Wrestlers earn 27th conference title
Published 11:08 am Thursday, January 31, 2019
Such is the consistent greatness of Davie wrestling that its failures are often more noteworthy than its successes.
Following a 45-33 loss to Mooresville on Dec. 14, the War Eagles beat Reynolds 66-16; they went 5-0 in the Blackhawk Duals at West Wilkes, they beat West Forsyth 52-13; they finished first out of 14 teams in the Quentin Crosby tournament at Dudley; they beat Glenn 38-18; they went 4-0 in a dual team tournament at Ragsdale; and they beat East Forsyth 67-9.
When Davie finished second out of 15 teams in the Phillip Reed tournament at Glenn on Jan. 19, it was the first time since Dec. 14 that Davie didn’t rule the day.
Hough topped Davie at Glenn. It was an understandable runner-up. The War Eagles had their usual void at 195, but they also had voids at 152 and 285. Isaac Webb, who was 29-13 at the time, sat out at 152 with a back injury. Andy Flores, who was 28-4 at heavyweight, was on a college visit for football.
“And then we had three or four not score a point that usually do,” coach Buddy Lowery said.
It was just one of those days. Sophomore Adam Szewczyk saw his 10-match winning streak die. Senior Cody Taylor had his winning streak stopped at 30.
“Cody just had a bad day,” Lowery said. “He’s going to have to snap out of it and he’ll be alright.”
Davie did get vintage, first-place performances from freshman JT Richards (3-0 at 113) and seniors Josh Chaffin (3-0 at 132), Matthew King (3-0 at 182) and Jesus Olmedo (3-0 at 220). King and Olmedo had three pins apiece.
“JT wrestled like he always does. He’s smooth,” Lowery said. “Josh wrestled like he can. I think he’s coming around at the right time. Most Saturdays Matthew and Jesus have pretty easy days. Look at what Jesus is doing this year (with an unbeaten record). He would have done this last year (if not for an injury).”
Senior Bill Trader went 3-1 with two pins and a technical fall at 126. Junior Tyris Griffin went 3-2 with two pins at 170. Taylor and sophomore Matthew Downey went 2-2 at 106 and 145, respectively.
“In the semifinals, Bill wrestled a guy who was state runner-up last year,” Lowery said. “He came back (from a major decision loss) and wrestled like he’s supposed to. Tyris is wrestling better. He wrestled pretty smart, did a lot of good things and didn’t beat himself up.”
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At Reagan on Jan. 24, the War Eagles completed their Central Piedmont Conference dominance with a 60-9 decision.
Their 21-match winning streak is the longest in nine years. (The 2009-10 team ripped off 30 straight.) Not only did Lowery notch his 10th 30-win season – Davie is 30-2 overall heading into this week’s state duals – Davie captured the CPC regular-season title for the 27th time in 34 years.
Trader, Chaffin, Collin Bailey, King and Flores had pins. Downey and Griffin won decisions. Richards, Szewczyk, Webb and Olmedo received forfeits.
Notes: Davie has been missing injured freshman Jack Jarvis (22-11 at 145 with seven straight wins) for a while. “I’m hoping he’s going to get back,” Lowery said. … Olmedo is 46-0. Richards is 44-3 with a 14-match winning streak. King is 42-5 with a 29 win streak. Taylor is 40-4, Trader 36-7, Chaffin 33-8, Bailey 32-11, Webb 30-13, Flores 29-4, Szewczyk 28-9 and Downey 14-7.