GREENSBORO, NC – The 2023 Dual Team Wrestling State Championships wrapped up with four teams crowned State Champions. Seven of the eight teams competing in this year’s State Championships were returning regional champions. Only Newton-Conover, the 2A Western Champions, did not appear in the 2022 edition of the event.
Uwharrie Charter reached the State Championships for the fourth straight time, but defeated Avery County for the first time, winning the Eagles’ second state title. The two teams were meeting for the third consecutive 1A Dual Team State Championship, but it was the Uwharrie grapplers that came away with the narrow 39-36 victory as Jaden Maness sealed the victory at 195 pounds, pinning Brandon Cabrera at the 3:20 mark of their bout to put the Eagles up 39-30 with one match remaining. Aldo Hernandez was selected as the 1A Most Valuable Wrestler for the 2023 Dual Team Championship, pinning Grant Reece in 132 lbs. in just 1:08.
The 2A Championship was a much tighter affair than last year’s match, as Bunn kept things close against Newton-Conover. However, Newton grapplers overpowered the Wildcats in the mid-weights stretching out their lead and sealing a 51-18 victory. The win was the Red Devils’ fourth Dual Team State Championship and their first since winning the title in 2016. Caiden Rowe was selected as the Most Valuable Performer from Newton-Conover, winning his match in the 160-pound division over Kevin Silverio by fall at 1:09.
Fred T. Foard rolled past Union Pines for the second consecutive year, winning the 3A Dual Team Championship and the Tigers’ third consecutive Dual Team title. The Tigers dominated the match, winning eight of the 14 bouts by fall. Colby Mace was selected as the 3A Most Valuable Performer by Foard after battling back from injury to participate this season.
In the 4A Dual Team Championship, it was another rematch of last year’s finalists. Northwest Guilford avenged a tough loss to Laney in the Finals a year ago by throttling the Buccaneers 52-24. The victory gave the Vikings their second State Championship all-time. Northwest got off to a fast start, winning by pin in five of the first six matches and adding a bonus point win by major decision in the other match. Nick Byrd led off the match with a huge win for Northwest in the heavyweight division over Michael Williams, stapling Williams to the mat just 55 seconds into the dual match. Byrd was selected as the 4A Most Valuable Performer for his leadoff win.
The NCHSAA is committed to promoting and highlighting outstanding sportsmanship at its events. The Association has partnered with NC Farm Bureau Insurance to award two sportsmanship awards at each of the NCHSAA’s sanctioned championships. The NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award winners for the 1A Duals were Caden Bond from Uwharrie Charter and Brandon Cabrera from Avery County. In 2A, the Sporsmanship Awards were presented to Nelson Aguilar from Bunn and Mike Xiong from Newton-Conover. The 3A Duals Sportsmanship Award winners were Dustin Maness from Union Pines and Sam Bolch from Fred T. Foard. The 4A Sportsmanship Awards were given to Mason Blue from Laney and Eli Pendergrass from Northwest Guilford.
