had no trouble winning his draw. He pinned Apex’s Lewis McAllister in 46 seconds before ending the final against Lee County’s Devante Ragland in 37 seconds.
“I’m pleased with the way I ended it,” said Palma, the two-time reigning 4-A heavyweight state champ. “I’m not too awake when I begin that first match of the day. I’m always a little rusty. But overall, I had a decent day and there’s always room to improve.”
Panther Creek’s Matt Elliot clinched the first of his team’s four individual titles. Elliot prevailed 6-3 over Cary’s C.J. Bean in the 112-pound draw. Tied 2-2 early in the second period, Elliot scored on a reverse, but Bean got a point back when he escaped with 17 seconds on the clock. Starting the third period down, Elliot reversed then rode out Bean for the decision.
After a scoreless first period in the 130-pound final, Cary’s Cordale Risk took a 1-0 lead with an escape early in the second period, but Joe Morrison took him down a few seconds later, and took a 2-1 lead into the final period. Starting down, Morrison quickly reversed Risk to go up 4-1. Risk got two points for a reverse with 21 seconds to go, but Morrison held on for a 4-3 decision and his team’s second title of the day.
At 140 pounds, Panther Creek’s Alex Branoff beat Green Hope’s Joey Baird 3-2. Baird led 1-0 through two periods, but Branoff escaped early in the third then took down Baird with 1:08 to go. Baird escaped with 20 seconds remaining in the match, but Branoff held him off for the decision.
Sheridan Rucker prevailed 14-12 in a wild 189-pound final against Cary’s Chris Hare. Rucker led 7-2 after the first period, but Hare evened the match at 12-12 by the end f the second. Hare started the third period on top, and Rucker scored the winning points on a reverse with 50 seconds left in the match.
“I’m proud of how most of them wrestled,” said Panther Creek coach Jon Armfield. “There’s a couple wins we had where guy beat us in the regular season. Cary’s tough to beat. We were hoping to be a little closer, but they had a lot of wins and a lot of pins in the final, so I knew it probably wasn’t going to be.”
In the only final that didn’t involve a Cary or Panther Creek wrestler, Green Hope’s Kenny Buchanan won an 8-5 decision over Athens Drive’s Sam Greenstein at 125 pounds. Greenstein was up 4-2 with 23 seconds left in the second period before a flurry of action gave Buchanan a 6-5 lead. With 10 seconds to go, Buchanan earned two points for a reverse, but Greenstein escaped with five seconds remaining only to have Buchanan take him down again two seconds later. Buchanan scored a late takedown in the third to preserve the decision.
Elsewhere, Apex’s Jeremy Overton won the 145-pound title with a 5-4 decision over Panther Creek’s Dan Kavulich, and Fuquay-Varina’s Soren Ferrell won the 171-pound title after a 7-2 decision against Panther Creek’s Jamey Drennen.
Contact Tim Candon at 821-8697 or tcandon@wral.com.
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