The Bucs entered with the most state qualifiers in 4A and took control of the team race from the beginning. With no consolation bracket (except for 3rd and 4th) - losing wrestlers in the first two rounds played an important role in the team outcome. Laney lost 3 in the opening round and another two in the quarters, but put 6 on the podium (including 3 in the finals) to claim the title over Cardinal Gibbons, Hough, NW Guilford, and Lake Norman.

How Laney got it done …

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Each team took a few knocks in the opening round, but it was Laney’s ability to put 6 on the podium - winning 6 quarters that separated them from everyone else. Gibbons had 5 quarterfinal winners, but their margin for error was much smaller than Laney’s (beginning with 6 vs. 11). Mooresville and Davie were in the hunt heading into the quarters, but could only get one wrestlers each through to the semis and that spelled doom for their hunt for a team title. Congrats to Laney - a team effort to claim a tough 4A title.

106 lbs.

1st: Cameron Stinson (Mallard Creek) 33-0 won by fall over Joseph Burns (West Forsyth) 29-4 (Fall 4:16)

3rd: Paul Denioa (New Bern) 20-2 won by decision over Johnny Ramos (Cary) 15-2 (Dec 5-0)

What Happened: Freshman Cam Stinson dominated - winning all four of his matches by fall. In fact he outscored his opponents by a score of 28-3 throughout the tournament (all 3 points to Riley Logan of Glenn on a reversal and an escape). Each of the four region champs advanced to the semis, but 106 was all Stinson.

113 lbs.

1st: Matt Rowland (Pinecrest) 33-0 won by decision over Hunter Gundry (Cardinal Gibbons) 23-3 (Dec 6-0)

3rd: Noah Murray (Lake Norman) 26-7 won by decision over Landon Bean (Olympic) 26-4 (Dec 7-0)

What Happened: Pinecrest’s Matt Rowland rolled through the bracket early … earning two falls in under a minute. He then downed Landon Bean by fall in the semis before taking out Hunter Gundry 6-0 in the finals. Rowland did not give up a single point in the tournament (outscoring his opponents 24-0). Freshman Noah Murray came from a non-region champ position to finish 3rd … downing Bean 7-0 in the consi finals.

120 lbs.

1st: Mark Samuel (Laney) 29-0 won by decision over Noah Luna (Providence) 19-1 (Dec 14-9)

3rd: Luke Kunath (Cardinal Gibbons) 21-1 won by major decision over Patrick Iacoves (Lake Norman) 27-6 (MD 16-7)

What Happened: Laney’s Mark Samuel claimed another state title, but it wasn’t easy. Samuel rolled through the first few rounds with a 30 second fall, a 10-3 decision, and an 11-1 decision of Patrick Iacoves before meeting up with Noah Luna in the finals. Luna and Kunath battled it out in the bottom semis with Luna prevailing 3-0 (on a first period takedown). Samuel controlled the action on the feet vs. Luna - getting 2 takedowns in the first period. An escape, a takedown and nearfall pushed Samuel to a commanding 9-3 lead heading into the 3rd. Luna got a reversal to start the 3rd, but two more takedowns by Samuel and he cruised to a 14-9 win. Lake Norman’s Iacoves fell to Kunath for 3rd, but was the only non-region champ to make the podium at 120.

126 lbs.

1st: Brandt Fajerman (Hough) 24-1 won by decision over Sam Barnett (New Bern) 22-1 (Dec 12-6)

3rd: William Cline (Providence) 17-3 won by decision over Avery Buonocore (Laney) 17-4 (Dec 3-2)

What Happened: Hough’s Brandt Fajerman emerged from a non-region champ position to claim the 126 lb. title with a 12-6 decision of Sam Barnett. Fajerman’s path wasn’t easy, but he made it look routine. He pinned Hunter Jones of Hickory Ridge in the 3rd period (after leading 12-0). He downed Avery Buonocore 9-2 in the semis before crossing paths with Barnett in the finals. Fajerman and Barnett were close heading into the 3rd when Fajerman turned it to claim the title. Barnett beat Cline 7-5 in the semis and Cline downed Buonocore 3-2 in the consi finals in what was an entertaining 126 lb. bracket.

