Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2012

Rams wrap up dual league crown

Cleveland headed to 3A eastern wrestling playoffs with win over S. Johnston.

Cleveland had an opportunity to clinch the Eastern Carolina 3A Conference's regular-season wrestling championship with a victory over visiting county rival South Johnston on Thursday night.

And what happened didn't have much drama.

The Rams recorded six pins, all but one in the first two rounds, en route to a 75-6 romp over the shorthanded Trojans. South had just eight wrestlers available, leading to six forfeits and 36 free points for the home team.

Cleveland improved to 22-9 while South fell to 1-7. The teams were getting ready for the Johnston County tournament on Saturday at Corinth Holders. Cleveland will host the ECC individual tournament on Feb. 4.

"It's been great," said Scott Riley, coach of the second-year Rams team that won't have a senior class until next season.

"The guys have been working really hard and we've had some good progress. We're hoping to be competitive in those big meets coming up. We finished third in the county and second in the conference last year."

Blaine Bryant (28-4) had the quickest pin at 170, needing just 20 seconds to stop the Trojans' Derek Blackman (2-7). Adam Collins (16-14) at 106 needed just 1:42 to beat South's Harold Stevens (4-8).

Josh Williams (6-5) at 145 stopped Matthew Girouard (0-8) in 2:30, while Dakota Hill (32-4) at 132 topped the Trojans' winningest wrestler Justin Min (8-4) in 2:39.

"The match was tight," Hill said. "But I had a little bit of an edge and caught him in a dresser and was eventually able to pin him. We're pushing each other really hard as a team and getting a lot better."

Jacob Pickering (29-7) at 182 pinned Michael Lee (0-1) in 3:16, while Alex Pilkington (16-16) at 152 needed 5:42 to defeat Eric Davidson (4-6).

"The kid (Lee) was strong," Pickering said of his match. "He came out and bull-rushed me and caught me in a Peterson and had me worried for a while. But we train to overcome things like that."

Derrick Appelwhite (23-13) at 120 got a 4-2 decision over Seth Merson (4-6).

The high point for South was at 160, where Quincey Williams (2-3) pinned the Rams' Cameron Cannady in 1:02.

"I had a good match - clean and fair," said Williams, who had competed in four events in the conference's 'indoor' track meet on his home track earlier in the day, finishing second in the triple jump and third in the hurdles.

"Cleveland's got some good guys. I had a tiring day, but it was a good day."

The Rams' Jacob Venturella at 106, Alex Kuppler at 126, Josiah Evans at 138, Chance Wallace at 195, Holden Bohannon at 220 and heavyweight Paul Mefford all won by forfeit.

"I was happy with Seth's performance," South coach Murray Happer said. "And Quincey had a great day. Competing in four events and then winning a wrestling match was a pretty good day for him."