2023 NCHSAA 1A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship Match
Uwharrie Charter (36-0) def. Avery County (27-8) 39-36
285 lbs. – Caden Bond (Uwharrie Charter) over Connor Brewer (Avery County) by major decision (MD 8-0) (UCA leads 4-0)
106 lbs. – Cooper Foster (Avery County) over Brennan Worrell (Uwharrie Charter) by fall (Fall 1:59) (Avery leads 6-4)
113 lbs. – Ethan Hines (Uwharrie Charter) over King Orvosh (Avery County) by tech fall (TF 15-0) (UCA leads 9-6)
120 lbs. – Benjamin Jordan (Avery County) over Christopher White (Uwharrie Charter) by fall (Fall 0:59) (Avery leads 12-9)
126 lbs. – Mason Bentley (Avery County) over Brandon Jordan (Uwharrie Charter) by fall (Fall 1:56) (Avery leads 18-9)
132 lbs. – Aldo Hernandez (Uwharrie Charter) over Grant Reece (Avery County) by fall (Fall 1:08) (Avery leads 18-15)
138 lbs. – Jack McArthur (Uwharrie Charter) over Staley Griffith (Avery County) by fall (Fall 3:44) (UCA leads 21-18)
145 lbs. – Johnathon Gragg (Avery County) over Jair Ulloa (Uwharrie Charter) by decision (Dec 6-4) (Tied 21-21)
152 lbs. – Lorenzo Alston (Uwharrie Charter) over Barrett Potter (Avery County) by fall (Fall 0:17) (UCA leads 27-21)
160 lbs. – Tristan Adams (Avery County) over Carson Robinson (Uwharrie Charter) by decision (Dec 5-0) (UCA leads 27-24)
170 lbs. – Grayson Roberts (Uwharrie Charter) over Unknown (Unattached) by forfeit (For.) (UCA leads 33-24)
182 lbs. – Cael Dunn (Avery County) over Corbin Grissom (Uwharrie Charter) by fall (Fall 1:29) (UCA leads 33-30)
195 lbs. – Jaden Maness (Uwharrie Charter) over Brandon Cabrera (Avery County) by fall (Fall 3:20) (UCA leads 39-30)
220 lbs. – Seth Blackledge (Avery County) over Unknown (Unattached) by forfeit (For.) (UCA leads 39-36)
2023 NCHSAA 2A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship Match
Newton-Conover (48-1) def. Bunn (27-2) 51-18
285 lbs. – Dyllin Ellis (Bunn) over Mason Abbrnethy (Newton-Conover) by decision (Dec 1-0) (Bunn leads 3-0)
106 lbs. – Alex Monks (Bunn) over Christian Garcia (Newton-Conover) in sudden victory period (SV-1 8-6) (Bunn leads 6-0)
113 lbs. – Cohen Smith (Newton-Conover) over Brooke Morrow (Bunn) by fall (Fall 0:30) (Tied 6-6)
120 lbs. – Isaiah Pittman (Newton-Conover) over Spencer Stallman (Bunn) by fall (Fall 0:44) (N-C leads 12-6
126 lbs. – Phoenix Michaud (Newton-Conover) over “Chino” Catalan-Escamilla (Bunn) in sudden victory period (SV-1 10-8) (N-C leads 15-6)
132 lbs. – Austin Chastain (Bunn) over Cooper Murray (Newton-Conover) by fall (Fall 3:43) (N-C leads 15-12)
138 lbs. – Connor Shumate (Newton-Conover) over George Hanna (Bunn) by fall (Fall 3:08) (N-C leads 21-12)
145 lbs. – Jayden Alston (Bunn) over Landon Williams (Newton-Conover) by fall (Fall 0:58) (N-C leads 21-18)
152 lbs. – Jason Brawley (Newton-Conover) over John Fuentes (Bunn) by fall (Fall 1:06) (N-C leads 27-18)
160 lbs. – Caiden Rowe (Newton-Conover) over Kevin Silverio (Bunn) by fall (Fall 1:09) (N-C leads 33-18)
170 lbs. – Jordan Henze (Newton-Conover) over Damarion Watkins (Bunn) by decision (Dec 9-8) (N-C leads 36-18)
182 lbs. – Matthew Race (Newton-Conover) over Dominic McDowell (Bunn) by fall (Fall 4:19) (N-C leads 42-18
195 lbs. – Owen Clark (Newton-Conover) over Cody Anderson (Bunn) by fall (Fall 1:38) (N-C leads 48-18)
220 lbs – Joseph Lioret-Tutty (Newton-Conover) over Howard Edwards (Bunn) by decision (Dec. 7-3) (N-C leads 51-18)
2023 NCHSAA 3A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship Match
