There will be other wrestling matches for the 12 Orange High seniors who came up short against Piedmont for the 3A State Championship on Saturday.
In fact, almost all of them will be back on the mat on Monday morning at Orange High, preparing for the Mideast Regionals that start on Friday. Josiah Ramirez and Braden Homsey are favorites to reach the state tournament.
But after 52 dual match victories over the past two years, they will never wrestle as a team again. That’s why the tears flowed at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse a little more on Saturday afternoon.
If anything, Saturday’s loss to Piedmont may have been more disappointing than last year, when Orange led 29-17 with four matches remaining and was one takedown away from beating Piedmont to take its fifth state championship. Instead, Piedmont rallied for wins in the last three matches to win 29-27 in Monroe.
That memory stayed in the minds of Orange wrestlers for the rest of the year, even after Orange captured the 3A Individual Team Championship at the State Tournament two weeks later. The buzzword throughout the week around the Orange wrestling room was “redemption.” Plus, there was a sense of finality. The 12 seniors, who came up together after a disappointing loss to Eden Morehead two years ago in the 2nd round of the state playoffs, were competing for each other for the final time.
Orange couldn’t have asked for a better start. Josiah Ramirez pinned Travis Murphy in 1:31, and the large Orange contingent exploded. At 220, Braden Homsey remained undefeated with a major decision over James Price 17-9.
Then things quickly fell apart. Piedmont won seven straight matches, starting at heavyweight when Luis Oropesa defeated Daylen Alston 9-6. Just as they did last year, Piedmont controlled the lighter weighs to take the state title. Tripp Collins started things at 106 by pinning Kessell Summers in 3:59.
At 113, Bailey Wicker edged Mitchell Askew 6-3 to give Piedmont a 12-10 lead it would not relinquish. At 120, Nathan Huntley, who earned a huge victory last year against Orange when he defeated Askew, shut out Justin Hutchins 4-0.
Angelo Gilvary knocked off Gavin Wiggins 8-1 to put Piedmont ahead 18-10. Colby Funderburk, the hero of last year’s state championship match when he defeated Noah Davis 18-2 to seal the title, decisioned Bailey Hawkins 7-3 at 132. Mason Fisher pinned Malcolm Phillips in 1:34. Kylan Thomas pinned Orange’s Marion Manduiano at 4:22 to earn Piedmont its third Dual Team State Championship and second consecutive title.
Levi Anderson won a match at 145 for Orange.
It was a cruel ending that the same team that handed Bobby Shriner his last dual match loss also gave Spenser Poteat his first. But even harder for Orange is how it ends for 12 seniors who have earned four conference championships, two regional titles and an individual state championship.
However many victories Orange wrestling has gathered over the past 27 years, the quality of the young men involved have proven to be the program’s legacy, which will continue to get passed down. When it does, that will make the sweet times sweeter.