GREENSBORO — The North Carolina High School Athletic Association state wrestling championships at the Greensboro Coliseum got underway on Friday.

           The 3-A wrestlers were the first ones to wrestle on the opening day, followed by the 4-A and then the 2-A competitors. The 1-A wrestlers were the last group to compete in quarterfinal action since the field is smaller.  The tournament had originally been scheduled to run three days but was condensed into two due to inclement weather that had hit across the state.

            After the first day, the 1-A tournament will see only the first round completed, while the other three classifications went through the first rounds in  consolation competition.

            In 2-A action, Newton-Conover leads the standings with 47.5 points, just ahead of Gastonia Hunter Huss with 47.  Newport Croatan, the 2-A dual team runner-up, is third with 32, followed by East Burke (27.5) and Brevard (25). There are 69 schools with wrestlers in the 2-A competition.

            Newton-Conover have five wrestlers advance to the championship semifinals, with Huss seeing two move on.

           In a really tight 3-A race, defending champion Eden Morehead leads the 3-A team standings with 39 points with Swansboro in second at 35, although Swansboro grapplers won four of five of their quarterfinal matches.  Newton Fred T. Foard, which won this year’s dual team title, is third with 33, followed by Cameron Union Pines (32) and Enka (25).  A total of 76 3-A schools are represented in the championships.    

            Fayetteville Jack Britt, which won the 4-A dual team championship, has built a solid lead in the team standings with 69.5 points. Britt had nine wrestlers in the quarterfinals, with six advancing.

            Northwest Guilford is second at 47.5, followed by Southeast Guilford (43.5), Holly Springs (40.5) and perennial power Cary (32), with a total of 79 4-A school represented in the tournament.

            Mitchell, which won the dual team title two weeks ago, is the team leader after the opening round of the 1-A event with 20 points, followed by Rosman (16), Mount Airy (15) and East Surry (13).  There are 38 schools with wrestlers competing in the 1-A classification in Greensboro.          

             The consolation quarterfinals in 2-A, 3-A and 4-A will now begin competition on Saturday morning at 9 a.m., followed by championship semifinal action. The championship matches in all classifications are scheduled for Saturday afternoon no earlier than 4 p.m.