Black Knights crown 3 state champions; win team title
Greensboro – Behind a trifecta of individual state championships – as well as a pair of third-place finishers – Robbinsville capped its historic 50th anniversary season in resounding fashion Saturday.
The Black Knights racked up 118.5 team points to collect its second individual-tournament team championship inside
Greensboro's First Horizon Coliseum, edging second-place Rosewood (113). The victory sealed a banner week for Robbinsville of three championships in seven days – including two state titles in a five-day span.
“We knew we had a good team at the first of the year," said Black Knights head coach Travis Hooper. "The kids have been there, shown up to practice and did what they were supposed to do. They've pulled together; they support each other; and they listen to their coaches and their training. I'm super proud of them."
Devin Hall, Adair Panama and Loxston Hooper became the respective 34th, 35th and 36th individual state champions in school history Saturday, while Bobby Moore and Jerimiah Phillips finished third in their fields.
Robbinsville captured the 1A/2A Western Regional Traditional Championship on Feb. 14 at North Rowan; and mowed over both Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy and South Davidson on Feb. 17 to secure the program's second dual-team state title.
"It's been a marathon," Hooper added. "If you think about it, these kids had to make weight at regionals, and then here, Friday and Saturday. They had to make weight five times in seven days."
The Knights have now won a pair of individual team championships, with the first coming in 2024. Saturday's victory was the first in 1A/2A competition.
Devin Hall
Devin Hall (144) won his first state championship, shutting out East Wilkes' Collin White 7-0 to capture the title. He mobbed Hooper and assistant coach Weston Haney moments after the final whistle sounded.
The road to the gold started with a 15-0 technical fall over Lejeune’s Cody Everett Kriston. Hall went on to pick up a 2-1 decision against South Davidson’s Dalton Gardner.
His bout kicked off the finals round Saturday evening.
“This is an amazing feeling. It doesn’t feel real right now,” Hall said Saturday. “Weston has been coaching me since I was in elementary school, through Peak (Wrestling). Travis came in last year – the first year I came back – and I just have a good connection with them.”
Adair Panama
Named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 1A/2A classifications, Adair Panama won his second-straight, 120-pound championship by outlasting Rosewood's Isaiah Mazura 4-2.
Panama started the tournament by running up a 16-1 technical fall on Lejeune’s Gabriel Flores. He pinned North East Carolina Preparatory School’s Brayden Waneroik in the semifinals.
“I knew I wanted to end my senior year by winning another state championship,” Panama said. “I just went out on the mat and did what I needed to do.
“We’ve got a special team, because this is the first time we’ve ever done this (win a duals and individual team title in the same season). As seniors, we set high expectations with everyone. It’s really special to me to end my senior year like this.”
Loxston Hooper
Robbinsville’s other repeat champion was Loxston Hooper (138), who sealed the deal with a 37-second pin over Rosewood's Shane Mangroo.
To reach the dance, Loxston scored a 17-2 technical fall over Lejeune’s Jonathan Maguire and a 17-6 majority nod against East Wilkes’ Colton Vestal.
“I’m excited, because I worked hard for this,” Loxston said. “I’m just lucky to be here with such good teammates and coaches. I’m truly blessed with this opportunity.
“I try not to look into my opponents, because you don’t want to stress yourself out about something like that. I just try to go out for each match, thinking I’m the best guy stepping on the mat.”
Loxston also summarized the team’s recent success at the regional and state level.
“We work together as a family and we really put the work in when we get in the (wrestling) room,” Loxston said. “We have some great coaches that push us and provide us with great training.”
Lleyton Hooper (150) also reached the state finals, but fell in his quest for a title to Pamlico County's Isaiah Mewborn, 9-3. Lleyton earned a 13-9 decision win over N.C. Leadership Academy’s Cooper Snow in the quarterfinals and a 6-5 overtime win against North East Carolina Preparatory Academy’s Jessi Davidson to punch his ticket to the title match.
Other competitors
The Black Knights qualified 10 for the showcase. All six Black Knights in wrestle-backs not only grappled for a spot on the podium, but helped aid Robbinsville in its quest for an individual team championship.
Bobby Moore (157) won his 100th career bout in the consolation semifinals Saturday afternoon, pinning Lejeune's De'Shaun Goodbolt at 3:56. His tournament journey began with a pin at 2:50 against South Davidson’s George Nilsen, before suffering a 12-2 majority decision setback to Chatham Central’s Carson Williams.
Moore went on to place third in the 1A/2A classification, after earning a 17-8 nod over Elkin's Enrique Lopez.
Jerimiah Phillips (165) also claimed third in his weight class, following respective victories over Rosewood's Marcos Jimenez (a 7-2 decision) and Central Carolina Academy's Jean-Marie Murry (2:17). Phillips started the tournament by defeating Murry 1-0, before dropping a 19-4 technical fall to South Stanly’s Noah Sapp.
Brayden Lane (190) pinned Jonathan Salas-Agullera in the consolation semifinals, but fell to Bradford Preparatory Academy's Reuben Zufall in 1:31 to place fourth overall.
In his tournament opener, Lane pinned American Leadership Academy’s Caleb Power in just 57 seconds; but lost to Rosewood’s Jaylin Darden after a pinfall at 4:37.
Ayden Conley (126) won his consolation opener Saturday morning against Lejeune's Brendan Sullivan (a 5-0 decision), but dropped his semifinal pairing to Alleghany's Christopher Nuevo, 8-6. Conley fell in his debut Friday after suffering a 17-4 majority decision against South Stanly’s Kaiden Dahle.
Zander Lucksavage (132) also toppled his consolation-quarterfinal opponent – South Stokes' Sawyer Sullivan, in an 8-0 decision – before enduring a pinfall loss at the 4:14 mark to Mitchell's Erris Crone. Lucksavage started the tournament with a medical-forfeit loss to N.C. Leadership Academy’s Ryder Freeman.
Christian Koeller (215) dropped his consolation-bracket debut Saturday to Avery County's Maverick Mora, 4-2, after falling in a 10-1 majority decision to Rosewood’s Nick Wade on Friday.
Lady Knights
Myah Winfrey made history for Robbinsville's girls wrestling team Friday, becoming the first grappler to place in women's-only competition during the 1A-4A tournament in Greensboro. Winfrey place third in the 145-pound weight class, after trumping North Pitt’s Isabella Ford in 2:15.
To reach the finals, Winfrey pinned Jordan-Matthews’ Mariyah Spruiell in 46 seconds flat; before dropping her semifinal bout to Newton-Conover’s Nola Walker at 2:55.
Alexis El-Khouri (132) and Shayla Dominguez (235) also competed for the Lady Knights.
El-Khouri was Robbinsville’s lone representative at last year’s tournament. She was pinned at 3:12 in this season’s opener to Heide Trask Senior’s Lauren Hall, before enduring another pin at 3:53 to First Flight’s Tori Vanacore.
Vanacore had to forfeit after the bout, which led to El-Khouri stepping back into the tournament. She placed fifth after being pinned by Brevard’s Malie Turner by 2:02.
Dominguez was pinned by Anson’s Kristal Sosa-Bustos at 1:23 and East Wilkes’ Abbi Stout, in 2:09.