Polk County trio earns trip to state 1A wrestling tournament
A trio of Polk County wrestlers are bound for state competition.
Satchel McCoy, Bryson McCraw and Jacob Knighton each earned a trip to next week’s 1A state tournament with their showing Tuesday at the 1A West Regional at Robbinsville High School.
All three wrestlers placed fourth in their respective weight classes, securing their berth for the state tourney slated for June 26 at Glenn High School in Kernersville. Wrestling will begin at 11 a.m.
McCoy earned his second straight state tournament berth by winning his quarterfinal match at 126 pounds with a pin of Starmount’s Drew Livadaras. He suffered a tough 4-2 decision in the semifinals to Alleghany’s Bryson Church, with Church scoring two points in the final period to secure the win, before dropping a 2-0 decision in the third-place match against Mount Airy’s Alex Cox.
McCraw pinned Cherokee’s Kaden Trantham in his opening match at 152 pounds, then decisioned Lincoln Charter’s Garret White 9-3 to reach the semifinals. Mount Airy’s Connor Medvar, undefeated this season, pinned McCraw in the semis, with Alleghany’s Isaac Stoker taking a 7-0 decision in the third-place match.
Knighton pinned Union Academy’s Tyler James and Mount Airy’s Luke Leonard to advance to the semifinals, where he lost to Bradford Preparatory’s Matthew Mauro. Swain’s Gabriel Lillard then topped Knighton on a 7-3 decision in the third-place match.
Polk County’s Collier Foster had the Wolverines’ other match win of the day, winning his opening match at 138 pounds before falling in the quarterfinals.
The Wolverines placed 10th in the 24-team field in the team standings. Avery easily won the tournament team title, racking up 245.5 points to Robbinsville’s 163.5. The Vikings had 10 wrestlers reach the championship round and finished with seven regional champions.
1A West Regional
Polk County results
106
Quarterfinal – Francisco Turja (Avery County) p. Tori Strickland (Polk County)
126
Quarterfinal – Satchel McCoy (Polk County) p. Drew Livadaras (Starmount)
Semifinal – Bryson Church (Alleghany) d. McCoy, 4-2
3rd Place Match – Alex Cox (Mt Airy) d. McCoy, 2-0
138
Champ. Round 1 – Collier Foster (Polk County) p. Ethan Van Horn (Elkin)
Quarterfinal – Jonah Hayes (Avery County) p. Foster
145
Champ. Round 1 – Austin Styles (Mitchell) maj. dec. Deaken Nodine, 13-4
152
Champ. Round 1 – Bryson McCraw (Polk County) p. Kaden Trantham (Cherokee)
Quarterfinal – McCraw d. Garret White (Lincoln Charter), 9-3
Semifinal – Connor Medvar (Mt Airy) p. McCraw
3rd Place Match – Isaac Stoker (Alleghany) d. McCraw, 7-0
160
Champ. Round 1 – Isaac Williams (Union Academy) p. Logan Rhodes (Polk County)
170
Champ. Round 1 – Jacob Knighton (Polk County) p. Tyler James (Union Academy)
Quarterfinal – Knighton p. Luke Leonard (Mt Airy)
Semifinal – Matthew Mauro (Bradford Preparatory School) p. Knighton
3rd Place Match – Gabriel Lillard (Swain County) d. Knighton, 7-3
182
Champ. Round 1 – David Hargo (Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy) d. Charlie Jackson (Polk County), 9-4