South Rowan state qualifiers, including regional champ Mateo Diaz.

 

Staff report

Wrestling regionals were held on Friday and Saturday. Top four finishers in each regional qualified for the upcoming state tournament in Greensboro.

WELCOME – West Rowan won the 3A Midwest Regional, scoring 190 points to top Piedmont (175).

West qualified eight for the 3A State Championships, including regional champions Kevin O’Brien and Stetson Collins.

Collins won three matches before being awarded the championship match at 132 pounds by forfeit.

O’Brien (4-0) stayed undefeated for the season with a dominant run at 138. The Rowan record-holder for career wins, he won the final by technical fall.

West regional runners-up were Bryson Wilhelm (3-1) at 113 and Hunter Ingram (3-1) at 175.

Andrew Taylor was 4-1 and won the third-place match by pin. Dakota Athey (4-1) won the third-place match with a major decision.

Robert Coleman (3-2) was fourth at 190, while Bryson Ellis (3-2) was fourth at 285.

James Stephens (126) and Max Brown (150) didn’t advance, but they won three matches each.

• Four South Rowan wrestlers were qualifiers. South placed fifth in the regional team scoring.

Mateo Diaz (4-0) was regional champ at 113. He won by pin in the championship match.

Garrison Raper was 3-1 and was 3A Midwest Region runner-up at 126 pounds.

Emilio Diaz placed fourth at 106. He went 4-2. He lost to East Rowan’s Chris McDonald early and again in the third-place match. Aiden Carter was 4-2 and placed fourth.

• Four Carson wrestlers were state qualifiers. The Cougars were seventh in the team scoring.

Andrew Reaves won the championship at 190. He had a first-round bye and went 3-0. He earned the title with a 9-5 decision against Concord standout Alex Petroff in the final.

Griffin Barber (3-1) finished runner-up at 157.

Jamarion Brown was 3-2 and placed fourth at 165. Brown lost a tough match for third place that went to a Sudden Victory period.

Joseph Little lost to the eventual champion at 113 (South’s Mateo Diaz), but he was able to come back and take third place. He dominated the third-place match, winning by tech fall.

• Two East Rowan wrestlers qualified for the state tournament.

McDonald was third at 106 pounds. McDonald was 4-1. He won his first two matches, then lost to the eventual champ. He bounced back to win two more and won a 7-0 decision in the third-place match.

Andrew Thompson placed fourth at 157 pounds. Thompson won his first two matches and went 3-2 in the event.

Mason Stutler (126) won three matches.

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ROSEWOOD — North Rowan’s Anton Pontoon qualified for the state tournament.

Pontoon placed third in the 1A East Regional at 120 pounds.

Pontoon went 5-1 in the regional. He lost his second-round match but bounced back for four straight wins and dominated the third-place match with a tech fall.

North’s Hunter Farris won three matches at 106, while Stephen Hughes won twice at 285.

•••

LEXINGTON — Salisbury’s Naim Bethea has qualified for the state tournament with a fourth-place finish in the 2A Midwest Regional.

Bethea was 3-2 in the regional. He won his first two matches but lost in the semifinals of the winner’s bracket.

He won another match before losing a 4-3 decision for third place.

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FARMINGTON — A.L. Brown was strong in the 4A Midwest Regional and finished fourth in the team scoring behind Hickory Ridge, Davie and Grimsley.

A.L. Brown’s Gavin Yow was regional champ at 157. He was 4-0, taking an 11-5 decision in the final.

Drake Watts was the regional champ at 215. Watts had an exciting victory in a Sudden Victory session in the championship match.

Kaulton Kuddie was 3-1 and was runner-up at 190.

Landon Logan was another state qualifier as he took third place at 113. Logan was 4-1. His loss was to the regional champ. He won his third-place match by technical fall.

Chaes Hernandez won three matches at 144.