
By Tim Gardner
It wasn’t if Avery High would win the team title at the North Carolina High School Athletics Association State Wrestling Meet last weekend at the Greensboro Coliseum. It was just by how wide a margin the Vikings would dominate.
They had five state individual champions, two state individual runners-up, one third place championship finisher and an over-all team title, which provide evidence of how much Avery overpowered the tournament field.
Avery had seven wrestlers competing in 1-A classification’s individual final bouts February 22 and the rather impressive five state champions propelled the Vikings to secure their second state team title this month.
Avery compiled a final total of 157.5 points, way ahead of the second place in the 1-A team rankings, Uwharrie Charter, which finished with 116 points.
The Vikings had already won the 1-A dual-meet championship on February 8, the first team title for any sport in the school’s 51-year history.
Ethan Shell (120-pound division), River Griffith (132), Seth Blackledge (160), Lucas Andrews (182) and Levi Andrews (220) all took the gold back to Avery County.
Shell beat Mitchell High’s Dylan Lowery in the 120-pound final.
Griffith, a senior, won 60 of 62 matches for the season while claiming his third straight NCHSAA title in a win over Polk County’s Preston Burnett. He finishes his high school career with an over-all record of 205-15.
“It’s pretty cool to win this thing three times and even cooler when you have seven guys from our team in the finals,” Griffith said to the press. “Everybody knew how good this team could be. This is the team everyone has been waiting for. Hopefully we can keep this going for more years.”
Levi Andrews repeated as the 220-pound state champion, defeating East Lincoln’s Grayson Cannon in the finals. Andrews finished the season with a sterling 53-4 record.
Final Results Involving Avery High Wrestlers-
1-A 106
Final Places
1st Place – Heaven Fitch of Unharried Charter
2nd Place – Luke Wilson of Robbinsville
3rd Place – Hunter Fulp of North Stokes
4th Place – Brandon Ropp of Rosman
1A 120
Final Places
1st Place – Ethan Shell of Avery County
2nd Place – Dylan Lowery of Mitchell
3rd Place – Ricardo Bustos of Albemarle
4th Place – Satchel McCoy of Polk County
1st Place Match
Ethan Shell (Avery County, 58-3, So.) over Dylan Lowery (Mitchell, 23-3, Sr.) (Dec. 7-0)
3rd Place Match
Ricardo Bustos (Albemarle, 29-9, So.) over Satchel McCoy (Polk County, 34-17, So.) (Fall 2:41)
1A 126
Final Places
1st Place – Jonas Trejo of Swain County
2nd Place – Chandler Steel of Chatham Charter
3rd Place – Jonah Hayes of Avery County
4th Place – Jayden Nowell of Robbinsville
1st Place Match
Jonas Trejo (Swain County, 38-8, Sr.) over Chandler Steel (Chatham Charter, 30-6, Jr.) (Fall 1:31)
3rd Place Match
Jonah Hayes (Avery County, 49-9, Jr.) over Jayden Nowell (Robbinsville, 34-7, So.) (SV-1 4-2)
1A 132
Final Places
1st Place – River Griffith of Avery County
2nd Place – Preston Burnett of Polk County
3rd Place – Renfere Garcia of South Stanly
4th Place – Ryan Riffle of Cherryville
1st Place Match
River Griffith (Avery County, 62-2, Sr.) over Preston Burnett (Polk County, 44-11, Sr.) (Fall 1:16)
3rd Place Match
Renfere Garcia (South Stanly, 35-13, Fr.) over Ryan Riffle (Cherryville, 33-20, Jr.) (Dec 2-1)
1A 152
Final Places
1st Place – Jerry Jimenez of Uwharrie Charter
2nd Place – Bradley Parker of Avery County
3rd Place – Alexander Suszko of Lejeune
4th Place – Hunter Barrier of South Stanly
1st Place Match
Jerry Jimenez (Uwharrie Charter, 57-3, Sr.) over Bradley Parker (Avery County, 37-8, So.) (Dec 8-4)
3rd Place Match
Alexander Suszko (Lejeune, 22-3, So.) over Hunter Barrier (South Stanly, 48-11, Jr.) (Fall 1:58)
1A 160
Final Places
1st Place – Seth Blackledge of Avery County
2nd Place – Dustin Blackburn of East Wilkes
3rd Place – Doug Bowles of Uwharrie Charter
4th Place – Justin Stewart of Robbinsville
1st Place Match
Seth Blackledge (Avery County, 27-9, Fr.) over Dustin Blackburn (East Wilkes, 42-6, Sr.) (Dec 12-5)
3rd Place Match
Doug Bowles (Uwharrie Charter, 44-6, So.) over Justin Stewart (Robbinsville, 25-4, Sr.) (Dec 8-4)
1A 170
Final Places
1st Place – Jackson Boles of South Stokes
2nd Place – Dalton Towe of Avery County
3rd Place – Dustin Rector of Alleghany
4th Place – Jathan Parker of East Carteret
1st Place Match
Jackson Boles (South Stokes, 44-0, Sr.) over Dalton Towe (Avery County, 51-14, Jr.) (Fall 1:51)
3rd Place Match
Dustin Rector (Alleghany, 48-6, Sr.) over Jathan Parker (East Carteret, 49-11, Jr.) (Fall 2:28)
1A 182
Final Places
1st Place – Lucas Andrews of Avery County
2nd Place – Wesley Sharpe of Voyager
3rd Place – Daniel Cancro of Bishop McGuinness
4th Place – Jaime Bernal of Uwharrie Charter
1st Place Match
Lucas Andrews (Avery County, 60-4, Sr.) over Wesley Sharpe (Voyager Academy, 21-6, Sr.) (Dec 4-1)
3rd Place Match
Daniel Cancro (Bishop McGuinness, 40-9, Jr.) over Jaime Bernal (Uwharrie Charter, 53-8, Sr.) (Fall 2:02)
1A 220
Final Places
1st Place – Levi Andrews of Avery County
2nd Place – Sergio Saldana of Uwharrie Charter
3rd Place – Eric Olvera of Mount Airy
4th Place – Tony Rogers of South Stanly
1st Place Match
Levi Andrews (Avery County, 53-4, So.) over Sergio Saldana (Uwharrie Charter, 59-4, Sr.) (Fall 5:32)
3rd Place Match
Eric Olvera (Mount Airy, 36-5, Sr.) over Tony Rogers (South Stanly, 37-9, Jr.) (Dec 12-6)
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