ONE FEATHER STAFF REPORT
GREENSBORO – Three members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) took home 1A State wrestling titles at the NCHSAA State Wrestling Tournament held at the Greensboro Colliseum on Feb. 21-22. Jonas Trejo (Swain County), 126lb; Nathan Fisher (Robbinsville), 138lb; and Kyle Fink (Robbinsville), 195lb all took home the championship in their respective weight divisions.
Jonas Trejo, an EBCI tribal member from Swain County High School, won the 1A State Wrestling title in the 126lb division at the Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 22. (Photo by Ian Roper/Swain County High School Athletics)
Trejo began the weekend with a quarterfinal win by fall (3:14) over Austin Kennedy of Uwharrie Charter. He won a semifinal decision (7-6) over Jonah Hayes of Avery County, and then Trejo won in the championship match by fall (1:31) over Chandler Steel of Chatham Charter. He also won the 1A West Regional title to qualify for the state meet.
Fisher started out the weekend with a quarterfinal win by fall (1:15) over Drew Shelton of Uwharrie Charter. He won in the semifinals in the first sudden victory period over Connor Medvar of Mt. Airy. Fisher won in the championship match by major decision (8-0) over Nathan Brock of Swain County. He qualified for the state meet with a third place finish in the 1A West Regional meet.
Nathan Fisher, an EBCI tribal member from Robbinsville High School, won the 1A State Wrestling title in the 138lb division at the Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 22. (Photo courtesy of Robbinsville High School Wrestling)
Fink started his championship run with a quarterfinal win by fall (5:14) over Stephen Falkner of Louisberg. He won his semifinal match by decision (5-1) over Jordan Mitchell of South Stokes, and Fink won in the championship match by decision (1-0) over Jackson Tumbarello of Mt. Airy. He also won the 1A West Regional title to qualify for the state meet.
Avery County was named the 1A team champion with a score of 157.5 followed by Uwharrie Charter with 116.
Heaven Fitch (Uwharrie Charter), 106lb, was named the 1A Most Outstanding Wrestler. According to information from the NCHSAA, “Heaven Fitch became the first female to win an NCHSAA wrestling individual state championship. Last year, she finished fourth to become the first female to place at the state individual tournament.”
Kyle Fink, left, an EBCI tribal member from Robbinsville High School, wrestles Jackson Tumbarello of Mt. Airy in the championship match of the 1A 195lb division. Fink won the match and took the title with a 1-0 decision. (Photo courtesy of Robbinsville High School Wrestling)
Cherokee High School was represented by three wrestlers including Braden Taylor (160lb), Caden Pheasant (170lb), and Masih Catolster (285lb). All three qualified for the state meet with fourth place finishes in the 1A West Regional meet.
Following are the final places of each of the 1A weight divisions per NCHSAA:
106lb
1st – Heaven Fitch (Uwharrie Charter)
2nd – Luke Wilson (Robbinsville)
3rd – Hunter Fulp (North Stokes)
4h – Brandon Ropp (Rosman)
113lb
1st – Gage Beal (Uwharrie Charter)
2nd – Cody Lawson (South Stokes)
3rd – Logan Tortual (Rosewood)
4th – Brady Buchanan (Cherryville)
120lb
1st – Ethan Shell (Avery County)
2nd – Dylan Lowery (Mitchell)
3rd – Ricardo Bustos (Albemarle)
4th – Satchel McCoy (Polk County)
126lb
1st – Jonas Trejo (Swain County)
2nd – Chandler Steel (Chatham Charter)
3rd – Jonah Hayes (Avery County)
4th – Jayden Nowell (Robbinsville)
132lb
1st – River Griffith (Avery County)
2nd – Preston Burnett (Polk County)
3rd – Renfere Garcia (South Stanly)
4th – Ryan Riffle (Cherryville)
138lb
1st – Nathan Fisher (Robbinsville)
2nd – Nathan Brock (Swain County)
3rd – Connor Medvar (Mt. Airy)
4th – Evan Wagoner (Alleghany)
145lb
1st – Franklin Bennett (Mt. Airy)
2nd – Austin Bauguess (East Wilkes)
3rd – Grayson Roberts (Uwharrie Charter)
4th – Trent Drake (South Stanly)
152lb
1st – Jerry Jimenez (Uwharrie Charter)
2nd – Bradley Parker (Avery County)
3rd – Alexander Suszko (Lejeune)
4th – Hunter Barrier (South Stanly)
160lb
1st – Seth Blackledge (Avery County)
2nd – Dustin Blackburn (East Wilkes)
3rd – Doug Bowles (Uwharrie Charter)
4th – Justin Stewart (Robbinsville)
170lb
1st – Jackson Boles (South Stokes)
2nd – Dalton Towe (Avery County)
3rd – Dustin Rector (Alleghany)
4th – Jathan Parker (East Carteret)
182lb
1st – Lucas Andrews (Avery County)
2nd – Wesley Sharpe (Voyager)
3rd – Daniel Cancro (Bishop McGuinness)
4th – Jaime Bernal (Uwharrie Charter)
195lb
1st – Kyle Fink (Robbinsville)
2nd – Jackson Tumbarello (Mt. Airy)
3rd – Jordan Mitchell (South Stokes)
4th – Wade Turner (Thomas Jefferson)
220lb
1st – Levi Andrews (Avery County)
2nd – Sergio Saldana (Uwharrie Charter)
3rd – Eric Olvera (Mt. Airy)
4th – Tony Rogers (South Stanly)
285lb
1st – Javon Armstrong (Pamlico County)
2nd – CJ Henderson (Elkin)
3rd – Ezekiel Jayne (East Carteret)
4th – Unique Carvalho (Albemarle)
