Hendersonville – It was two days of duals for the Dogs as they wrapped up winter break. The Murphy varsity wrestling team competed in duals competition at the Carolina Clash on Dec. 29-30, 2025.
The Dogs traveled to Hendersonville and competed against teams from South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee across the two days of competition.
The Dogs’ first and closest dual was against High Point Academy Charter from Spartanburg, S.C. The Dogs fell 36-35 in the close dual.
Murphy took an early lead as Brodi Haines and Anthony Catuto scored six points each for forfeit wins. Then Branson Crocker earned a win by technical fall for five more Bulldog points.
High Point then got on the board with three straight wins with two by pinfall. 12 more points came its way after a forfeit and pinball win.
The Dogs were back on the board after Joshua Cutting got a forfeit win and Josiah Niebla got the pinfall victory.
Murphy pulled ahead after six points from a Brayden Gunter forfeit win, but then Andrew Ivanov of High Point pinned Bulldog Aiden Murphy for High Point to earn the one-point dual win.
Murphy then faced A.L. Brown High School from Kannapolis and lost 71-5.
The Dogs’ five points came as Branson Crocker got a 21-2 technical fall victory.
The wrestling Dogs then took on Brentwood High School (Tenn.) from and lost 76-6.
Murphy’s six points came from Anthony Catuto getting a pinfall victory.
The Dogs then took on their second North Carolina team as they faced East Lincoln High School. The Dogs lost 58-24 to the 5A school.
Josiah Niebla scored the Dogs’ first six points on a pinfall win. Then Brayden Gunter also got quick pinfall victory.
Also earning pinfall wins for the Dogs were Anthony Catuto and Reyden Galarza.
In a second straight dual against in-state competition, the Dogs fell 39-32 to Hendersonville High School.
The Dogs took an early lead as Josiah Niebla earned a 19-4 technical fall win for five points, Brayden Gunter got a 12-8 decision win and Aiden Murphy got a forfeit win.
Bulldogs Branson Crocker and Anthony Catuto got forfeit wins.
Hendersonville then got three straight wins for 18 more points. Both teams then got a forfeit win.
In the final two matches of the dual, Hendersonville picked up two pinfall wins to win the dual 39-32.
In their final dual against an in-state opponent, the Dogs lost 42-27 to North Lincoln High School.
Murphy’s first points came from Aiden Murphy’s forfeit win. Then then added six points each as Branson Crocker and Anthony Catuto got pinfall wins.
After a series of losses, James Garrett earned the Dogs three points on a 12-5 decision win. To close out the dual, Josiah Niebla got the pinfall win for six more points.
The Dogs closed out the competition with two consecutive duals against South Carolina opponents. First up for Rock Hill High School, where the Dogs lost 52-21.
Rock Hill opened the dual with five straight wins before Josiah Niebla got a 13-6 decision victory for three points.
Aiden Murphy’s pinfall win earned the Dogs six more points. Murphy’s last points came as Branson Crocker and Anthony Catuto earned pinfall wins.
In their final dual, the Bulldogs took on Travelers Rest, S.C., and lost 63-18.
The dual began with five straight wins for Travelers Rest before Brody McFaddin for a forfeit win to get the Dogs six points.
Anthony Catuto then picked up another pinfall victory to add six points for the Dogs.
Murphy’s final six points came as Reyden Galarza got a forfeit win.
The Dogs will be back in action at 8 a.m. Saturday as Murphy High School hosts the Smoky Mountain Conference boys duals conference championship.