Fred T. Foard (38-1) def. Union Pines (27-2) 54-24
285 lbs. – Sam Bolch (Fred T. Foard) over Sincere Bonner (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 1:38) (FTF leads 6-0)
106 lbs. – George Coleman (Fred T. Foard) over Nathan Maness (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 1:58) (FTF leads 12-0)
113 lbs. – Keaton Crawford (Union Pines) over Austin Laws (Fred T. Foard) by decision (Dec 8-6) (FTF leads 12-3)
120 lbs. – Jayden Crawford (Union Pines) over Toby Bowman (Fred T. Foard) by fall (Fall 3:11) (FTF leads 12-9)
126 lbs. – Parker Johns (Fred T. Foard) over Joseph Lloyd (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 3:06) (FTF leads 18-9)
132 lbs. – Brayden Johns (Fred T. Foard) over JT Erle (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 5:20) (FTF leads 24-9)
138 lbs. – Kevin Romero (Fred T. Foard) over Finnius McCafferty (Union Pines) by injury default (Inj. 1:06) (FTF leads 30-9)
145 lbs. – Brock Carey (Fred T. Foard) over Joseph Vrabcak (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 1:20) (FTF leads 36-9)
152 lbs. – Brayden Mejia (Fred T. Foard) over Houston Leeah (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 3:07) (FTF (FTF leads 42-9)
160 lbs. – Brock Sullivan (Union Pines) over Jon Byrd (Fred T. Foard) by fall (Fall 2:28) (FTF leads 42-15)
170 lbs. – Zane Birtchet (Fred T. Foard) over Dustin Maness (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 0:54) (FTF leads 48-15)
182 lbs. – Nicholas Mascolino (Union Pines) over Sam Drum (Fred T. Foard) by fall (Fall 2:44) (FTF leads 48-21)
195 lbs. – Dylan Smith (Fred T. Foard) over Dantrell Williams (Union Pines) by fall (Fall 1:48) (FTF leads 54-21)
220 lbs. – Colton Collins (Union Pines) over Colby Mace (Fred T. Foard) by decision (Dec 6-4) (FTF leads 54-24)
2023 NCHSAA 4A Dual Team Wrestling State Championship Match
Northwest Guilford (34-0) def. Laney (17-2) 52-24
285 lbs. – Nick Byrd (Northwest Guilford) over Michael Williams (Laney) by fall (Fall 0:55) (NW leads 6-0)
106 lbs. – Kyle Pruden (Northwest Guilford) over Ayden Arrington (Laney) by fall (Fall 0:32) (NW leads 12-0)
113 lbs. – Tristen Lawrence (Northwest Guilford) over Kingston Neal (Laney) by major decision (MD 10-1) (NW leads 16-0)
120 lbs. – Eli Pendergrass (Northwest Guilford) over Samuel McQueen (Laney) by fall (Fall 1:43) (NW leads 22-0)
126 lbs. – Jackson Gibson (Northwest Guilford) over Robert Tann (Laney) by fall (Fall 0:38) (NW leads 28-0)
132 lbs. – Dylan Pepin (Northwest Guilford) over Tyler Buonocore (Laney) by fall (Fall 2:33) (NW leads 34-0)
138 lbs. – Avery Buonocore (Laney) over Andrew Harger (Northwest Guilford) by fall (Fall 1:29) (NW leads 34-6)
145 lbs. – Noah Thomas (Laney) over Will Gibson (Northwest Guilford) by decision (Dec 4-1) (NW leads 34-9)
152 lbs. – Dylan Attridge (Northwest Guilford) over Jacob Rosen (Laney) by fall (Fall 3:17) (NW leads 40-9)
160 lbs. – Drew Pepin (Northwest Guilford) over Marquise Kelly (Laney) by fall (Fall 0:31) (NW leads 46-9)
170 lbs. – Tristan Cotto (Laney) over Cole Vermilyea (Northwest Guilford) by decision (Dec 3-1) (NW leads 46-12)
182 lbs. – Alex Hopper (Laney) over Alex Rodriguez (Northwest Guilford) by fall (Fall 1:36) (NW leads 46-18)
195 lbs. – Trystan Richardson (Laney) over Derik Mirts (Northwest Guilford) by fall (5:11) (NW leads 46-24)
220 lbs. – Trey Tuggle (Northwest Guilford) over Sa’ir Folks (Laney) by fall (Fall 1:26) (NW leads 52-24)
