North Carolina high school wrestlers find little room for error in regional meets

Jun Figueredo sums up this unusual high school wrestling season in just a few words.

“There’s very little room for error,” Figueredo, a Hough High senior, says.

He says that’s especially true for his team, the defending North Carolina 4A state champion. Figueredo says the Huskies have competition breathing down their necks.

“The competition is very tight,” he says.

But he says there’s also little room for error for individual wrestlers in the regional meets, which took place across the state Tuesday, and in the upcoming state meets June 25 and 26.

“There is no consolation bracket this year,” he says. “So there’s no second chance.”

Figueredo didn’t win his 145-pound weight class Tuesday in the 4A West Regional at Mallard Creek High, but he finished second. The top four finishers advance to the state meet.

There were enough Hough qualifiers Tuesday for the Huskies to eke out a team victory – 169 to 167 over runner-up Mooresville.

The two neighboring schools finished 1-2 in the 2020 4A team race and could do it again – in some order – this time. Lake Norman, the third member of the neighborhood rivalry up north, was third with 159 points.

It seemed strange Tuesday, holding regional wrestling tournaments in mid-June. Typically, those meets take place on the first weekend of February.

But with COVID-19 forcing major changes in the athletic schedule, wrestling is now a late-spring/early-summer sport.

Figueredo says he isn’t complaining.

“I was worried that we wouldn’t even have a season,” he says. “It’s sad that we’re having a short season in my senior year. But don’t get me wrong – at least we’re having a season.”

Figueredo finished second at 132 pounds in the 2020 state meet and leads a talented group of Hough seniors hoping to repeat.

Undefeated Richard Treanor, the 2020 state champ at 113 pounds, leads the way. He swept to the 138-pound title Tuesday. Alex Cowart (170 pounds) and Julian Rawlins (285) also captured weight-class titles for the Huskies.

“The majority of our team is made up of seniors,” Figueredo says. “This is our opportunity to repeat. We know it will be tough. At this point, all we can do is focus on winning.”

Figueredo says Hough wants to win for its head coach, Tripp Rogers, and the rest of the staff.

“Coach has been great,” he says. “He has helped all of us, in so many ways. We get tremendous support from our coaching staff.”

He says the consolation bracket, eliminated to streamline the regional and state meets, might have helped the Huskies.

“We have some wrestlers who lost today but might have battled back in the consolations,” he says. “But it is what it is. We need to make the most of what we have.”

Figueredo, who lost 7-0 to Lake Norman’s Eli Murray in the 145-pound finals Tuesday, has extra reason to win this year. This late season probably marks the end of his competitive wrestling career. He is headed to the University of Idaho next year and doesn’t plan to wrestle.

“I might compete a little with a club, but this is pretty much my finale,” he says.

Team scores: Hough 169; Mooresville 167; Lake Norman 159; Olympic 102; Mallard Creek and McDowell 73; East Mecklenburg 63; Providence 56.5; Ardrey Kell 35.5; South Mecklenburg 32; South Caldwell 24; Vance 17; Hopewell 15; Myers Park 12; Garinger 4.

State qualifiers

Ardrey Kell: Cam Parker (126, 4th); Cooper Marshall (138, 4th); Jackson Riley (160, 4th).

East Mecklenburg: Trey Johnson (145, 3rd); Karl Trapp (170, 2nd); Xzayvian Dern (182, 4th); Chris Dickey (195, 3rd); Bruce Perry (285, 4th).

Hopewell: Jalen Ready (138, 3rd).

Hough: Brandt Fajerman (126, 2nd); Tyler Caldwell (132, 2nd); Richard Treanor (138, 1st); Jun Figueredo (145, 2nd); Justin Sanders (160, 2nd); Alex Cowart (170, 1st); Michael Pepe (182, 2nd); Julian Rawlins (1st, 285).

Lake Norman: Noah Murray (113, 2nd); Patrick Iacoves (120, 2nd); Brody Neal (126, 3rd);

Mallard Creek: Cameron Stinson (106, 1st); Jeffrey Rion (120, 3rd); Trey O’Connor (132, 3rd); Brice Boyd (285, 3rd).

McDowell: Preston Dennison (170, 3rd); Jesse Barner (195, 4th); Collin Campbell (220, 2nd).

Mooresville: Calvin Nguyen (106, 2nd); Collin Neith (113, 3rd); Davis Freeze (138, 2nd); Johnny Memmett (145, 4th); Jake Gimmert (152, 1st); Luke Goodin (160, 1st); Caleb Tate (195, 2nd); Ray Watson (220, 3rd); Austyn Barton (285, 2nd).Eli Murray (145, 1st); Hayden Fann (152, 2nd); Carson Floyd (195, 1st); Sakarri Morrison (220, 1st).

Olympic: Leyton Bean (106, 3rd); Landon Bean (113, 1st); Jovante Noble (132, 4th); Amir Haynes (160, 3rd); Paulique Noble (182, 1st); Kailyn Toussaint (220, 4th).