132 lbs.

1st: James Joplin (Northwest Guilford) 29-0 won by decision over Tyler Tracy (Cardinal Gibbons) 25-1 (Dec 15-8)

3rd: John Helmers (Heritage) 25-7 won by fall over Christian Hasty (Porter Ridge) 22-3 (Fall 4:24)

What Happened: Joplin captured another title - very workmanlike performance and was simply dominant on his feet. He had 3 falls before downing Tyler Tracy 15-8 in the finals. Tracy was also dominant on the bottom side of the bracket … winning by 2 falls and a 12-2 major before losing to Joplin. Big shoutout to John Helmers of Heritage and Christian Hasty of Porter Ridge … both won very tough quarterfinals to make the podium. Helmers downed Tobias Finn 4-3 and Hasty went into sudden victory to pull out the win over Jayden Harrison of Laney.

138 lbs.

1st: Richard Treanor (Hough) 26-0 won by decision over Drew Pepin (Northwest Guilford) 33-2 (Dec 8-4)

3rd: Cayden Scott (Purnell Swett) 16-3 won by decision over Britton Janet (Cardinal Gibbons) 16-4 (Dec 10-6)

What Happened: Treanor continued his dominance. He had two falls before downing Cayden Scott 12-1 in the semis. Scott “upset” region champ Ryan Boyer 9-8 in the quarters to make the podium. On the top side Drew Pepin had a fall before getting a 3-0 decision of Davis Freeze to advance to the semis … where he pinned Britton Janet in the 2nd period. Treanor gave up 4 escapes in the finals, but matched that with 4 takedowns and won handily 8-4 over Pepin. Next stop for Treanor is West Point … don’t know if we will get to see him this summer in Fargo or not.

145 lbs.

1st: Riley Edwards (Northwest Guilford) 33-0 won by decision over Toure Moore (Grimsley) 19-3 (Dec 4-3)

3rd: Maxwell Kiel (Jordan) 21-1 won by decision over Conner Johnson (Laney) 20-2 (Dec 11-6)

What Happened: Outstanding weight class that didn’t disappoint. Toure Moore downed Eli Murray 5-4 and then Conner Johnson 9-8 to advance to the finals opposite Riley Edwards. Edwards took care of business on the bottom side - beating Jun Figueredo 5-1 in the quarters and Maxwell Kiel 10-3 in the semis to make another finals. Edwards takedown at the end of the 1st period would prove to be huge as he held onto a 4-3 win to claim the 145 lb. title.

152 lbs.

1st: Joseph Sealey (High Point Central) 24-0 won by tech fall over Sam Grena (Cary) 17-1 (TF-1.5 4:48 (24-9))

3rd: Logan Haseley (Corinth Holders) 24-2 won by major decision over Davieyon King-McAllister (Lumberton) 16-6 (MD 10-1)

What Happened: Sealey put together a takedown clinic this weekend - it just happened to be at the North Carolina State Tournament. Sealey scored 107 points in what has to be a NC record for the state tournament. Cary’s Sam Grena made the finals from the bottom side with 2 falls and a tough 6-4 win over Logan Haseley in the semis. Haseley downed King-McAllister for 3rd.

160 lbs.

1st: Luke Goodin (Mooresville) 31-1 won by decision over Daniel Shoaf (Laney) 27-1 (Dec 3-1)

3rd: Joseph Lock (Jack Britt) 20-1 won by decision over Justin Sanders (Hough) 21-3 (Dec 8-6)

What Happened: Another good weight class where the top two - Goodin and Shoaf really shined in the first 3 rounds. Goodin had a fall, a 15-8 decision of Alex Hopper and a 15-4 major of Joseph Lock to make the finals. Shoaf had a 15-0 tech, a 1st period fall, and a 13-1 major of Justin Sanders to make the finals. Goodin scored the deciding takedown in the final minute to break a 1-1 tie and claim the title. Lock bounced back to take 3rd over Sanders.

170 lbs.

