The Cary Imps claimed their ninth ever Dual Team Wrestling State Championship with a thrilling 38-32 victory over the two-time defending champions, West Forsyth, in the 4A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship. Cary's Conrad Shiess was the match MVP, winning the match's final bout by pinning Kyle Perkins with 1:10 remaining in the first period to win the 132 pound division and the title.
The match was tightly contested through all 14 weightclasses, but the Imps only trailed once following Tyler O'Neal's pin victory over Wesley Alexander at 160 gave West Forsyth a breif 10-9 lead through four bouts.
Cymek Shaw pinned Eli Muckelvene in the 138 pound match, giving the Imps a 6-0 lead right out of the chute. Paul Grena followed that victory with a 4-2 overtime decision over Andres Perez, boosting the Cary lead to 9-0.
West Forsyth's Preston Broadus toppled the building momentum, earning a 12-3 major decision victory over Marlon Toruno at 152 pounds, trimming the lead to 9-4.
Cary answered back with a short run of success as Ryan Wolfram dominated Jordan Aladwan 24-8 in the 170 pound bout, winning by technical fall and pushing the Imps back in front 14-10. Wolfram's teammate Nick Straight followed that performance with a pin victory over Gus Smith, tacking Smith to the mat with 22 seconds remaining in the first and extending the Cary lead to 20-10.
Cary got pin wins from Devin Vann at 220 and Kobe Early at 113 to keep the pressure on the Titans in the match's late stages. Vann pinned Evan Andrews with 1:42 remaining in the first while Early got the best of Sam Reavis with 1:06 to go in the opening period. Early's victory put the Imps up 32-23 with just three bouts remaining.
The two-time defending 4A Dual Team Champions, West Forsyth, responded in the 120 and 126 pound bouts, evening the score at 32 following a pin victory for Evon LaBella at 120 and Ethan Wright's gutty 4-3 decision victory in the ultimate tiebreaker period, setting up a winner-take-all match at 132 between Shiess and Perkins.
