East Rowan heavyweight Danny Misenheimer recently crushed the school record for total wins.

Misenheimer recorded his 153rd career victory on Thursday with a pin in the Mustangs’ 3A South Piedmont Conference match with Northwest Cabarrus.

Misenheimer got wins No. 148-152 with five victories at the North Stanly duals last Saturday. Three of those wins came on the mat. Two were by forfeit.

“Two heavyweights would not wrestle Danny,” said East coach Barry Justus. “It’s amazing how many wrestlers avoid him.”

The previous Mustang record of 147 wins was set by JustinFarmer.

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TOUGHTIMES: East continues to have a down year, relative to past Mustang powerhouses.

When East lost to strong SPC rival Northwest 54-24, despite another first-round pin by Misenheimer, it fell to 8-12 on the season.

East lost four of five matches last Saturday at the North Stanly Duals in New London. East’s only win was over Parkwood 53-30, but even that match wasn’t satisfying as it was marred by eight forfeits.

East’s losses came at the hands of host North Stanly (and tournament MVP Torrie Brown), South Davidson, Mount Pleasant and Southwest Randolph.

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HANGINGIN: Besides the relentless Misenheimer (31-0), East is getting strong efforts from 105-pounder Steven Schwartzbach (21-14); 147-pounder Hunter Land (16-8); 154-pounder Steve Fox (32-1); 127-pounder Logan Johnson (8-2); and 132-pounder Adam Lambert.

East competed in the Miller Mott tournament at Wake Forest-Rolesville on Friday and Saturday and will take on SPC foe Kannapolis on Monday.

Durwood Bynum’s Hornets were ambushed last Thursday in Wallburg by an inspired band of Ledford Panthers.

“We just didn’t wrestle,” said Bynum, of the Hornets’ first 2A Central Carolina Conference setback.

Taking nothing away from Ledford, which always has a competitive team, it was one of those nights when Murphy’s Law was in full effect. Anything that could possibly have gone wrong for the Hornets did so in a 39-30 setback.

“We had people sick and we had people who didn’t make weight,” said Bynum. “But that’s no excuse. In this league, you have to come ready to wrestle every single night. Everybody’s heard about us. We’re going to get everyone’s best shot.”

The Hornets got mauled in the lower weight classes by the Panthers, putting themselves in the position of needing a miracle to salvage the match. They almost pulled it off, rallying to within 33-30 heading into the heavyweight matchup.

But the Hornets’ big man, who had the better of things early, wound up getting pinned.

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LOOKINGAHEAD: The surprise loss to Ledford knocks the Hornets out of their co-favorite role in the CCC, which they have shared with East Davidson.

But Salisbury can make amends on Monday night when it travels to Thomasville to take on Bobby House’s powerful Golden Eagles.

East Davidson has already pummeled Ledford, but if the Hornets can beat the Eagles on the road, they will still be in position to earn a share of the league title.

“It will be tough,” said Bynum, whose troops lost some recent practice time due to the snowy weather. “It will be a big crowd up there. That’s a wrestling school.”

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LEADERS: Despite the loss to Ledford, Bynum praised the efforts of a number of his wrestlers, including Dwayne Coward, Chris Chinaka, David Gibbons, Emmauel Olavarria and Preston Jones.

Davie, ranked seventh in the state in 4A, rolled in its Central Piedmont Conference opener with West Forsyth 51-14 recently and won three of four matches in a quad tournament at Hillsborough Orange.

But Orange, ranked second in 4A, took down the War Eagles 46-19.

“We saw some areas we had to work on in that match,” said coach Buddy Lowery. “We know what we’ve got to do and we’ve still got a month to get better.”

Sophomore Patrick Lowery, son of the coach, continued his scary tear at 189. He’s 23-1 with 17 pins.

Brad Pack is 25-2, while Cody Angell is 22-4.

Davie joined East in the Miller Mott tourney field.

Tim Burns’ Cavaliers bounced back from their loss to East Davidson with a resounding 67-10 thrashing of CCC foe High Point Central on Thursday.

North’s flying Brians — Walton and Hall — got the Cavs off and rolling with quick pins.

Walton nailed his man in 24 seconds at 114 pounds, while Hall put a Bison on his back in 43 seconds at 119.

Jordan Littleton (137) and Keith Cauble also registered pins for the Cavs, who accepted forfeits in six weight classes.

Coach R.L. Lail’s Falcons are only 4-21 in dual meets.

“We’ve experienced only moderate success in our program,” said Lail. “We haven’t done as well as we’d hoped when the season began.”

Still, some individuals have turned in strong seasons.

Senior Chris Jackson is 23-2 at 145 pounds. Jackson, a three-time state qualifier, was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the St. Stephens Invitational.

Scott Roby, the Falcons’ fine 152-pounder, is 21-3 and hopes to qualify for the state tournament for a third straight year.

Other leaders for West have been Brandon Hiatt (13-7 at 125); Brandon McCarty (4-1 at 135); Adam Hopler (7-4 at 140); and Joel Hopler (14-13 at 130).

Jackson and Roby are seniors, but Hiatt, McCarty and the Hoplers will be back. West also has a strong middle school team this season, which bodes well for the future.

South, like East, is experiencing a rare down season, but veteran coach Wayne Freeman still boasts some top grapplers.

Gaven Mize is 24-8 at 130 pounds and has recorded 17 pins. He paces the Raiders with 122 points.

Other leaders include: Dale Eidson (21-11 with 18 pins at 171); Keith Garrett (14-4 with 12 pins at 125); and Brian Helms (15-11 with eight pins at 103).

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