GOLDSBORO — A pair of local wrestlers will carry the Chatham County torch to the annual North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Wrestling Individual State Championships set for Thursday, February 16 through Saturday, February 18 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Chandler Steele of Chatham Charter and Cole Armstrong of Chatham Central advanced to the states with strong showings at Goldsboro Rosewood High School over the weekend in the 1A East Regional.
Steele captured second overall in the 113 pound division with a 3-1 record at the event. Steele pinned Brady Peeletier of Neuse Charter at the 1:22 mark in the opening round before taking an 11-2 major decision over Ronan Carletta of East Carteret in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Steele took an impressive 15-3 major decision over Josh Poteat of Uwharrie Charter, but was stopped short of the regional crown in the finals when Christian Decatur of Rosewood took a fall win in :57 seconds over Steele.
Also for Chatham Charter, Sam Blandon went 1-2 at 120 after losing to Timothy Freeze of South Davidson in a :23 second fall in round one, before receiving a bye in ground two, and later dropping a fall decision to William Kimball of Rosewood in 3:26.
Armstrong, meanwhile, went 3-1 in the 126 pound division to take second place. The Bear grappler opened with a bye, pinned Michael Gabbard of South Stanly in 3:01 in the quarterfinals, took a 15-2 major decision over Brice Browning of Tarboro in the semifinals, and was defeated 7-0 in the finals by Chris Hill of Rosewood.
James Amador-Jaimes and Abad de la Sancha both went 3-2 for Chatham Central at the regional.
Amador-Jaimes, in the 145 division, opened with a pin of Kamari Brooks of Manteo in :43 seconds befoe falling to Keegan McDonough of Lejune in the second round via a 7-2 decision.
In the consolation second round, Amador-Jaimes captured a 10-5 decision over Edgar Hernandez of South Davidson before dropping Michael Sawyer of Pender at the 1:54 mark in a fall in the next round.
The run by Amador-Jaimes came to an end in the consolation semifinals, however, when Caleb Bryant of Uwharrie Charter took a 14-7 decision.
Sancha, meanwhile, opened action at 170 with a pin win in :45 over Wes Layton of North Stanly before falling to Isaiah Deck of Neuse Charter in a fall at 1:28 in the quarterfinals.
Sancha would follow with a pin of Tristan Zurcher of Pender in 2:34, and a fall win over Elijah Joyner of Rosewood in 3:37 before dropping a fall decision to Jathan Parker of East Carteret in 3:28.
Also for the Bears, Brantly Hart (113) and Noah Rinell (138) both went 2-2, with Hart pinning Ashton Defries of Granville Central in 1:18 in the opening round and Connor Curlee of South Stanly in 2:14 of the Consolation round two.
Rinell bested Jose Garcia of Tarboro with a fall in 1:41 in the opening round while also taking a pin win over Braeden Reiss of Rosewood in 2:24 of consolation round two.
Kyle Garner (152) and Wesley Buie (285) each went went 1-2 for the Bears while Jarrett Mashburn (182) went 0-2.
In 3A Mideast Regional action over in Forest Oaks at Southeast Guilford High School, Northwood failed to send any wrestlers to the state despite some solid showings against a very competitive field.
Evan Boggess was the most successful Charger with a 2-2 mark at 132 that included a 3-0 decision over Erick Islas-Hernandez of Chapel Hill, and a victory over Tyrone Montgomery of Harnett Central.
Jamison Davis (138), Grant Ray (145), William Lake (170) and Harrison Knapp (182) all went 1-2 at the regional.
Davis picked up a 10-1 major decison over Diana Pritchard while Ray decisioned Grayson Crea of Southern Alamance 7-2, and Lake pinned Colby Metz of Southeast Guilford in 2:00.