1st: Jack Jarvis (Davie) 30-0 won by major decision over Devon Bell (Laney) 26-2 (MD 16-5)

3rd: Savoy New (Cardinal Gibbons) 18-1 won by fall over Alex Cowart (Hough) 21-5 (Fall 2:33)

What Happened: Davie’s Jack Jarvis was simply outstanding on his way to the 170 lb. title. Jarvis started things off with a 7-0 decision over Jake Wolfram being getting a quick fall of Karl Trapp. Jarvis had to grind out a 9-6 win over Savoy New in the semis before handing Devon Bell a 16-5 major decision loss in the finals. Bell had a tough opening match vs. Noah Rupp - surviving a 2-1 decision before pinning Eric Schaefer and then Alex Cowart to reach the finals. New pinned Cowart for 3rd.

182 lbs.

1st: Holden Cypher (Millbrook) 24-0 won by fall over Robert Hyder (Pinecrest) 30-3 (Fall 0:40)

3rd: Paulique Noble (Olympic) 28-2 won by decision over Jacob Zaitawi (West Forsyth) 26-10 (Dec 10-7)

What Happened: Cypher was a man among boys at 182 … he looked simply outstanding on his way to another title. He had a 17-2 tech fall before pinning Jacob Zaitawi in 20 seconds of their semifinal match. He then downed Pinecrest’s Robert Hyder by fall in the finals. Hyder had a tough opening round match - a 3-2 decision over Dorn before getting decisions over Caleb Joines and Paulique Noble to reach the finals. Noble downd Zaitawi 10-7 to claim 3rd.

195 lbs.

1st: Caleb Beaty (Wake Forest) 22-1 won by decision over Carson Floyd (Lake Norman) 32-1 (Dec 6-4)

3rd: Kanenan Barriner (Laney) 26-3 won by decision over Omari Lee (Glenn) 30-6 (Dec 5-2)

What Happened: Another really good weight. Beaty had a fall before getting a 4-2 decision of Chris Dickey to make the semis. Omari Lee had a 10-3 win and an 18-9 major to make the semis opposite Beaty. Beaty and Lee battled into the 3rd period with Beaty leading 4-3 before getting the fall and punching his ticket to the finals. On the bottom side, Barriner had a 9-5 decision and a 5-2 decision to make the semis and Carson Floyd had 2 2nd period falls to make the semis opposite Barriner. Floyd easily took care of business - a 13-3 major of Barriner to setup a showdown with Beaty. Floyd took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd, but could hold off Beaty … Beaty scored 5 in the 3rd to win 6-4. Barriner downed Lee 5-2 to take 3rd.

220 lbs.

1st: Noah Williams (Apex) 21-0 won by decision over Sakarri Morrison (Lake Norman) 30-1 (Dec 3-2)

3rd: Nathan Carnes (Porter Ridge) 24-1 won by fall over Joshua George (South View) 14-4 (Fall 4:15)

What Happened: 220 is a perfect example of why I don’t make predictions … returning 2A State Champ Sakarri Morrison came in on a roll and continued that through the first 3 rounds on Saturday (with 2 falls and a 22-5 tech fall). Apex’s Williams came into Saturday unbeaten and won his 1st match 9-4 and his second 7-4 before getting a come from behind 6-5 decision over Nathan Carnes in the semis. Williams and Morrison went back and forth in the finals with Williams coming out on top with 3-2 decision to deny Morrison a 4A title. Carnes rebounded from his loss to Williams to get the fall over Joshua George.

285 lbs.

1st: Rylan Vann (Cary) 18-0 won by decision over Kareem Crawford (South View) 19-4 (Dec 4-2)

3rd: Javari Wright (Corinth Holders) 21-2 won by decision over Nicholas Glasgow (Ragsdale) 18-4 (Dec 6-0)

What Happened: Another very competitive weight class … with Rylan Vann getting 2 5-3 sudden victory wins to make the finals before downing Kareem Crawford 4-2. Vann got takedowns in overtime against both Craig-Blakely and Javari Wright to make the finals on the bottom side. Crawford took out Emmanuel Bell and David Eldridge before getting an overtime win over Nicholas Glasgow to make the finals. Wright downed Glasgow 6-0 to take 3rd.

The Breakdown - Episode 13 - Laney Claims NC 4A Team Title