A year after reaching the finals of the Atkins Invitational but falling short of the championship, Alejandro Briones finished the job this year.
In his opening tournament of 2025, Briones captured the 150 pound title at Atkins Invitational in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Seeded fourth, Briones defeated Jserie Womble Yancey of Greensboro Dudley 20-11. In the semifinals, Briones dominated top-seeded Camden Nora of Atkins via tech fall in 5:18 when he scored a takedown to make it 21-5.
Briones, a junior, has won four career tournaments. He captured the Central Conference Tournament championships twice. Last year, he won the Eagle Invitational in Mebane. He finished the 2024-2025 season with 43 wins.
In his freshman year, Briones went 26-14. After winning his four matches at the Atkins Invitational and three dual matches last week, he’s already opened the 2025-2026 season with seven wins, placing him in the top 15 in school history as far as career wins.
Briones opened the tournament by pinning Justin Leake of West Stokes in 1:10. In the quarterfinals, he pinned Michael Fitzgerald of Southwest Guilford in 1:12.
Overall, the Red Wolves finished seventh in the team standings with 82 points. Dudley captured the team championship at 146 points while Mount Airy finished second at 131.
Three days after winning his 100th match, senior Favio Jaramillo finished runner-up at 120 pounds. Jaramillo scored the only takedown to defeat Leon Stokes of West Stokes 3-2 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Angel Olalde of Mount Airy defeated Jaramillo 7-0.
Jaramillo started the tournament by beating Yahi Villela of Southeast Alamance via tech fall 17-2.
At 190 pounds, Brian Tedder reached the semifinals at 190 pounds, beating Ryan Rutherford via technical fall in the opening round.
In the women’s tournament, Cedar Ridge sophomore Thalia Paterno reached the finals of 107 pounds in a round-robin tournament. Paterno, who became the first female wrestler from Hillsborough to win in the Jim King/Orange Invitational last year, pinned her first three opponents. She defeated Shavon Shavers of R.J. Reynolds in 27 seconds; defeated Piera Sherrell of East Forsyth in 1:15 and defeated Danna Valenin-Zotelo of Atkins in 27 seconds. Jenevy Olalde of Mt. Airy pinned Paterno in the championship match.
Cedar Ridge’s Ella-Grace Reed finished third at 138 pounds. Seeded third, Reed defeated Allma Mafhammad of Northern Guilford in 57 seconds. In the consolation final, Reed defeated Adrianna Morales of Grimsley in 51 seconds to claim third place. Reed scored two pins on the opening night of the season against the North Carolina School of Science and Math and Jordan-Matthews.
At 185 pounds, the Red Wolves Eva Dockery finished in third place. Dockery won her opening round match over Abi Sanchez Torres of Southeast Alamance in 2:21. Sophia Dowling, who eventually won the tournament, pinned Dockery in 1:20 in the semifinals. In the consolation round, Dockery came back from an 8-0 deficit to pin Elena Alvarez of Asheboro in 1:49. Dockery claimed third place by pinning Zaira Ramos of West Forsyth in 2:11.
Meanwhile in Raleigh, the Orange wrestling team opened its season at the Wolverine Challenge in Raleigh. At 165 pounds, Markus Thomas finished in fourth place. Thomas won his opening round match against Damoni Beckwith of Jordan via pinfall in 1:28. He advanced to the semifinals after scoring a tech fall over Tate Tucker of N.C. Science and Math in 3:06 with the score at 16-1.
After falling to Thomas Gingerich of Green Level, Thomas reached the consolation final by pinning Marshall Vinesett of Holly Springs in 36 seconds. John Landry of Millbrook defeated Thomas in the 3rd place match.
At 113 pounds, Orange’s Brady McAdams reached the fifth-place match. McAdams, competing in a 17-wrestler tournament, pinned Brandon Zelaya of Corinth-Holders in 28 seconds in the second round. In the consolation round, McAdams pinned Dominick Ciesla of Green Level in 2:55 and Chandler Williams of Cleveland in 49 seconds.
