"The 'Ville" wins conference
Cherokee – There’s no doubt about it: Robbinsville’s wrestling dynasty lives on.
The Black Knights clinched the 2019-20 Smoky Mountain Conference title Jan. 30 – defeating Swain County 35-29 – and then claimed the conference tournament championship by toppling the division’s competition Saturday at Cherokee High School.
“This is great. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people,” said Robbinsville head coach Todd Odom after Saturday’s triumph. “I’ve got a great bunch of coaches, who check their egos at the door. I’ve got some great, young kids, which makes this year super-special.
“We had a pretty special bunch graduate last year, so to have this young bunch come through and really embrace being from ‘The Ville’ is what it’s all about. That’s our new identity and what we want to be known as. From day one, we’ve strived to be at least one percent and we’ve really accelerated the learning curve over the last couple of weeks.”
Jayden Nowell won the 126-pound bracket at Saturday’s tournament. His wins over Hayesville’s Zane Lucksavage and Swain’s Jonas Trejo were also rewarded with the showcase’s Most Valuable Wrestler distinction.
Meanwhile, 138-pound champion Nathan Fisher was named the Smoky Mountain Conference Wrestler of the Year. He down Murphy’s Reid Dockery and Swain’s Nathan Brock – via 7-1 decision – to win his class.
Other champions for Robbinsville were Micah Smith (106 pounds), who pinned Murphy’s Logan Hyde to capture the crown; Kamron McGuire (152), who toppled both Rosman’s Willow Chance and Swain’s Hunter Craig; Justin Stewart (160), who pinned Murphy’s Tyrell Luther and Cherokee’s Braden Taylor and Kyle Fink (195), after a 17-7 technical fall over Jeshua Whited and a pinfall victory against Swain’s Thomas Allen.
Second-place went to Wade Hamilton (145), Case Beasley (120) and Jaret Panama (170), while third-place was earned by Luke Wilson (113), Carlos Lopez (220), Nick Anderson (132), Lawson Roberts (heavyweight) and Ben Wachacha (182).
Collectively, the Knights accumulated 226.5 team points, easily besting second-place Swain, which tallied 159.
“It takes a while for the football kids to get into (wrestling) shape. It’s a completely different deal,” Odom added. “Now that we’ve got all the bullets in the gun, we’re a little dangerous.”
The match at Swain – which clinched the regular-season title – began with Smith pinning Tynighia Lillard. Wilson bested John Parton by 8-4 decision, before Beasley dropped a 14-6 majority decision. Trejo earned a forfeit victory at 126 pounds to give the Maroon Devils a 10-9 advantage, before Nowell defeated Dhruv Senghani by a 16-1 technical fall.
Fisher bested Brock via 6-4 decision, before Hamilton dropped a 6-5 bout to Lucas Brown. McGuire added to Robbinsville’s lead with a pinfall win over Craig, giving the Knights a 23-13 lead in the dual. Stewart grinded his way to an 11-10 win over Damian Lossiah, before Panama picked up a 7-4 triumph against Charlie Lambert.
Wachacha lost by 13-4 majority decision to Cody Long and Lopez was pinned by Thomas Allen in a 195-pound bout, but Kyle Fink’s 37-second pin over Connor McCoy at 220 pounds closed out the Knights’ championship.
“We were the underdogs; there’s no question. Swain has 15 seniors,” Odom said. “We knew it was going to be extremely tough to go over there – into their house – and get that done, in front of their home crowd. But we had some kids just be stubborn and tough.”
State duals begin
Robbinsville then shifted its focus to the state duals tournament, which started Tuesday night.
The Knights (17-7) hosted the Mount Airy Granite Bears (18-10) for the second round of the duals.
Mount Airy knocked off Polk County (16-16) to begin the evening at Robbinsville Elementary School – the dual was held inside the old high school gym due to a scheduling conflict with basketball – and though Robbinsville prevailed 38-37, things were well in-order midway through the match.
Though McGuire lost the first bout of the dual via pinfall, Stewart picked up a dominant 17-0 win to get a technical fall. Panama scored a second-round pinfall to push Robbinsville ahead 11-6 and even with Wachacha ending up on the wrong end of a majority decision and Carlos Lopez lost via pinfall in a 195-pound bout, Robbinsville would not be deterred.
Fink grinded his way to a 3-2 decision nod at 220 pounds, before heavyweight Diego Lopez won a thriller via third-round pinfall. Smith would score a 42-second pin moments later, with Aynsley Fink (113) getting her hand raised via forfeit.
Firmly in control, the Black Knights put the dual out-of-reach two bouts later. Wilson would lose in a 5-2 decision victory for the Bears, but Nowell pinned his opponent to close out the win. Robbinsville opted to forfeit the final three bouts, saving their ammunition for later in the week.
“Our goals never change from year-to-year; we want to vie for state titles,” Odom said. “Getting there is the hardest part. You want to put your kids in a situation where they can win a state title. We’ve been fortunate – the last three years in a row – to wrestle in the state finals.”
The semi-finals of the state duals take place today, with the state finals match occurring Saturday in Greensboro.
Visit grahamstar.com to stay up-to-date on Robbinsville’s journey toward a 1A duals title.