By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

LANDIS  —  They quite literally held a parade for state wrestling champ Mateo Diaz at South Rowan High.

Drums were beaten and banners were unfurled for the Raiders’ latest hero, as he marched with his family, teammates and coaches.

Diaz deserved the attention. He not only won the 3A state championship in Greensboro at 113 pounds with a 10-3 decision in the final, he enjoyed an undefeated senior season — 44-0.

Diaz placed third in 3A at 106 pounds in 2023 and was fourth at 106 in 2022.

The only season that he didn’t finish on the podium was his junior year. South head coach Tre Jackson explained that disappointment.

“Mateo didn’t get to wrestle in the regional last year,” he said. “And you can’t qualify for state except by top four in the regional. The problem was he had a little skin infection and the medical expert was afraid it might be contagious and wouldn’t clear him. As it turned out,  it wasn’t contagious. It was a shame he didn’t get to compete because Mateo may well have been a two-timer (a two-time state champ). I can’t guarantee he would have won States as a junior, but I can assure you he definitely would have been in the fight.”

Jackson, who was voted South Piedmont Conference Coach of the Year for his work with the second-place Raiders this season, chuckled when he was asked about the secrets of Diaz’s success.

“Wrestling isn’t a sport where you wake up one morning and you suddenly are good at it,” Jackson said. “It’s a sport that’s all about work ethic and grind. And then more grind. No secret to it. Mateo was just a guy who was willing to work very hard every single day during the season — and in the spring and in the fall.”

Jackson has been there and done it. He made the 2A state podium as a 140-pound junior at Salisbury High in 2009. In 2010, he worked so hard he became the state champion at 145 and was named the 2A tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Diaz’s younger brother, Emilio, won four matches in the state tournament for fifth place. South’s Garrison Raper and Aiden Carter were state qualifiers. Raper won a state title at 106 as a freshman, but bumped up to 126 this season. He was 2-2 at the state event.”

“Garrison is a great wrestler and had another outstanding season,” Jackson said. “But he didn’t do as well as he wanted to do in the regional. That led to a really hard draw in the state. He was in there with a bunch of tough guys early.”

South has had a run of state champs. Jacob Cox was the school and the county’s first three-time state champion from 2021-23.

“We’re producing individual state titles, and that’s great, but we want to take that next step and be in there competing for team titles,” Jackson said. “We talk about that all the time. That’s what we’re working for every day.”