ONE FEATHER STAFF REPORT
RUTHERFORDTON – The Cherokee Braves varsity wrestling team took third place overall at the NC 1A West Wrestling Regionals held at Isothermal Community College in Rutherfordton on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Cherokee’s Tavi Rivera (right) wrestles an opponent during the NC 1A West Wrestling Regional Championships on Saturday, Feb. 18. Rivera went 4-0 on the day and won the championship in the 160lb. division. (Photo courtesy of Berdina Standingdeer)
Tavi Rivera, Will Bird and Sam Wahnetah all won regional championships and move on to the 1A State wrestling tournament this Saturday, Feb. 25 in Greensboro. Colby Yanez and Cain Oocumma also qualified for Saturday’s state tournament by placing second and fourth respectively in their weight classes.
West Wilkes won the team championship with 172.5 points followed by Mitchell 141, Cherokee 137.5, East Surry 123.5 and Robbinsville 109.5. Other Smoky Mountain Conference teams included: Swain, 8th place, 73.5; Rosman, 12th, 62; Murphy, 14th, 45; Hayesville, 16th, 32.5 and Andrews, 17th, 29.
Full Braves results are as follows:
120lb. – Austin Padilla
– pinned by Levi Richardson (Mitchell) at 5:02
– lost by forfeit to Tyler Duty (Mt. Airy)
126lb. – Levi Swearengin
– won decision (8-6 OT) over Austin Lequire (N. Wilkes)
– pinned by Jorge Lima (W. Wilkes) at 1:10
– pinned Darius Harris (Cherryville) at 1:52
– won decision (9-4) over Harley Rash (Avery)
– pinned by Colten McKinney (Mitchell) at :21
132lb. – Cain Oocumma, 4th place
– won by technical fall (18-2) over Tristan Mabry (Mt. Airy)
– lost by technical fall (17-1) to J.J. LaPlant (W. Wilkes)
– pinned Devin Rowe (Mitchell) at :51
– won decision (5-2) over Jess Haney (Robbinsville)
– won decision (10-3) over Daniel Hayes (Cherryville)
– lost by forfeit to Sean Webb (Swain)
138lb. – Jaron Bradley
– lost decision (6-1) to Paul Roche (Hayesville)
– won decision (12-5) to Brad Schweikert (Hendersonville)
– pinned by Logan McKinney (Mitchell) at :35
145lb. – Colby Yanez, 2nd place
– pinned Josh Gragg (Avery) at 3:39
– won major decision (17-3) over Jimmy Spear (East Surry)
– pinned Jubal Church (Mitchell) at 2:51
– lost decision (6-4) to Bryan Wallace (Hendersonville)
152lb. – Wade Wolfe
– lost major decision (11-3) to Daniel Bomar (Mitchell)
– pinned Alec Stuller (Hendersonville) at 2:11
– pinned Will McCraw (Thomas Jefferson) at 1:28
– won decision (8-6) over Landon Richardson (N. Stokes)
160lb. – Tavi Rivera, 1st place
– pinned Zack Bennet (Hiwassee Dam) at :40
– won by technical fall (20-2) over Josh Pierce (Cherryville)
– won by decision (9-7) over Stephen Bomar (Mitchell)
– won by decision (2-1) over Jacob Fregia (East Surry)
170lb. – Taylor Davis
– pinned Travis Pugh (East Surry) at 3:36
– lost decision (11-5) to Malachi Beaver (Murphy)
– pinned Bobbi Pruitt (Robbinsville) at 2:04
– pinned Mark Anderson (Hayesville) at 2:07
– lost decision (8-5) to Alexander Vallitutto (Bishop McGuinness)
182lb. – Will Bird, 1st place
– pinned Christian Atkins (Mt. Airy) at 1:28
– pinned Cody Howard (Murphy) at 3:54
– won by technical fall (18-2) over Dylan Gentry (Elkin)
– won by default injury over Samuel Mullenax (Rosman)
220lb. – Raymond Taylor
– lost decision (12-8) to Creed Lovin (Robbinsville)
– pinned Chandler Hull (Mt. Airy) at 1:53
– lost decision (11-6) to Cody Lefler (W. Wilkes)
285lb. – Sam Wahnetah, 1st place
– pinned Dylan Reynolds (Cherryville) at 3:17
– pinned Chris Craze (Murphy) at :52
– pinned Dakota Bell (N. Wilkes) at 1:28
