This winter will be recorded as a time of change within local wrestling circles.
Not just because Chapel Hill ended Orange’s dynasty of 17 consecutive conference championships, but also for the revival of wrestling in western Hillsborough.
While the Stanback Middle School Bulldogs didn’t end Stanford’s string of dominance, the Bulldogs’ were competitive with the Chargers. Stanford defeated Stanback 47-46 at Bulldog Gymnasium on January 10 (the Chargers did forfeit its last two matches).
On the surface, that bodes well for Cedar Ridge in the future. Some, if not all, of the Stanback 8th graders will likely wind up wrestling for Scott Metcalf in the future.
As for the Red Wolves, Metcalf thought this would be a rebuilding season in October. Darius McLeod, who qualified for the 3A State Championships in 2019 at 132 pounds, graduated in June after winning 98 career matches.
Instead, this season has turned into a pleasant surprise. A freshman, Fernando Martinez, has posted 29 wins at 106 pounds with 13 pins and three major decisions. Martinez didn’t even start wrestling until two years ago.
The Red Wolves won its final four Big 8 Conference matches. The most thrilling came in its regular season finale against Southern Durham on January 29, which boiled down to the final match at Spartan Gymnasium. Trailing 35-33, Cedar Ridge’s Alex Davis defeated Zion Mcrae 14-8 at 138 pounds, which paved the way for a 36-35 Red Wolves’ victory.
It was the ultimate team win,” Metcalf said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. I think the future is awfully bright for us especially considering what we have coming back and those coming up from the middle school ranks.”
Davis improved to 17-3 with eleven pins. As is so often the case in tight matches, Cedar Ridge won via bonus points. At 160 pounds, James Rosati-Brown pinned Kasiem Willis in 3:48. Rosati-Brown, who won the individual championship at 152 pounds in the Buccaneer Cup on January 11, ended the regular season 28-11 with 18 pins.
Ruffin Wyrick pinned Southern’s Daveyon Garner in 3:51 at 170 pounds. Wyrick goes into the Mideast Regionals with a 24-11 record with a team-high 20 pins. Alex Christian pinned Jadon Roger in 3:43 for his 21st victory.
At 113 pounds, Eh Tha, who played soccer for Cedar Ridge, pinned Demarion Garner in 4:58.
Daina Pritchard opened the night for the Red Wolves with a 11-4 decision over Thomas Johnson at 132 pounds. Pritchard is tied with Martinez for the team-lead with 29 wins this season.
“Something we had been preaching to them all year was the difference in tight dual matches is often simply getting pins and not giving up pins,” Metcalf said. “Against Southern Durham, that finally came too fruition. And its one thing us saying its another thing for them to experience it. So I think was a big step forward for our team and program.”
For its senior night on January 23, Cedar Ridge defeated East Chapel Hill and Vance County. The Red Wolves defeated the Wildcats 64-18, then defeated the Vipers 78-6.
This weekend, Cedar Ridge’s Kady Watkins will journey to Concord for the NCHSAA State Girls Tournament. Watkins, who won nine matches during the regular season competing at 120 pounds, was the first female wrestler in Hillsborough history to compete for a state championship last year in Winston-Salem. She went 1-2 in the 126 pound division, pinning Haley Shipes of West Mecklenburg in the consolation bracket in 2:30.