Cherokee’s Levi Swearengin (top) took 2nd place in the 126lb division at the 1A West Regional held this past weekend. He has qualified for the state tournament scheduled this weekend in Greensboro. (AMBLE SMOKER/One Feather)
Cherokee’s Levi Swearengin qualifies for state tournament with four others
By AMBLE SMOKER
ONE FEATHER STAFF
After snow delayed the start of the 1A Western Regional wrestling tournament to Saturday, Feb. 15, eight EBCI tribal members represented three area schools in the tournament held at the Robbinsville High School.
Levi Swearengin (126lbs), Anthony Toineeta (132lbs), Jaron Bradley (145lbs), and Raymond Taylor (285lbs) represented the Cherokee Braves.
Chris Miller (126lbs), Russell Bigmeat (138lbs), and Spencer McCoy (195lbs) represented the Swain County Maroon Devils.
Nathan Craig (170lbs) represented the Robbinsville Black Knights.
After the conclusion of the tournament on Sunday, Feb. 15, five tribal members had qualified for the 1A Wrestling State Finals in Greensboro on Feb. 22-23. In order to advance to the state finals, wrestlers had to qualify by placing fourth or better in their respective weight class.
Spencer McCoy, from Swain, placed 1st, Levi Swearengin, from Cherokee, placed 2nd, Russell Bigmeat, from Swain, placed 2nd, Nathan Craig, from Robbinsville, placed 2nd, and Chris Miller, from Swain, placed 3rd.
The results of the tournament from EBCI tribal members include:
126 – Levi Swearengin first round bye
126 – Levi Swearengin (Cherokee) pinned Chandler Snyder (Mt Airy)
126 – Levi Swearengin (Cherokee) defeated Tanner Whitman (Rosman) 7-3 by decision
126 – Levi Richardson (Mitchell) pinned Levi Swearengin (Cherokee)
126 – Christopher Miller (Swain) pinned Gage Miller (Murphy)
126 – Christopher Miller (Swain) pinned Britt Weaver (Alleghany)
126 – Levi Richardson (Mitchell) pinned Christopher Miller (Swain)
126 – Christopher Miller (Swain) defeated Ben Clark (Avery) 11-2 by decision
132 – Michael Tanahey (Bishop McGuinness) pinned Anthony Toineeta
132 – Erik Tedora (Starmount) pinned Anthony Toineeta
138 – Russell Bigmeat (Swain) pinned Seth McGraw (Thomas Jefferson)
138 – Russell Bigmeat (Swain) defeated Tanner Jones 11-1 by decision
138 – Russell Bigmeat (Swain) defeated Devin Rowe (Mitchell) 8-3 by decision
138 – Kade Guffey (Robbinsville) defeated Russell Bigmeat 11-5 by decision
145 – Jaron Bradley (Cherokee) pinned Reid Turner (Elkin)
145 – Jaron Bradley (Cherokee) pinned Josh Gragg (Avery)
145 – Dalton Beaver (Mitchell) defeated Jaron Bradley (Cherokee) 8-3 by decision
145 – Logan Nelson (Walkertown) defeated Jaron Bradley 5-2 by decision
170 – Nathan Craig (Robbinsville) pinned Will Kamnick (Bishop McGuinness)
170 – Nathan Craig (Robbinsville) defeated Dalton Sawyers (N. Stokes) by major decision
170 – Nathan Craig (Robbinsville) defeated Landon Mumford (Mt Airy) by decision
170 – Daniel Bomar (Mitchell) defeated Nathan Craig 5-0 by decision
195 – Spencer McCoy (Swain) first round bye
195 – Spencer McCoy (Swain) pinned Riley Simson (Bishop McGuinness)
195 – Spencer McCoy (Swain) defeated Will Atkins (Mitchell) 7-0 by decision
195 – Spencer McCoy (Swain) defeated Ryan Sheppard (Avery) 4-3 by decision
285 – Todd Self (Mitchell) defeated Raymond Taylor (Cherokee) 11-6 by decision
285 – Raymond Taylor Bye
285 – Dylan Camp (Cherryville) pinned Raymond Taylor (Cherokee)
Levi Swearengin, for the Cherokee Braves, took 2nd place in the 126lbs weight class after a bye in the 1st round and winning two matches on Saturday to qualify for the regional tournament finals on Sunday. Swearengin put up a valiant effort during the final round of the tournament, but he eventually fell short to Levi Richardson from Mitchell.
Braves coach Will Lambert commented on Swearengin, “He did real well. He just got a little hot and ended up sticking himself on his back. He just made a mistake, but he’ll work through that.”
When asked what they plan to work on this week, coach Lambert commented, “We’re just going to work on him staying back and under, staying in control. Settle down and be less aggressive.”
Although he fell short during Regionals, Coach Lambert still holds lofty expectations for Swearengin in Greensboro. “I think he will do real well. We’ll bring it home!” Coach Lambert said with a smile.
Swearengin will leave for Greensboro on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 12pm.
[nggalbum id=386 template=extend]
