With 13 straight wins and a Jim King Invitational Championship under its belt, the Orange Wrestling team is off to the type of start that is common under coach Bobby Shriner.
But none of that will matter on Wednesday night.
The Panthers travel to Pittsboro to face Northwood. Orange is ranked #2 by the Raleigh News and Observer’s Preps Now, while the Chargers are #12.
Over the weekend, the Panthers swept the Jim Coggins Hall of Fame Classic at Southwest Guilford High School. In four dual matches, Orange defeated Rockingham County 52-19, Eastern Guilford 63-9, North Davidson 60-15, and Rockingham County 52-19.
While the results may not show it, the event was a milestone event in Orange Wrestling history, and state wrestling for that matter. It was the first time that Bobby Shriner was absent for one of his team’s matches.
Shriner’s oldest daughter Madison graduated from Appalachian State University on Saturday. She has been in Ireland as part of an international teaching program. For the first time in 29 years, extending back to his days as an assistant at Chapel Hill High, Shriner missed one of his team’s matches.
Sophomore 120-pounder Bailey Hawkins was named Most Outstanding Wrestling of the tournament. Hawkins went 3-0 to improve his record to 15-1 on the season. He has eight pins.
It was another strong showing for heavyweight Daylen Alston, who scored four victories, all of them pins. Alston is 15-2 with 12 pinfalls. Jamison Askew(126), Payton Wilson (220), Shannon Thompson (195), and Avery Jenkins (138) also went 3-o on Saturday.
Jamison Askew is 13-3 on the season with seven pins. Thompson is tied with Hawkins for most wins on the season with a 15-2 mark. Jenkins pushed his record to 6-2. Wilson, after a 3rd place finish at the JKO, is now 11-2.
Following the Big 8 match against Northwood, the Panthers travel to Mebane for a two-day tournament at Eastern Alamance starting Friday.