Sunday, Feb. 05, 2012

Seniors' pins key win

Garner tops Central in dual finale

Before Wednesday's wrestling match at Garner, there was a short ceremony honoring the seven Trojan seniors in their final home contest.

At the halfway point of the match, those seniors paid their respect back to the program.

After seven bouts, Garner trailed Harnett Central 16-15 with seven matches remaining. Five consecutive seniors then took to the mat for Garner and all five came away with pins as Garner hit the accelerator for a 51-22 win.

"It shows we know the sport," said Anthony Finochio, who got the streak under way with his last-second pin at 152 pounds. "We know what we're doing. It just shows our experience."

Fellow seniors Davon Johnson (160 pounds), William Hall (170), Benny Francis-Soumaoro (182) and Brandon Russell (195) each followed suit.

Justin Scales (120), Emon Kizer (138) and Amani Soumaoro (285) also added pins for Garner, while James Box earned a 6-0 decision at 113 pounds.

It was Finochio who provided the pivotal blow that swung the score - and the momentum - in Garner's favor. Deadlocked at 11-11 with Harnett Central's Malcolm White and the seconds ticking away in the third and final period, Finochio stuck White with a pin with just eight seconds to spare.

"The move is called a crucifix. He had my leg and I got my arm (free) and rolled him over and got up on my toes and it pushed his shoulders into the mat," Finochio said. "I was just trying to get the back point.

"I didn't even realize I had him pinned until the ref hit the mat."

Said Garner coach Wilton Bunn, "He had his hands full. He moved and moved and he did what he was supposed to be doing."

Finochio's win pushed Garner to a 21-16 lead and then the next four seniors to hit the mat outscored their Harnett Central opponents by a combined 36-3 during their four pins.

Fellow seniors Sean Owens (10-5 loss at 126 pounds) and Patrick Williams (did not wrestle) were also honored before the match.

"We've got conference (championships) this weekend and I told the guys we've got to take this," Bunn said. "They worked hard. We didn't have consistency in the beginning of the year and we have a little bit now in these last few matches."