THREE NCHSAA DUAL TEAM WRESTLING TITLES DECIDED SUNDAY
Three of the four North Carolina High School Athletic Association state dual team wrestling championships were decided on Sunday afternoon after being postponed due to inclement weather.
The 4-A championship in Winston-Salem, a rare battle of defending champions, saw host Parkland down Cary by a score of 38-14. Parkland won last year’s 3-A crown before moving up to 4-A in the new realignment while Cary won the 2009 4-A title.
Parkland ran its perfect record in duals to 42-0 while Cary lost for the first time in 35 matches. It was the fourth consecutive crown Parkland in two different classifications, while Cary made its 10th straight appearance in the dual-team finals. The Imps, the all-time leader in postseason dual victories with 77, had won the last three 4-A crowns and five of the last six.
Newport Croatan captured the 2-A championship, as it traveled to Monroe and downed host Piedmont by 36-18. Croatan won its first NCHSAA dual team title and finished the dual season with a perfect 17-0 mark while Piedmont lost for only the second time in 45 dual matches.
The 1-A class held both its regional rounds and finals on Sunday at West Montgomery, and West Wilkes won a pair of matches to earn the state title after finishing as runner-up a year ago.
West Wilkes rolled past Rosewood 60-10 in the championship match, with 119-pounder J.J. LaPlante of West Wilkes earning the Most Valuable Performer award for the finals. West finished dual team competition with a record of 18-3 while Rosewood posted a 31-8 mark.
West Wilkes downed Robbinsville 36-33 in the Western final while Rosewood won the final individual match to slip past host West Montgomery 36-34 for the Eastern crown.
The class 3-A championship between Concord Jay Robinson (23-2) and Orange (32-3), set for Orange High in Hillsborough, was postponed on Saturday and is scheduled for Monday evening at 6 p.m. with weigh-ins at five o’clock.
