Andrews – The Wildcats played host to this season’s Smoky Mountain Conference wrestling championship.
Murphy’s Ivy Werner won the conference championship in the 114-pound weight class. They also had six finish in the top three.
The Dogs finished in fourth place as a team with 79 points, while the Wildcats finished in sixth with 29 points.
Werner received a bye in the quarterfinals to send her to the semifinals. In the semis, she defeated Elliana Norton of Swain County by fall in 1:37 to advance to the first-place match. In the first-place match, she made quick work on Julia Vazquez of Robbinsville and got the pin in 41 seconds to win the conference in her weight class.
The highest scorer for the Dogs was Josiah Niebla in the 120-pound weight class, who finished in second place. He started in the semifinal after receiving a first-round bye. He got the win by fall to send him to the first-place match, losing by technical fall to Sullivan Cunningham of Swain County.
Kane Gibson in the 215-pound division finished in second in his weight class. He also started in the semifinal after the first-round bye. He got the win by fall to send him to the first-place match, where he lost by fall to Kellen Ensley of Robbinsville.
Braden Edwards finished in third place in the 138-pound weight class. He lost in the semifinal by fall, which put him in the third-place match. He got the 10-9 decision win over Kobe Mashburn of Swain County for the bronze.
Brody McFaddin in the 150-pound weight class finished third. He lost in the semifinal by disqualification after the referee decided he used an illegal move. He then got the win by fall in the third-place match.
Anthony Catuto finished in third in the 165-pound weight class. He lost by decision in the semifinal round, but he then got the win by fall in the third-place match over Silas Lovingood of Hayesville.
Reese Haney came in third place in the 285-pound weight class. He lost by fall in the semifinal round, then got the win by fall in the third-place match.
For the Wildcats, Chase Beasley and Hayden Virtanen were the only wrestlers to place for the team.
Beasley came in second in the 138-pound weight class. He got the win by fall over Edwards of Murphy to advance to the first-place match, losing by a 9-3 decision.
Virtanen came in third place in the 175-pound division. He lost by fall in the semifinal matchup. After receiving two byes, he secured third place.
The teams now look ahead to the boys dual team championship in Greensboro on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Greensboro is also the spot of the state championship later in Feb., which is the ultimate goal for all the teams in the SMC following each team’s success at the SMC Championship.