Andrews – With many high school sports seasons moved around in North Carolina due to COVID-19, wrestling was no exception.
For wrestlers at Andrews, that means more than a year since they got on the mat. For wrestlers at Robbinsville, it means they continue their domination of the Smoky Mountain Conference championship.
The Wildcats were no match for the Black Knights in their season opener on May 4, falling 78-6. The only win for Andrews was a forfeit win at the 138-pound weight class.
“Robbinsville is the model program in our conference,” Andrews head coach Marcus Laney said. “For my kids, this is the first time they’ve wrestled in a year. Their kids wrestle year-round.”
Robbinsville has grown into a state wrestling power through a solid youth program, something that hasn’t happened at other schools in the conference. That was more evident in the middle school match, where the Black Knights won 78-0 and only one match went more than one of the three timed rounds. All of Andrews wrestlers were participating in the sport in the first time, and Robbinsville’s wrestlers looked more poised.
In the high school dual, Andrews was slightly more competitive, though each weight class where there was a match, Robbinsville still won in a tech fall. Of the 14 weight classes, the Black Knights picked up five wins by forfeit.
The most competitive bouts came in the final two matches of the day. Both the 220-pound and heavyweight classes, with Robbinsville winning by tech fall in the second round in both matches. The 220-pound bout was the highlight of the match, with Sam Wood hanging tough with Ben Wachacha before falling late in the second round.