East senior Leah Edwards, Coach Shane Miller.

Staff report

KANNAPOLIS — East Rowan’s Leah Edwards and West Rowan’s Waylan Collins won championships in the Midwest Regional held at A.L. Brown on Saturday.

The “Midwest” participants were determined by the longitude of schools, not by conference affiliation or by classification. That meant the field included 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A wrestlers. There were a few byes, but most of the brackets were full. Top four finishers qualified for the state championships that will be held in Greensboro.

West Rowan placed second behind Parkwood in the team scoring. A.L. Brown was third. Salisbury did well with limited numbers and placed 12th. All the Rowan schools had at least one representative and all scored.

Collins led the Falcons. She went 4-0 at 126. She won three major decisions and a 7-0 decision.

West qualified three more girls for the state event, with Hadley Perry (100 pounds) and Olyvia Brown (107) placing third and Nevaeh McCullough finishing fourth.

Edwards dominated the 114-pound weight class, putting four straight opponents on their backs.

A.L. Brown’s Kahlen Kuddie won the championship at 120, pinning Salisbury’s Dashia Canada in the final.

Also qualifying for the Wonders were Kate Vasquez, runner-up at at 145; Clear Wesley, third at 185, and Lina Penaloza, fourth at 126.

In addition to Canada, Salisbury qualified Devonna Steele. She was fourth at 152.

South Rowan’s Carleigh Cline won two matches. Carson’s Stasia Guerrero won a match, while Presten Pratt scored for North Rowan.