Black Knights steamroll through conference duals; girls place 2nd
Robbinsville – The Black Knights once again showed why depth and talent equal supremacy in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
A last-second shuffle led to Robbinsville hosting the annual league duals Jan. 9, with no one in the 6-team division even threatening to slay the monster that is the Black Knights along the way. Robbinsville (21-7) buzzed Hayesville 63-12; shutout Andrews 73-0; knocked off Murphy 68-3; bested Swain County in its closest dual, 59-24; and ended the night with a 66-4 win over Cherokee.
Adair Panama (113 pounds), Loxston Hooper (132), Knox Orr (138), Christian Keller (190) and Kellen Ensley (215) each won in the opening match via forfeit. Skyler Anderson (120) took the first contested bout via injury forfeit over Cooper Treptow, before Ethan Webster (126) recorded a 20-5 technical fall against Mason Ray. Lleyton Hooper (144) later pinned Hayden Hunt at 3:07, while Devin Hall (150) took down Patrick Denton in the same outcome at 1:39.
Hayesville's Andrew Reynolds (157) collected the Jackets' first individual victory of the dual, besting Luke Green 11-5. Braydon Lane (165) followed by pinning Hayesville's Robert Manning, before Kyler Branham (175) fanned Silas Lovingood in an 11-0 majority decision.
Rayland Hughes (285) escaped the clutches of Black Knight Jonah Teesateskie during overtime, prevailing 3-2 to end the affair. Parker Hughes (106) opened the match by getting his hand raised in a forfeit win for the Yellow Jackets.
Later in the evening, John Dominguez (285) pinned Murphy’s Reese Haney in 39 seconds; while Colby Welch (120) outlasted Cherokee’s Collin Sampson in a 14-13 bout.
Robbinsville's strong performance in the conference duals came just two days after hosting a tri-match against Hayesville and Rabun County, Ga. The Black Knights bested the Wildcats 39-25 and the Yellow Jackets 58-18.
Lady Knights
Only Swain County proved to be a thorn in Robbinsville's side during the girls duals Jan. 9, as the Lady Knights went 3-1 in the showcase.
Robbinsville (9-10) fell 60-12 to the Lady Devils, but toppled Cherokee 40-18; shutout Murphy 54-0; and downed Hayesville 54-6. Andrews only had one women's wrestler, who was injured prior to the dual and could not compete.
Alexis Miller (107) won via forfeit and Julia Vazquez (114) pinned Chloe Kent in 1:55, for the Lady Knights' only wins against Swain County.
Bouts against Cherokee saw Vazquez pin Kaidyn Walkingstick in 48 seconds; Alexis El-Khouri down Sara Toineeta in a 10-2 majority decision; and Lady Brave Teela Ross pin Jacquline Gayosso in 1:26.
Latesha Orr (100), Miller, Madison Cable (120), Cheyanne Geyer (145) and Cecelia Maney (235) each won via forfeit for Robbinsville.
Vazquez wrestled the only bout of the dual against Murphy, pinning Ivy Werner in 2:24.
The lone bout against Hayesville saw Geyer pin Fara Ammons at 1:06. Against Rabun County and Hayesville on Jan. 7, the Lady Knights took down the Lady Wildcats 42-12 and the Lady Jackets 36-12.