The phrase “Play without looking at the scoreboard” has become a common refrain for coaches looking to motivate their players in tight circumstances.
In his first match at the Tiger Holiday Wrestling Classic, Cedar Ridge freshman Fernando Martinez took it to another level.
Facing fellow freshman Gunnar Hillis of Pinecrest, Martinez was fresher in the final four minutes to score eight consecutive points and earn an 8-6 victory into the quarterfinals of Friday night.
When asked afterwards what he was thinking while trailing 6-0, Martinez replied “I was down 6-0?”
Yes, he was. But after winning his 20th match of his freshman season, Martinez won’t worry about it now. On Saturday morning, he faces New Bern’s Paul DeNola in the quarterfinals at Chapel Hill High School.
“I wasn’t aware of how far down I was,” Martinez said. “I was wrestling as hard as I could. I think the coaches at my school condition us better than other coaches do.”
After Hillis scored the opening takedown midway through the first period, he escaped out of Martinez’s clutch and scored two points on a reversal and an additional back point to take a 6-0 lead. Martinez started his comeback with an escape point, then got a go behind. He nearly pinned Hillis at the end of the second period, squaring the match 6-6 after a near fall.
Martinez scored the only takedown of the final period 35 seconds in and held Hillis down the rest of the way.
Orange had three wrestlers reach the championship quarterfinals on Friday. At heavyweight, Juan Navarro pinned Pasquotank County’s Hunter Mayo in 1:02. Navarro eluded Mayo’s first takedown attempt and fell on top of him to improve to 14-1. It was Navarro’s ninth pin this year. He will face Person’s Marcus Vincent in the quarterfinals. Vincent defeated Navarro last month at Orange’s Thanksgiving Duals.
For the third time in 13 days, Orange’s Matthew Smith-Breeden and Cedar Ridge’s Daina Pritchard locked horns. This time, it was in the 2nd round of the 132-pound weight class. Smith-Breeden grinded out a 6-1 victory. Earlier this month, Pritchard defeated Smith-Breeden 9-1 in the 3rd place match at the Jim King/Orange Invitational. Five days later, Smith-Breeden evened the score with an 8-1 victory in a Big 8 Conference dual match at Cedar Ridge.
Smith-Breeden, who lost both of his matches in the Tiger last year, will face Southeast Guilford’s Josh Wilson Saturday morning.
Pritchard rebounded to defeat Chapel Hill’s Bao Dinh in the consolation round.
At 138 pounds, Orange’s Henry Joubert-Stanzel reached the quarterfinals of the Tiger for the first time. He opened by pinning Southern Durham’s Zion McRae in 3:02. In the second round, Joubert-Stanzel defeated Person’s Jailin Smith 5-3. Joubert-Stanzel, now 12-3, faces Dawson Allen of Grayson County, Virginia in the quarterfinals.
41 teams from four states are participating in the two-day event, recognized as one of the most prestigious in the southeast. Wilmington Laney leads the team point standings with 68.5 points going into Saturday. West Carteret is second with 66.5. Orange finished the day tied for 10th with New Bern at 56 points.
Cedar Ridge, with eight wrestlers participating in 14 weight classes, is 24th with 23 points, one ahead of Carrboro.
Orange still has five wrestlers alive in the consolation round. Freshman Dillon Heffernan lost in the second round, but came back to defeat D.J. Barely of Fairfax in the consolation.
Campbell Bourlon, participating in his first Tiger Classic, is alive at 113 pounds.
Kessel Summers pinned Elijah Ybarra in the consolation round late Friday. Summers opened his day at 126 pounds by pinning Noah Thomas of Laney in 5:50. Leesville Road’s Richie Rizzuto, who defeated Summers at the JKO, pinned him again in the 2nd round.
Orange’s Noah Davis and Nathan Hecht are also still in contention in the consolation rounds.
In addition to Pritchard, Cedar Ridge’s James Rosati-Brown is also still going in the consolation bracket. At 152 pounds, Rosati-Brown staved off elimination by pinning Gage Tomlin of First Flight.