Cary's Matt Colvard rides Butler's Nate Charest ,at the North Carolina High School team Wrestling Championship on Saturday evening February 7, 2009 at Cary High School in Cary. Cary defeated Butler 43- 18. (Photo by C.F.Ward)
Feb 9, 2009
CARY — Looking at the scoreboard midway through Saturday’s NCHSAA 4-A dual team state championship match, Cary heavyweight Eloheim Palma wasn’t sure how the match would turn out.
Through seven bouts, the Imps trailed Matthews Butler 12-10. Though panic hadn’t set in, there certainly was an air of concern wafting through the Cary High gymnasium.
But in the space of just more than 90 seconds, Cary flipped the match around, turning that concern into elation. After Kevin Puente’s decision at 215 pounds, Palma and Ben Creed earned first-period pins, sparking the Imps on their way to 43-18 win over the Bulldogs and a third straight state title.
“This is the perfect explanation for what Cary wrestling is,” Palma said. “You can doubt us, you can put us on the ground, not think we can do anything. But when it’s time to shine, we rise to the occasion. That’s what we did again. Just know we may be down, but we come out on top.”
The championship is Cary’s 19th overall in wrestling and eighth dual title. Saturday’s appearance in the final was the Imps ninth consecutive, and after losing four straight from 2001-04, Cary has won four of the last five.
This is also Cary’s second three-peat. The Imps won three in a row from 1996-98. Coincidentally, Butler coach Billy Puckett was on the backend of both three-peats. The last time a Mecklenburg County team appeared in the final, Puckett’s Independence squad lost to Cary 35-34 in 1998. And now his Bulldogs lost in 2009.
After falling behind through seven matches Saturday, Cary closed with a vengeance. The Imps won six of the final seven, including five by pin, bringing to a close a dominating run through the dual team tournament. Excluding 10 forfeits this week, of their 60 bouts contested, Cary won 44, including 24 by pin.
“This is shocking from what I felt going into the season,” said Cary coach Jerry Winterton. “It was going to take guys to spread their weights out and they made unbelievable sacrifices going up weights. They don’t bat an eye. I just tell them, “This is what the team needs,’ and you don’t get that from kids nowadays. These guys can see the big picture.”
Palma and Gabe Brotzman fittingly shared Most Outstanding Wrestler honors on the day. They were wrestling in their fourth straight final, and with the win, they finished their careers with a 142-1 record in dual matches, including a win streak that stretched to 103 on Saturday.
Butler won the opening two bouts to take a 6-0 lead. Dalton Cunningham scored a 4-0 decision over Cordale Risk in the 135-pound bout, and Ranson Lee earned an 8-6 decision over Ronnie Winterton at 140. Lee and Winterton went back and forth throughout their match and were tied 6-6 with a minute to go. Lee scored the winning points when he took down Winterton with 18 seconds remaining in their match.
David Alecio got things started for Cary with his 8-4 decision over Austin Long at 145. Long took him down and rode out the 2-0 lead to the end of the period, but he gave up a point for an illegal hold. Starting on top in the second period, Alecio rolled Long to his back and got three points for a near fall and led 4-2 through two periods. Long took down Alecio with 50 seconds remaining, to cut his deficit to 7-4, but Long escaped with 10 seconds left to preserve the decision.
When Brotzman took the mat for the 152-pound match, he was looking to score a few extra bonus points for the Imps, but Alan Braun gave him a much stiffer match than expected. Brotzman was ahead 8-3 early in the second period, but Braun escaped then got a takedown with two seconds on the clock to cut Brotzman’s lead to 8-6 going into the final period. Brotzman let him up to start then period, then Braun took a 9-8 lead with a takedown with 1:05 remaining. Brotzman managed to avoid defeat when he reversed Braun with two seconds left in the match, and he escaped with a 10-9 decision.
“I definitely didn’t do what I wanted to do in that match,” Brotzman said. “I won’t make any excuses, I just didn’t wrestle very well. At the end, when it comes down to it, it’s all about what you want. I was like, ‘This is my last dual here. I don’t want to lose.’ When I was in on the leg, I was like, ‘I have to finish.’”
Matt Colvard followed with a similarly dramatic match at 160. Up 2-1, Colvard took down Nate Charest and put him to his back with just less than 30 seconds to go in the first period. Colvard seemed to have the pin just before time expired, but after the officials consulted, they decided Colvard didn’t get it in time. Though slowed by the flu, Colvard went the full six minutes and got a 16-8 major decision.
Butler took the next two bouts – Joshua Boone won 7-3 over Josh Boozer at 171, and Austin Baumgarner won 9-6 at 189 over Chris Hare – to lead 12-10 with seven matches remaining.
After Puente dispatched Zadich Kadima 5-2, Winterton felt the match start to swing.
“Kevin winning at 215, then we knew we were going to win eight weights and we knew we had pins,” he said. “We figured we’d give up that one pin to them [at 119 pounds], but we’d get two or three.”
Indeed, Palma pinned James Briggs in 1:03, then Ben Creed pinned Kush Shah in 42 seconds at 103, then C.J. Bean clinched the match with his second-period pin of Ronnie Rindone at 112. Bean took a 7-0 lead into the second period before finishing off Rindone and the Bulldogs in 50 seconds.
“It’s ecstasy, nothing you can imagine,” Bean said of the moment he heard the referee’s hand smack the mat and the crowd erupt.
Though the onslaught came quickly, it wasn’t terribly surprising to Puckett.
“We knew we were weaker down low, but we’re not backing down,” the Butler coach said. “We’re going after anybody and everybody. We got here, so I’m just proud of these boys.”
With Cary up 31-12, the Imps could have forefeited the final three matches, but both teams wrestled them out. Butler’s Tom Puckett pinned Adam Elliman at 119 before Cary’s Harrison Rosenbaum and Jacob Brotzman pinned at 125 and 130, respectively, to end the match.
“I’m so proud of those guys, our lower weights that did that,” Gabe Brotzman said. “Everybody of course contributed, but they clinched it for us. Those were crucial pins, which throughout the state duals they’ve done when we needed them the most. I was so proud of Ben, C.J., Harrison, my little brother, just coming through and winning it for us, that was awesome.”
But Cary won’t relish the title too long. In two weeks, they’ll try to win the state individual tournament for the fifth straight year and pull of the championship double for the third year in a row, something they’ve never done before.
“We won team, now we want to go out there and win individual,” Palma said. “We’re going to enjoy it tonight, but starting Monday, we’re going to crank it back up again."
Contact Tim Candon at 821-8697 or tcandon@wral.com.
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