Knights capture Great Smoky Mountain Grapple title
Asheville – Whether it be in a dual format or a team tournament, Robbinsville is dangerous.
The Knights continued to decorate their 2021-22 season Friday and Saturday, competing in the Great Smoky Mountain Grapple at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center.
With the individual triumphs of Aynsley Fink in the 106-pound women’s bracket and Kage Williams’ 195-pound championship spearheading the effort, Robbinsville amassed 187 team points to pick up the tournament title.
“We always seek out the best, toughest competition,” Robbinsville head coach Todd Odom said. “We set three starters and still won the tournament.
“There are teams that have dodged us, and programs that won’t wrestle us – and that’s fine if that’s your M.O. – but at the end of the day, we’re not going to duck or dodge anybody; we’re going to try and find the best people we can wrestle.
“I think (assistant coach) Billy (Knight) puts it best: ‘You’ve got to know what good looks like.’”
Aynsley mowed through Maryville, Tenn.’s Liz Griffin; Polk County’s Tori Strickland; Greeneville, Tenn.’s Jenna Baines; and Freedom’s Jeulenea King in the finals to claim her bracket.
Williams’ road to the crown went through West Henderson’s Nathaniel Fogel; Dorman, S.C.’s Christopher Moreno; Maryville, Tenn.’s Peyton Cooper; and Newton-Conover’s Owen Clark in the title bout.
Placing second at the tournament for the Knights were Jayden Nowell (126 pounds) and Kyle Fink (182). Finishing third in their respective brackets were Zane Lucksavage (138) and Jaret Panama (160) and Ben Wachacha (220), while Alexis Panama (120), Avery Phillips (126) and Willie Riddle (152) took sixth.
Also competing in the varsity bracket for Robbinsville were Mason Phillips (106), Jacob Hall (170) and Koleson Dooley (285).
On the junior varsity side of the tournament, Skyler Anderson won the 106-pound weight class, besting Mitchell’s Madison Morales in the finals.
Meanwhile, Logan Hyde brought home the 132-pound title, pinning Maryville’s Trinnon Neary to win the crown. Christian Phillips would finish third for Robbinsville in the same division.
Blake Powers attained top honors in the 145-pound bracket – pinning Maryville’s Collin Walsh in the finals – while Carlos Lopez won the 285-pound “A” race with a 4-1 decision over East Henderson’s Tyler Heatherly in the championship bout. Haden Key finished third in the “B” competition.
Knights suffer loss
Newton – Robbinsville also squeezed in a set of duals last week in a tri-match at Fred T. Foard High School.
Though the Knights were able to conquer the Piedmont Panthers in the opener 43-27, Robbinsville (5-1) incurred its first loss of the season against the hosting Tigers, 53-16.
“We got dinged against Fred T. Foard,” Odom said. “Fred T. Foard is the No. 1-ranked dual team in the state in all classifications, and we now know why. It’s a team that doesn’t have any holes; they’ve got good, quality kids at every weight class.
“But some of our better kids had some quality matches against their kids, and that’s really what we were after.”
Jaret Panama started the dual against Piedmont with a 19-7, majority decision victory over Colby Davis. Hall fell to Dalton Renfroe in an 11-4 bout, but the Black Knights rattled off three straight victories to widen the margin in response, as Kyle Fink pinned Cade Griffin, Williams earned a forfeit win and Wachacha toppled Reece Lester.
Trailing 22-3, the Panthers began a rally bid with Aaron Goodman downing Dooley; Ethan Keziah pinning Aynsley Fink; and Jaden Tartaglia (113) scored a pinfall over Mason Phillips. Piedmont then pulled ahead 27-22 on decision victories over Alexis Panama and Avery Phillips.
But from there, Robbinsville ran out the docket with an overtime, 11-9 decision nod for Hyde (132) over Parker Hatch and pinfall victories for Nowell (138), Lucksavage (145) and Riddle over respective opponents Grant Tarlton, Troy Garcia and Nathaniel Gagnon.
Aynsley Fink and Mason Phillips suffered pinfall losses to start the dual against Fred T. Foard, but Alexis Panama put the Knights on the scoreboard with an 8-3 decision win against Parker Johns. Though Avery Phillips was pinned by Brayden Mejia at 126 pounds, Nowell scored a 14-5 majority decision against Hunter Clark.
However, with Robbinsville trailing 18-7, the Tigers went on a five-bout tear, with Brock Carey pinning Jesse Williams (138); Dawson Cody downing Lucksavage; Landon Slager pinning Riddle; Conner Weaver edging out a 6-4 decision against Jaret Panama; and Zane Birtchet triumphing 10-0 against Hall.
The Knights’ last gasp came when Kyle Fink would pin Joel Parrish and Williams earned a 6-2 victory against Colby Mace. From there, Fred T. Foard stamped its dual win with Dylan Smith scoring a 9-1 majority decision against Wachacha and Sam Bolch pinning Key.