The NCHSAA individual wrestling championships will start tonight in three classifications at the Greensboro Coliseum, the first matches in a three-day tournament in which 56 state champions — 14 in each classification — will be crowned Saturday night.
First-round matches in the Class 4-A, 3-A and 2-A tournaments will be tonight. The Class 1-A tournament, which has a smaller field, will start Friday. All finals will be Saturday night.
Drew Turner, a 113-pound sophomore from Parkland, is the only 2011 champion from an area school who will start his title defense tonight. He is 54-5 this season and won a Midwest 4-A Regional title last weekend. There are four other returning champs from area schools, all in the 1-A tournament.
Turner said at last weekend's regional that his five losses were the result of his coming into the season out of shape. Coach Maurice Atwood of Parkland didn't disagree.
"I think the biggest way he was out of shape was mentally," Atwood said. "Maybe he was mentally fatigued, burnt out a little bit and needed some rest. But he has seemed to regroup himself pretty good and is wrestling up to standard and definitely in contention.
"If he stays mentally focused, he will be tough to beat. He has been there, done it and knows what he needs to do to win."
Turner's father, Mike Turner, is an assistant coach for Atwood and a former Parkland wrestler who has groomed his son. Atwood said that Drew Turner, who won at 103 last season, could have stayed in the lowest weight class this season (now 106 pounds) but that he wrestled up so that senior Phazon Roddy could wrestle at 106 for the Mustangs. Roddy is 55-0.
"He is a smaller 113 than a lot of guys, and that helps him some because he doesn't have to worry about cutting weight," Atwood said. "But that shouldn't matter. The kid has wrestled up his entire life before high school.
"If he brings it all to the table, there is nobody he can't beat. If he goes out, slacks off and doesn't give it his all and makes a stupid decision during the course of a match, he will be in the consolations. He and I have had this conversation many times."
Turner has lost to only one wrestler in his bracket — junior Robbie Tomasic of Durham Jordan, dropping a 2-0 decision in a tournament after Christmas. Atwood said Turner beat Tomasic three times last season and that he just didn't wrestle well in this season's meeting.
"(The loss) stands out because I told him if he didn't get his head straight, he was going to lose. About all of his losses (this season) were at 120, and even some of those he lost he shouldn't have. One of them he lost 5-4, and then turned around a couple of weeks later and pinned the same kid in less than a minute.
"If his head is straight, the sky is the limit. That's what's going to make this entire season for him as far as the state tournament is concerned."
The defending 1-A champions from area schools are: Ty Franklin, a 112-pound sophomore from Alleghany; juniors Jorge Lima of West Wilkes and Alexander Preudhomme of Bishop McGuinness, both at 126 pounds; senior J.J. LaPlante of West Wilkes, at 132 pounds.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement