CONCORD — Two Chatham high schoolers participated in last week’s 2020 state high school women’s wrestling tournament, marking the county’s debut in the event.
Northwood’s Dream Walker and Chatham Central’s Hailey White combined for a 3-4 mark, falling short of a state title but earning praise from their coaches along the way.
Just a freshman, Walker finished fourth in her weight class and earned a copper medal with a 3-2 record. She started off with consecutive pins for victories over Northern Durham’s Isuara Morales and Hoke County’s Samantha Kidder to reach the championship semifinal. Walker then lost a narrow contest to Burns’ Saige Cook.
“She was so close in that semifinals match against Cook, just point here or there could have made the difference,” said Northwood coach Jason Amy. “But that’s a match she will win in time with experience. It’s all new and everything that happened this weekend will help Dream in the future.”
She rebounded by pinning Savannah Hurley of South Stanly in the consolation semifinals before losing via a fall to Rosewood’s Julissa Jaramillo in the consolation finals.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Dream. She’s worked so hard and improved so much throughout the season,” Amy said. “To capture fourth place as a freshman is a testament to her talent, determination, and dedication to the sport.”
In the 138-pound division, White dropped a pair of pin decisions, including at losing to Laura Thompson of Cleveland High in the first round and Lauren Horvath of Richlands in the consolation first round.
Chatham Central coach Sherman Howze was happy with White’s effort despite the 0-2 mark.
“All this is new for her. She came up and competed and did the best she could,” Howze said. “It’s exciting to see the sport growing the way it is for the girls. I think it will continue and Hailey is leading the way for Chatham Central and the future of the sport for our girls there.”
The inaugural event, held in Winston-Salem in 2019, featured 81 female wrestlers from across the state while this year’s event saw 182 wrestlers entered in the field which featured 14 weight classes. The 106, 113, and 120-pound classes feature A and B brackets while there were brackets in 126, 132, 138, 145, and 152 pounds as well. The competition combined wrestlers in the 160/170 pound divisions, 182/195 pound divisions, and the 220/285 pound divisions into a single bracket for each weight class pairing.