Robbinsville wrestling advances to Elite 8
Robbinsville – In swift fashion, the Black Knights proved why they are the No. 1-ranked team in class 1A.
Robbinsville (21-1) hosted the first and second rounds of the state dual-team championship Monday, with the Knights taking on Langtree Charter Academy (No. 29 seed) and Rosman (No. 13) tangling with Alleghany (No. 15) on an adjacent mat. After the Black Knights sawed through the Mooresville-based Lions 84-0, Robbinsville bested Alleghany 59-19 in the nightcap.
“It was cool that the (N.C. High School) Athletic Association made it a true, 32-team bracket. This is the first year that they’ve done that; normally if you’re the No. 1 seed, you catch a bye in the first round,” Black Knights head coach Todd Odom said. “Anytime you get more time on the mat, you have to be happy about that.
“I feel like we’re primed and ready. We’ve got an opportunity to vie for that state title again (Robbinsville won its lone team championship in 2017) and that’s our goal. If we fall short, it’s not going to be because we didn’t try to be the very best that we could be.”
Against Langtree Charter, Robbinsville posted 13 pinfall victories: Murphy Shanahan (170), Kyle Fink (182), Kage Williams (195), Ben Wachacha (220), Carlos Wesley (285), Alexis Panama (106), Aynsley Fink (113), Logan Hyde (126), Avery Phillips (132), Jayden Nowell (138), Zane Lucksavage (145), Jaret Panama (152) and Jacob Hall (160).
Of those, nine came in under a minute. The only forfeit of the match went to Ethan Webster at 120 pounds.
“Langtree is a young, first-year team,” Odom said. “They drew us, and that was a bad draw for them.”
Though Alleghany only sent eight grapplers onto the mat, the Trojans provided some tough competition for the Knights. Kyle Fink, Wachacha and Wesley each pinned their opponents, while Williams, Alexis Panama, Webster, Nowell, Hall and Shanahan all had their hands raised via forfeit.
Elsewhere, Aynsley Fink and Avery Phillips were both pinned in the third period. Christian Phillips lost a tough, 6-4 overtime bout to Cameron Worrick, while Jaret Panama fell 10-2 against Isaac Stokes.
Odom tipped his hat to Alleghany’s program, but noted the hard work of Lucksavage – who scored a 19-2, technical fall against a 2021 state qualifier, Koda Blythe – as a bright spot in the outing.
“I’ve known coach (Matthew) Linker for 20 years; I remember when he wrestled in high school,” Odom said. “He’s a great coach; I feel like he’s one of best in North Carolina. He doesn’t always have a full team, because they can’t handle what he tries to teach them. So, he ends up with 6-8 hammers. That’s what they are; they’re all good, quality kids. They were game. If his numbers were up, they would be very, very dangerous.
“For Lucksavage to run those kind of points up on that quality of a kid is pretty impressive. He’s my ‘wrestler of the night,’ if you will. He did extremely, extremely well.”