CBA, Rosewood strong in Warrior Invitational

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on January 26, 2004 2:00 PM

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WILSON -- Charles B. Aycock placed 11 wrestlers among the top three in their respective weight classes en route to dominating the 2nd annual Warrior Invitational contested Saturday at Wilson Hunt.

The Golden Falcons easily out-distanced runner-up Pasquotank 214.5-117.5.

"I often remind the team that the great thing about wrestling is that a wrestler will get out of this sport exactly how much they put into it," Aycock coach Kevin Smith said. "Several of my wrestlers realized this simple truth this weekend. Hard work in the wrestling room is the only way to get to the medal stand."

Four Aycock grapplers earned gold medals -- Greg Coudriet (119 pounds), Jackson Massey (125), John Robertson (171) and Turner Wood (189). Coudriet and Wood each protected their No. 1 seed, while Robertson emerged victorious as a No. 2 seed.

Robertson pinned his first two opponents to set up a championship match against Pasquotank's Danny Sadlek, the No. 1 seed. Sadlek entered the tournament ranked No. 3 among the state's 2-A teams, while Robertson was 7th in 3-A. Robertson claimed a 3-1 decision in overtime.

"John wrestled a great finals match, and wrestled solid all day," Smith said. "John looks to be peaking at just the right time."

Massey pinned Pasquotank's Brandon Brickhouse, the No. 2 seed, in the second period. He followed that up with a 6-0 decision against top-seeded Bryce Havenook of Rosewood. Massey doubled up Smithfield-Selma's Josh Lindquist 4-2 in the finals.

Massey improved to 19-9 overall.

"Jackson is wrestling the best has all year right now," Smith said. "He has matured as a wrestler this season and is starting to wrestle like a serious regional contender. Jackson is also working very hard in practice, and is seeing the benefits of his hard work."

Coudriet (28-6) knocked off Hunt's Chandler Jackson 10-3 in the finals. Wood (23-4) easily defeated Hunt's Chris Joyner 21-9.

The day's best match, however, occurred in the 130-pound weight class.

Aycock's Luan Tran, a returning state qualifier, faced second-seeded Melvin Carter of Hunt in the semifinals. Tran dealt Carter just his second defeat of the season and stunned the partisan Warrior crowd with a 10-6 decision.

"Luan wrestled an absolutely perfect match," Smith said. "He took control of the match early and maintained his focus for the full six minutes. Luan works hard in practice to get to where he is. I am very happy to see his hard work pay off."

But Tran didn't have too much energy left in his reserve tank. The emotional victory took its toll against Cape Fear's Josh Thompson in the championship match. Thompson, unbeaten in 27 outings, pinned Tran early in the third period.

Lacardra Mitchell settled for runner-up honors at 215. Teammate Dustin Gurley lost to Rosewood's Clayton Taylor in overtime in the heavyweight championship match. Taylor avenged a loss to Gurley two days earlier in a dual meet at Rosewood.

Aycock's Derek Lancaster (103), Blake Brockmeyer (140), Tim Harrison (152) and Will Medus (160) each finished third.

Rosewood captured sixth overall with 110.5 points.

Junior Ramsey Brown and senior captain Aaron Lynch each seized a gold medal. Brown pinned Pasquotank's A.J. Sykes in the 103-pound final, while Lynch stopped Pasquotank's Kenny Norton in the 152-pound championship.

Teammate Alan Corbett finished second at 145.

Fayetteville Cape Fear took third in the team title race with 136 points. The host Warriors collected a fourth-place finish (131 points), while Smithfield-Selma claimed fifth with 130.5 points.

The day-long event featured four teams currently ranked in three classifications in the latest Elite 10 dual-team poll compiled by ncmat. com. Aycock is 7th in 3-A and Hunt stands 8th. Pasquotank is the No. 8-ranked team among 2-A programs, while Rosewood is the top-ranked squad in 1-A.

The 13-team field also had seven teams which appeared in the 2003 N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team playoffs, and 20 wrestlers ranked in this week's Super 32 Report.

Team scores

1. C.B. Aycock (CBA) 214.5; 2. Pasquotank (P) 177.5; 3. Cape Fear (CF) 136; 4. Wilson Hunt (Hunt) 131; 5. Smithfield-Selma (SSS) 130.5; 6. Rosewood (R) 110.5; 7. Clayton (C) 66; 8. Nash Central (NC) 48; 9. Warren County (WC) 41; 10. Northeastern (NE) 40.5; 10. South Central (SC) 40.5; 12. Northside (N) 38; 13. North Edgecombe (NE) 7.

Championship finals

103 -- Ramsey Brown (R) wbf A.J. Sykes (P), 2:57; 112 -- Jonathan Sutton (NE) dec. Michael Jusino (C), 18-16; 119 -- Greg Coudriet (CBA) dec. Chandler Jackson (Hunt), 10-3; 125 -- Jackson Massey (CBA) dec. Josh Lindquist (SSS), 4-2; 130 -- Josh Thompson (CF) wbf Luan Tran (CBA), 4:41; 135 -- Wayne Norton (P) dec. Mike Nash (CF), 8-4; 140 -- James Stevens (P) dec. Kenny Watkins (SSS), 8-6; 145 -- Timothy Walker (CF) dec. Alan Corbett (R), 5-2; 152 -- Aaron Lynch (R) dec. Kenny Norton (P), 8-1; 160 -- Brandon Norwood (NC) dec. Jeremy Sims (WC), 6-2; 171 -- John Robertson (CBA) dec. Danny Sedlak (P), 3-1 OT; 189 -- Turner Wood (CBA) maj. dec. Chris Joyner (Hunt), 21-9; 215 -- Matt Overby (SSS) wbf Lacardra Mitchell (CBA), 1:17; Hwt -- Clayton Taylor (R) dec. Dustin Gurley (CBA), 12-10 OT.