The Watauga High wrestling team produced a fifth-place finish at the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference championships on Saturday afternoon at Alexander Central High School in Taylorsville.
But the Pioneers also produced five place finishers, including one champion, two runner-ups and four possible regional qualifiers. Demetree Kostis won the title at 125 pounds as he defeated Jonathan Zuniga of Alexander Central 14-10 in the finals. Gus Coffey finished second at 103 as he lost to Blake Rogers of St. Stephens by pinfall in 2:47. Robbie Sherrill finished second at 189. He lost to Charles Volz of South Caldwell 3-1 in the championship match. Jacob Gilliam finished third at 160 by defeating Cody Watson of South Caldwell 5-0, and Travis Gryder finished fourth at 215 as he lost to Derek Deal of Alexander Central in 38 seconds in their third-place match.The top 16 records in the region per weight class will qualify for regional competition, according to WHS coach James Eichmiller. A regional-qualifying meeting will be held in Charlotte on February 15.Team-wise, the Pioneers were fifth with 79 points. Fred T. Foard won the tournament with 206.5 points; St. Stephens was second with 158.5. South Caldwell was third, Alexander Central was fourth, Hibriten was sixth and Hickory finished last and did not score a point.Scott Hardiman of Hibriten, who won the title at 135 pounds, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Up next, the Class 4A Western Regional at the Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, February 18-19. The state finals will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum, February 24-26.
103 Gus Coffey Record: 6- 2 2nd PlaceDefeated David Gonzalez, Alexander Central by Fall 2:32Lost to Blake Rogers, St. Stephens by Fall 2:47
112 Mark Townsend Record: 4- 5Defeated Corey Correll, Hibriten by Dec 11-9Lost to Caleb Griffin, Fred T. Foard by Fall 1:55Lost to Caleb Pennell, Alexander Central by Fall 3:03
119 Tate Abernathy Record: 1- 5Lost to Steven Xiong, Alexander Central by Fall 2:49Lost to Michael Vincent, Fred T. Foard by Fall 2:41
125 Demetre Kostis Record: 8- 1 1st PlaceDefeated Nathan Potter, South Caldwell by Fall 1:23Defeated Ben Pitts, Fred T. Foard by Fall 3:32Defeated Jonathan Zuniga, Alexander Central by Dec 14-10
152 Jonah Critcher Record: 0- 5Lost to Tyler Stasiak, Fred T. Foard by Fall 5:13Lost to Jake Maris, South Caldwell by Dec 6-9
160 Jacob Gilliam Record: 8- 2 3rd PlaceDefeated Jared Gregory, Alexander Central by Fall 1:11Lost to Jonn-Marc Stevenson, St. Stephens by Dec 11-4Defeated Hunter Penley, Hibriten by Fall 2:13Defeated Cody Watson, South Caldwell by Dec 5-0
171 Grant Catoe Record: 3- 5
Lost to Jacob Francisco, Alexander Central by Dec 8-10Lost to Warren Boyett, St. Stephens by Dec 10-9
189 Robbie Sherrill Record: 6- 1 2nd PlaceDefeated Josh Ohmer, Fred T. Foard by Fall 4:41Lost to Charlie Volz, South Caldwell by Dec 3-1
215 Travis Gryder Record: 3- 7 4th PlaceDefeated Matthew Baker, St. Stephens by Fall 2:41Lost to Zack Edwards, Fred T. Foard by Fall 3:17Defeated Michael Iasiello, South Caldwell by Dec 4-7Lost to Derek Deal, Alexander Central by Fall :38
285 Jackson Lawley Record: 0- 8Lost to Nathan Schultz, Hibriten by Fall :58Lost to Jesus Morales, Alexander Central by Fall 5:11