West Lincoln ripped off three straight first period pin wins in the early portion of their 2A Dual Team Championship match against Croatan, running out to a 24-4 lead through five bouts, on their way to a dominating 54-16 win over the Cougars. Rebels grappler Keaton Norman was named the match MVP, opening the match with a pin victory over Colton Sullivan at 138 pounds. Norman set the tone early for West Lincoln, pouncing on the opportunity for a pin victory with just 21 seconds gone in the opening bout.
After a major decision win by Croatan's Justin Jolin narrowed the score to 6-4, the Rebels saw Nathan Hull (152), Canon Bridges (160) and Hayden Thomas (170) all pin their opponents in the first period of their respective matches, stretching the lead out to 24-4. The three pins pushed the Rebels on their way to their third State Dual Team Championship and their first since 2015.
Croatan battled back in the heaviest four divisions. Walker Gladwell stopped the 18-0 run with his 17-10 decision over Luke Scronce at 182 pounds. Kyle Kort gave the Cougars a little more momentum with an 8-2 decision over Alex Hall, cutting the West Lincoln lead to 24-10. Tyger Hall narrowly missed a major decision, winning 11-4 at 220 pounds as Harley Scronce scrapped to get a late point in the match.
The heavyweight battle between Croatan's Nathan Waltrip and West Lincoln's Brock Steele was the match's most competitive bout. The two wrestlers each earned one escape point through the match's first three periods, forcing overtime. Neither grappler managed to strike in the sudden victory period and each managed to escape in the two :30 second overtime periods forcing the bout to the ultimate tiebreaker. Waltrip managed to nab a 2-point takedown and claim a 4-2 win in the Ultimate Tiebreaker, bringing the Cougars within eight at 24-16.
West Lincoln put the foot on the gas after the heavyweight bout with Langston Hoffman (106), Luke Stewart (113), Ricky Reynolds (120), Chance Norman (126) and Xander Pendergrass (132) all winning their respective matches by pin. Stewart's pin of Luke Walker with 1:18 remaining in the second period clinched the title for the Rebels.
