Stewart, Fink win Regional crowns
Mount Airy – After a grueling, two-day tournament, five Robbinsville Black Knight wrestlers emerged as state qualifiers.
Two emerged as 1A Western Regional champions.
Justin Stewart (160) and Kyle Fink (195) won their title bouts Saturday at Mount Airy High School, while Luke Wilson (106), Jayden Nowell (126) and Nathan Fisher (138) had grinded their way to third-place or better at the conclusion of the 1A Western Regional Tournament.
“We ended up third overall at the tournament,” said Robbinsville head coach Todd Odom. “We felt like we had five state qualifiers on the team that weren’t ‘locks,’ but we felt pretty good about their chances.
“I was really pleased with their performance.”
Stewart
A senior with a 23-2 record, Stewart mowed through Mitchell’s Seth Goforth and Bradford Prep’s Ben Ellis via pinfall – as well as Cherokee’s Braden Taylor in an 11-8 decision – to reach the title bout.
Perseverance and conditioning paid off in the finale, as Stewart edged East Wilkes’ Dustin Blackburn in a 4-3 nod to attain the title of champion.
“He’s been a hammer for us all year,” Odom said. “He’s went after all the tough competition he could. He’s done a great job and for him to win regionals is a big deal; it puts him in the driver’s seat to win a state title. That’s his goal.”
Fink
Boasting an overall mark of 44-7, Fink enjoyed a first-round bye, before scoring a 70-second pin over Rosman’s Jeshua Whited in the quarterfinals.
Polk County’s Trey Thompson fell prone to Fink in the semifinals – to the tune of an 11-3 majority decision – which pitted Fink against one of the hosting Granite Bears, Jackson Tumbarello. Much like Stewart, Fink had to earn his victory against a 38-4 competitor, but Fink prevailed in a 3-2 decision.
“He was real successful in middle school and that’s translated to huge success for him now. He was a state finalist last year,” Fink said. “His goal is to get back there this year and seal the deal.”
Knights in-action
Nowell (32-5) fell in the championship bout to Swain County’s Jonas Trejo, while both Wilson (27-16) and Fisher (43-8) knocked off respective opponents Austin Jones (Starmount) and Evan Wagoner (Alleghany) to clinch third-place.
“If I look it at honestly, I feel like we have four guys that have a a really good chance of being in the state finals,” Odom added. “Our goal is to put them there and give them an opportunity to win a state title.”
Also competing for Robbinsville over the two-day stretch was Micah Smith (24-8, 113 pounds); Case Beasley (16-19, 120); Nick Anderson (12-17, 132); Jacob Hall (18-20, 145); Kamron McGuire (15-10, 152); Jaret Panama (22-14, 170); Ben Wachacha (12-12, 182); Carlos Lopez (9-12, 220) and Stewart Carver (5-6, heavyweight).
The 1A state tournament will be held at the historic Greensboro Coliseum on Friday and Saturday.
Quarterfinal bouts begin at 2 p.m. on Friday.
State title bouts will begin around 4 p.m. on Saturday.