Robbinsville steamrolls Swain County
Robbinsville – The two toughest programs in the Smoky Mountain Conference met head-to-head May 13.
And at the end of the match, it was clear who was the top dog.
Robbinsville (10-3) more than took care of business against the Swain County Maroon Devils, handing the visitors a 63-10 loss.
“There’s been a history there,” noted Knights head coach Todd Odom. “I think if I’m bragging on who the best two programs in the Smoky Mountain Conference are – year in and year out – it would be us and Swain County.
“But when our kids wrestle good, good things happen. We’re pretty talented this year and Swain graduated a lot of kids last year, so this time, it was a little lopsided.”
Kyle Fink (195 pounds) and Koleson Dooley (220) began the tilt with back-to-back pinfall victories for Robbinsville. Carlos Wesley (285) garnered a 3-1 decision win, before Aynsley Fink (106) prevailed with a 63-second pinfall that extended the Knights’ lead to 21-0.
Robbinsville kept grinding away, as Alexis Panama (113) scored a technical fall and Luke Wilson (120) secured a 12-2 majority decision. Jayden Nowell (126) picked up a second-period pinfall, before Case Beasley (132) earned a 6-5 decision.
Swain County finally got on the scoreboard by picking up a forfeit win at 138 pounds, but Simon Cody (145) quickly got the six points back for Robbinsville with a 39-second pinfall that pushed the Knights’ lead to 45-6.
A victory was academic, but Robbinsville continued to shine with pinfall wins for Jaret Panama (152) and Wade Hamilton (160). The Devils’ would throw a hiccup into the equation by scoring an 18-8 majority decision over Jacob Hall at 170 pounds, but the Knights got right back in the win column when Kage Williams (182) toppled Lucas Sutton in the match’s finale via second-round pin.
Jets streak by
Robbinsville – The Knights were prepared for a tough outing with Enka on Saturday – but could not string together enough victories to prevail, as the Jets handed Robbinsville just its second loss of the year, 40-33.
Alexis Panama was in full control of the opening bout, but an illegal slam resulted in a tough disqualification loss. Wilson dropped his bout via second-round pinfall, while Beasley fell by 14-3 majority decision.
Nowell scored a pin that cut the deficit to 16-6, but a forfeit at 138 pounds set off a chain of losses for Robbinsville, which included a pinfall loss for Cody, a 9-2 loss for Jaret Panama, a 12-4 loss for Hamilton and a technical fall against Hall.
Though out of the running for a victory, Robbinsville persisted in the heavier weight classes, as Williams pinned Luke Artz at 182 pounds; Kyle Fink prevailed via 3-1 decision; Dooley toppled his adversary in 44 seconds; and Wesley pinned Daniel Gath in the first period.
Aynsley Fink then got her hand raised via forfeit at 106 pounds to end the contest.
“I felt like we wrestled very well. The dual went exactly like we thought it would; how we schemed it,” Odom explained. “Truthfully, they won on the scoreboard, but they got on the bus feeling like they didn’t.
“For certain (in Alexis Panama’s bout), it was an illegal slam. That changed the whole dynamic of the match. We felt like we were going to get a fall on that kid, but we’re not going to make excuses. It was an illegal slam and we’re going to get better from it.”
Road warriors
The grind continued Monday and Tuesday, with trips to Mitchell and T.C. Roberson keeping Robbinsville busy.
The Knights split the tri-match bill at Mitchell, toppling the hosting Mountaineers 72-12, but dropping a 48-30 dual to the defending 1A state champions, Avery County.
“It was an opportunity for us to get better; sometimes, it’s an opportunity for your kids to get exposed,” coach Odom said of the Avery dual. “You always wrestle competition that is the same or below you, talent-wise, and you never know which parts to focus on to get better. They’ve got a bunch of really good kids and it was a slugfest.
“One notable bout we had was Kage Williams wrestling the defending state champion and ended up picking up a fall in the second period. That was kind of a highlight match that we wanted to see; we know Kage is good, but we wanted to see how he would do against a kid he’s going to have to go through to stand atop the podium at the state tournament.”
Robbinsville put a bow on the frantic week with a trip to T.C. Roberson on Tuesday, for a tri-dual with the Rams and A.C. Reynolds. The Knights swept both matches with ease: downing the Rams 72-12 and the Rockets 72-6.
“The ‘Ville” will now wait for its next battle: a trip to R-S Central in Rutherfordton on Tuesday, May 25, for a tri-match with the Cavaliers and the Shelby Golden Lions.