Middle school Knights win conference tournament
Bryson City – It has been a most-interesting season for the Robbinsville Middle School wrestling team.
Stymied by state restrictions on the number of bouts allowed – 14, as is the standard for all middle school contests, such as volleyball and basketball – Robbinsville has not been able to properly get into a groove this year, participating instead in just a handful of exhibitions around the region.
But all that mattered was that the Knights brought it all together at the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament at Swain County High School on Dec. 15.
And bring it together, they did.
A whopping 327.5 team points – padded nicely by 12 first-place winners – gave Robbinsville the tournament championship.
“This has been a tremendous middle school season,” head coach Wren Millsaps said. “It is hard for me to pinpoint one kid or instance that stands out, as we are full of what the wrestling world refers to as ‘hammers’ on our team.”
Triumphing in their respective weight classes were Benton Gibby (83 pounds), Evan Menard (98), Adair Panama (106), Loxston Hooper (119), Lleyton Hooper (126), Andrew Adams (138), Bobby Moore (145), Christian Chapman (152), Devin Hall (170), Whelan Sellers (182), Kyler Branham (195) and Kellen Ensley (220). Also collecting medals at the tournament were Landan Pollard (second place), Aiden Conley and Jeremiah Phillips (third place), and Dane Daniels (fourth place).
“To say the future is bright at ‘The Ville’ is an understatement,” Millsaps added.
“This group may not be the most talented we have ever had, but they sure are the toughest. The amount of future state champions that we had in our room this season will be great, if they put in the time and effort that the sport needs.”