North Carolina High School Athletic Association
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Parkland Survives Great Jack Britt Effort In 4-A: Foard Wins 3-A Dual Team Wrestling; Newton-conover Takes 2-A; West Wilkes Wins 1-A

PARKLAND SURVIVES GREAT BRITT EFFORT TO WIN NCHSAA 4-A DUAL TEAM WRESTLING

               4-A CHAMPIONSHIP

       FAYETTEVILLE—Winston-Salem Parkland won its seventh consecutive North Carolina High School Athletic Association state dual team wrestling championship Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t easy.

Parkland had to come from behind and win the final two matches of the day to score a 28-20 victory over Fayetteville Jack Britt to take the 4-A championship in front of the Britt home crowd.

Britt had rolled up five consecutive decisions to build a 20-12 lead before Parkland came back. With Britt on top 20-18, Jeremy Ward of Parkland at 132 pounds won on the only pin of the day to put the Mustangs ahead 24-20 with just one match to go. But with the Buccaneers needing a pin to capture the crown, Chucky Hedrick of Parkland won by major decision at 138 to clinch the title.

Parkland finished the dual team season with a perfect 48-0 mark and won its fourth straight 4-A title after winning three at the 3-A level. The Mustangs have an amazing 52-8 all-time record in NCHSAA postseason play and have reported won 313 dual matches in succession.

Britt finished with a record of 33-8 overall.

3-A CHAMPIONSHIP

FRED T. FOARD WINS NCHSAA STATE 3-A DUAL TEAM WRESTLING TITLE

NEWTON— Fred T. Foard downed Eden Morehead 41-27 before its home crowd Saturday evening to win the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A dual team wrestling championship.

The victorious Tigers earned their 39th victory in 41 dual team matches on the season and won their first dual team championship.

Ben Hughes of Foard, who won by a pin in the 138-pound weight class, was named the MVP of the championship match. The Tigers also got pins from Trevor Cook at 160, Caleb Bumgarner at 170, Cameron Wilfong at 195 and Dylan Curtis at 285.

Morehead finished dual team competition with a 21-7 mark. The Panthers had won five previous NCHSAA dual team championships but were in the finals for the first time since 2008.

2-A CHAMPIONSHIP

NEWTON-CONOVER NIPS CROATAN FOR NCHSAA 2-A TITLE

NEWPORT— Newton-Conover nipped perennial power Croatan 31-30  on Saturday night to capture the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 2-A dual team wrestling championship at Croatan High School.

Franklin Wepner, the 132-pounder for the victorious Red Devils who won his match by a pin, was named the MVP of the championship match.

Colin Minor’s victory by a forfeit in the final match of the night at 182 proved to be the difference. Andrew Colburn of Croatan won by a decision by a 9-2 count over Austin Minor at 170, just one point short of a major decision that could have changed the outcome.

Jarren Pitts at 220 pounds and Jonte Parker at 126 also won via pins for the Red Devils. Kyle Colburn (195) and Ben Skiba (106) werethe Croatan winners on pins.

Newton-Conover finished the dual campaign with a 43-5 dual match record. The Red Devils had beaten defending state champion Piedmont on Thursday night in the state semifinals to advance to the championship match, which was Newton-Conover’s fourth title match appearance. The Red Devils were state dual team runners-up three straight years in 2007-09.

Croatan made its fourth straight finals appearance and won state crowns in 2010 and’11 before finishing as runner-up to Piedmont last year. The Cougars were 31-5 in dual team action.

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

WEST WILKES TAKES FOURTH STRAIGHTDUAL TEAM STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

MILLERS CREEK—West Wilkes won its fourth consecutive North Carolina High School Athletic Associationstate dual team wrestling championship on Saturday night, taking the 1-A title with a 41-25 victory over visiting North Rowan.

The winners were led by Eithen Sheets in the 285-pound class and Jorge Lima at 152. They were namedco-MVP’s of the championship match.

West was in the finals for the fifth consecutive year and finished the dual team season with a 17-1 record. North Rowan, in the championship for the second time in the past three years, lost for only the third time in 30 starts.