By Tim Gardner
Avery County High added major team and individual accomplishments this season to further solidify its standing as one of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s most consistently dominant wrestling programs on all levels of classification. And Avery has been its top 1-A dynasty since championships have been held in each of its four classifications for its Individual/Over-All Team State Tournament the past fifteen years (starting in 2010).
From 1931 until 1987, one over-all state championship team from all levels of competition was crowned from the Individual/Over-All Team Tournament. Then, from 1987 until 2010, 4-A, 3-A, and 2-A/1-A championship Individual/Over-All Team State Tournaments were held.
But despite having a tournament-most four individual wrestlers capture state titles, Avery lost its bid to win five consecutive state over-all team championships last weekend at the Greensboro Coliseum Novant Health Fieldhouse Complex. Robbinsville outscored the Vikings 124.5 to 114.5 over the three-day event that ended Saturday to claim its first-ever State Individual/Over-All Team crown as Avery finished as state runner-up.
Uwharrie Charter Academy finished third with 109 team points. Mount Airy was fourth with 65 points. North East Carolina Prep scored 54 points to edge Rosewood, which scored 53 points, for fifth place. Pamlico County finished in seventh place with 42 points. Alleghany County was eighth with 38 team points. Starmount finished ninth with 31 points, and Bradford Prep and Lejeune finished in a tie for tenth place, after each scored 26 total team points.
Both Avery and Robbinsville placed five wrestlers in state championship matches. Avery had four individual state champions, while the Black Knights had three individual state champions.
Avery’s Cael Dunn (55-0), Cooper Foster (53-0), and Kenneth Pritz (52-0) all finished with undefeated seasons. Dunn is a sophomore. Foster and Pritz are juniors.
Dunn won by pinfall against Ryan Deloach of Rosewood in 1:10 in the 175-pound weight class. Foster pinned Robbinsville’s Adair Panama in 1:49 to win the 113-pound weight class. And Pritz claimed the 144-poundweight class title with a 5-1 decision over Tarboro’s Stephen Ribustello.
The Vikings’ Benjamin Jordan (senior) also won an individual title in the 132-pound weight class, by a 9-2 decision over Lejeune’s James Campos.
Jordan finished the season with only one loss (50-1). He was the 2023-2024 Western Highlands 1-A, 2-A Conference Wrestler of The Year.
Robbinsville’s Kage Williams became a four-time state champion, winning the 190-pound weight class by pinfall in three minutes.
Williams was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
He is one of thirteen fourth-time state champions on all classification levels. Avery County has had two four-year state champions—John Mark Bentley (1994-1997) and Levi Andrews (2019-2022). Bentley, in 1997, and Andrews in 2022, were also the state tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
John Mark Bentley is currently Appalachian State University’s head wrestling coach and Andrews currently is a member of the school’s wrestling team. Another former Avery High wrestler, Ethan Shell, also is a current member of the Appalachian State team.
Robbinsville’s other two 2024 individual state titles were by Koleson Dooley, who won the 285-pound weight class by a 3-1 decision, and Alexis Panama, who won the 120-pound weight class by pinfall in 3:02. Besides Adair Panama, Loxston Hooper (126-pound weight class) finished in second place to help Robbinsville earn the over-all team crown.
Junior Mason Bentley finished in second place in the 150-weight class for Avery, losing by pinfall to Lorenzo Alston of Uwharrie Charter Academy in 3:02.
The Vikings’ Grayson Hoilman finished in fourth place in the 285-weight class, dropping a 3-2 decision to Cherryville’s Caleb Hovis. Hoilman is also a junior.
Bentley was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the 2024 Western Highland Conference Tournament, in which Avery won its eighth straight championship in such.
Avery head coach Matthew Dunn commented about his Vikings success this season: “I love the experience that some of our seniors, who have made championship runs for the last three years, brought to our team. They brought a calmness to major events and communicated to underclassmen what is expected in our program. However, each team must approach their mountains differently. When our current championship streaks began, some of our wrestlers were elementary school students.
