Black Knights compete in Devil Duals
Bryson City – The Robbinsville Black Knights traversed across county lines Saturday to compete in the annual Devil Duals.
Though Graham County’s finest would drop a pair of close duals – falling 39-35 to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and ending up on the short end of a 39-34 war against Mountain Heritage – Robbinsville claimed three victories on the afternoon, including a 46-36 win over Madison and a 58-24 thumping of T.C. Roberson.
“I was really pleased with our performance in the first dual of the day,” head coach Todd Odom said. “As a team, it was the best performance we have had since the state title match in 2017. We had some really gutsy performances from (Jaret) Panama, (Ben) Wachacha and (Carlos) Lopez.
“If there is such a thing as a ‘quality loss,’ that was it.”
The battle with Mountain Heritage started with 138-pounder Nathan Fisher pinning Shane Riddle. Jacob Hall (145 pounds) would fall to Mountain Heritage’s Jesse Lopez via 15-10 decision, while Kamron McGuire (152) was pinned by Michael Riddle.
Turner Jackson (160) got Robbinsville back ahead with a 9-0 decision nod against Colin Ray. Justin Stewart (170) pinned Danny Lemaster, but Panama incurred a 9-6 loss against Rocky Penland at 182 pounds and Lopez (195) was pinned by Alan Penland.
Kyle Fink’s pinfall victory over Yasir Banegas at 220 pounds pushed the Black Knights back ahead 22-18, but heavyweight Lawson Roberts suffered the same fate against Cougar Oliver Hughes to switch the lead up once more.
Micah Smith (106) got his hand raised via forfeit, before Luke Wilson (113) fell to Tucker Fox. Case Beasley (120) dropped an 11-5 bout to Devin Coleman, but Jayden Nowell prevailed in the 126-pound contest against Devin Burgin and though Robbinsville entered the final bout ahead 34-33, Mountain Heritage’s Dalton McIntosh pinned Black Knight Nick Anderson to cap the wild dual.
Anderson picked up a pinfall win in the opening bout against Madison, dropping Gage Chandler at the 2:36 mark. Fisher won via forfeit and Hall pinned Bryan Hernandez, giving Robbinsville a quick 18-0 lead.
McGuire dropped his bout to Daniel Loredo via pin, but Jackson and Stewart each prevailed in forfeits immediately thereafter. Phoenix Brooks (182) was pinned by Damian Borowski, but Lopez recorded a 9-1 majority decision against James Calloway. Fink won via forfeit, but Drake Hill (heavyweight) dropped his bout to Connor Foley.
Aynsley Fink pinned Harley Ramsey in the 106-pound battle and Madison would win out via two forfeits and a pinfall victory at 120 pounds.
Robbinsville had little trouble with T.C. Roberson. Nowell, Wade Hamilton (145), McGuire, Stewart, Roberts and Smith all earned pinfall victories, while Fisher downed Oscar Edrada by majority decision, 11-0.
Wachacha (182), Fink and Beasley all won via forfeit against the Rams.
Lady Knights shine
Robbinsville’s two female grapplers, Fink (106) and Gracye Burchfield (132), competed in a tri-match at Swain County that also featured Towns County, Ga., on Jan. 23.
Fink pinned Lady Devil Tynighia Lillard, while Burchfield triumphed over Swain’s Madeline Lay. The duo would later take care of business against Towns County as well.
Both women have kept their nose to the grind this season, despite a lack of female competition in the area.
“Having Aynsley and Gracye on the team has been a relatively new experience for me,” Odom said. “They have both worked extremely hard and have tried to absorb as much of the sport as they could. It’s not hard to coach girls, when we view them as wrestlers and nothing more or nothing less.
“Aynsley has somewhat of an advantage, as she has been around the sport with me as a coach and her brother competing all of her life. Gracye – being a senior – was a pleasant surprise and has been a welcome addition to our roster. They both have legitimate shots at their own individual state titles.”