Wrestling for the first time at the age of seven, Chase Emory developed an immediate sentiment about the sport.
He hated it.
Not for long, though. Emory soon developed a love for the sport and also soon developed into an outstanding wrestler, his latest achievement being Polk County’s lone qualifier for the state 2A wrestling tournament.
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Trimmed to two days by winter weather, the 2A tourney begins Friday at Greensboro Coliseum. Almost 800 wrestlers in four classifications will descend on Greensboro to compete in the two-day event, which begins at noon. The 2A action isn’t expected to begin until early evening.
Emory qualified for a trip to Greensboro with a second-place showing at last week’s 2A West Regional. For the Wolverine sophomore, the state trip is especially sweet, given that he ended his freshman season one win shy of a state berth.
“I feel a lot of relief just making it,” Emory said. “When I didn’t make it last year, it was heartbreaking. Everything I worked for and I came up one match short. That helped me coming into this year to work as hard as I did.”
Emory enters the competition in the 138-pound weight class ranked eighth in the state by RetroRankings.com. He will take his 38-8 record into the first round to face Northside Jacksonville’s Douglas Bulla (43-5), the third-place finisher in the 2A East regional. An opening win would likely match Emory with West Wilkes’ Brandon Reynolds, ranked second in the state by RetroRankings.
“My plan is to stay focused and wrestle the tournament just like it was another match,” Emory said. “I want it to be just like any other tournament and not let it freak me out. I want to keep it simple.
“I hope to do well. I don’t want to go to Greensboro and go out with two losses. I want to go up there and make a statement.”
Emory is no stranger to the spotlight, having competed in numerous large tournaments with the Strong & Courageous program while growing up. He has fallen in love with the sport after a rough introduction.
“When I first starte, I didn’t really like it,” Emory said. “I kept doing it and I kept getting better, and I fell in love with it.”
The state tournament will run through Saturday evening with the championship finals scheduled to start no earlier than 4 p.m. This is the 28th year that the wrestling championships have been “classified”; prior to 1987, all wrestlers, regardless of the size of the school, competed for a single title.
Croatan has taken top honors among 2A schools three times in the last five years, but Thomasville won the state title in 2014. Earlier this month titles were decided in the NCHSAA dual team championships, with West Lincoln winning the 2A title.
Emory hopes to cap a solid sophomore season with a good showing in Greensboro.
“I do have eight losses,” Emory said. “But I am proud of how the season has gone.
“This is something I knew I could do from the first day of practice. I knew I could make it to state. I kept working harder every day and I’m proud to be going up there.”