“This team was very different from some of our past teams. Talent-wise, we had an odd combination of young inexperienced wrestlers who are struggled at times to find their style and others who are incredibly talented. Additionally, we didn’t have our usual strong vocal leaders who took charge of the program’s direction for this season. But we had quiet leaders who led by example and did everything that could ever be asked of young athletes.”
Repeating as a champion or champions is often the toughest challenge to accomplish in sports. Avery has done so on various levels, including conference, regional, and state, for several years. Dunn cited what have been the keys and intangibles involved in developing and then maintaining such remarkable consistency, stating: “Program expectations have been set since this season’s wrestlers were very young It was helpful that we had a wave of talented wrestlers who have supportive parents. It is very difficult selling a sport that is not a glory-sport so-to-speak and countless hours of painful practices, all coupled with a requirement of constant weight discipline.”
Coach Dunn continued sharing about Avery’s success during its runner-up team finishes at the Individual/Over-All Team and Duals Team Tournament, the latter which it lost 36-33 to Uwharrie Charter on February 3, also in the Greensboro Coliseum Novant Health Fieldhouse Complex.
“We had four wrestlers ranked Number One in 1-A, all of whom won state titles in Cael Dunn, Cooper Foster, Kenneth Pritz, and Benjamin Jordan and three more who were ranked in the Top 5 in Mason Bentley, Grayson Hoilman, and Grant Reece,” Coach Dunn said. “Grant broke his hand the week prior to the state tournament. He would have definitely scored the needed points for us to have won and tied the record (with 4-A Cary and 3-A T.W. Andrews) for most consecutive State Individual/Over-All Team Championships (five).
“We won the Smoky Mountain Grapple at the Asheville Civic Center and the Bill Brimer at Bristol, Virginia High, tournaments, which were tough, multi- state competitions. We also won the Best of the West Tournament held at Ashe County High, the R-S (Rutherfordton-Spindale Central) High Central Super Duals, and the Hampton Tuttle Tournament at Hibriten High in Lenoir, besides our conference tournament and regional tournaments to earn a trip to the state championships. We finished the duals season with a great 31-2 record.
“Our team had a senior wrestler who has signed a letter-of-intent to continue his education and wrestle at Appalachian State University in Grant Reece, while Ben Jordan is currently considering his options in making the decision about what college or university where he will attend and wrestle. Jordan is a three-time state champion and Reece is a two-time state champion. And my son, Cael Dunn, also finished the regular season with more pins than any other wrestler at any weight and in any division.”
Reece celebrated his 100th pin of his prep career in the first round of the Dual State Tournament two weeks ago.
With three state champions returning next season in Dunn, Foster, and Pritz, as well as Mason Bentley and Hoilman to lead other talented team members and newcomers, and with history having a way of repeating itself, don’t be surprised if Avery again isn’t one of the state’s top 1-A teams during the 2024-2025 season. The Vikings will be projected to strongly contend for the State Duals Team Championship, for what would be their third title in the past six seasons (no duals tournament was held in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic), as well as again having several wrestlers qualify for the Individual State Championship Tournament while propelling the Vikings to a chance to win the Individual, Over-All Team State Tournament Title for what would be five times in the last six seasons.
One over-all girls state championship team from all levels of competition was crowned from the Individual/Over-All Team Tournament and wrestlers competed against each other from all classification levels. 2024 marked the first girls NCHSAA State Individual/Team Championship Tournament, and sophomore Lily Flores of Avery set history by becoming the first female wrestler from Western North Carolina in a state championship match. She finished second in the 1-A’s 152-pound weight class. She lost to Lake Norman’s Caleigh Suddreth by pinfall in 1:58.
Flores won 23 of 29 matches this season.
Lumberton won the state girls title with 77 points, followed by: Jack Britt with 69, Havelock 62, Hoke County 59, and Laney 52.
Avery wrestlers and their 2024 Individual State Championship finishes included:
Boys:
Cooper Foster, First place, 113-pound weight class
Benjamin Jordan, First place, 132-pound weight class
Kenneth Pritz, First place, 144-pound weight class
Cael Dunn, First place, 175-pound weight class
Mason Bentley, Second place, 150-weight class
Grayson Hoilman, Fourth place, 285-weight class
Girls:
Lily Flores,Second place, 152-pound weight class
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