Providence: William Cline (126, 1st); Noah Ripp (170, 4th).

South Caldwell: Brighton Deal (106, 4th); Jonah McBurney (120, 4th).

South Mecklenburg: Evan Slack (113, 4th)Jeffrey Hoelscher (152, 4th); Alexander Jons (182, 3rd).

Vance: Ksun Rock (152, 3rd).

Other Regional results

Class 4A

Mideast

Cardinal Gibbons (143) took the team title, with Lumberton (132) and host Fuquay-Varina (103) rounding out the top three. Cary (100) was fourth, with Middle Creek (87.5) fifth.

Four Cardinal Gibbons wrestlers won weight division titles.

Cary had three regional champions, including defending state champ Rylan Vann at 285 pounds.

Panther Creek (64.5), Green Hope (54.5) and Riverside (53.5) finished 8-10. Others were Apex and Holly Springs (51) tied for 11th; Jordan (47) 13th, Apex Friendship (26) 15th, and Green Level and Hillside (4) tied for 19th.

State qualifiers:

Apex: Isaiah Williams (132, 2nd); Noah Williams (220, 1st)

Apex Friendship: Jacob Hale (106, 3rd).

Cardinal Gibbons: Hunter Gundry (113, 1st); Luke Kunath (120, 1st); Tyler Tracy (132, 1st); Britton Jaret (138, 2nd); Cole McGee (145, 2nd); Savoy New (170, 1st);

Cary: Johnny Ramos (106, 1st); Sam Grena (152, 1st); Jake Wolfran (170, 3rd); Rylan Vann (285, 1st).

Fuquay-Varina: Samineo Myers (1132, 3rd); Mason Hawks (126, 4th); Ryan Boyer (138, 1st); Jack Nystrom (152, 4th); Austin Roberts (170, 3rd).

Green Hope: Finn Urmey (113, 4th); Jackson Ealy (120, 2nd); Sebastian Whitesock (195, 4th).

Holly Springs: Cameron Schmidt (120, 3rd); Luke Rider (160, 1st).

Jordan: Maxwell Kiel (145, 1st); Caleb Jones (182, 2nd).

Middle Creek: Owen Hibbard (106, 2nd); Darius McKenzie (126, 2nd); Reid Fallows (182, 4th); Terrance Carmichael (220, 4th); Stephen Holland (285, 2nd).

Panther Creek: Tyler Middledorf (132, 4th); Ali Adloo (138, 4th); Bradley Garrity (152, 2nd); Eric Schaefer (170, 2nd).

Riverside: Luke Fogleman (126, 1st); Jake Badalomenti (160, 4th).

Midwest

Northwest Guilford (156) topped this regional, held at Glenn High. West Forsyth (149) and Pinecrest (148) were second and third. Hickory Ridge (89) was fifth, with Porter Ridge (62) seventh. Also in the field were Butler, Richmond Senior and Rocky River (4), tied for 16th; and Independence (2) in 20th.

State qualifiers:

Hickory Ridge: Hunter Jones (126, 1st); Kaylin Foust (152, 3rd); Alex Bentley (160, 2nd); Tomas Brooker (170, 4th); Parker Jones (195, 3rd).

Porter Ridge: Christian Hasty (132, 3rd); Syler Weber (138, 3rd); Nathan Carner (220, 1st).

Class 3A

EAST

Havelock led the field with 128 points. D.H. Conley (121.5) and host West Carteret (113.5) were second and third.

Clayton was eighth, with 65 points and two state meet qualifiers. Cleveland was 13th, with 48 points and two state qualifiers. South Johnston (24) was 17th; Smithfield-Selma (8) was 20th; and East Wake (0) was 22nd.

State qualifiers:

Clayton: Tristan Hawkins (126, 2nd); Franklin Melton (152, 1st).

Cleveland: Matthew Vindigni (106, 2nd); Joseph Roeder (120, 2nd).

South Johnston: Collin Jones (113, 2nd).

MIDEAST

Orange took second place, scoring 110 points in the meet at Eastern Guilford. Union Pines (147) led the field, with Cape Fear (104) third. Chapel Hill (62) finished sixth; Southern Durham (38) was 12th; Cedar Ridge (21) was 19th; West Johnston (18) was 20th; and East Chapel Hill and Northern (4) tied for 23rd.

State qualifiers:

Cedar Ridge: Daina Pritchard (145, 4th).

Chapel Hill: Lucas Daley (120, 1st); Alexander Gunning (160, 1st).

Orange: Dillon Heffernan (113, 3rd); Kessel Summers (132, 2nd); Matthew Smith-Breeden (145, 3rd); Henry Joubert-Stanzel (170, 3rd); Brendon Worsham (182, 2nd); Hayden Horne 9220, 2nd).

Southern Durham: Ahston O’Neal (106, 2nd); ShyHeem Davis (120, 4th).

West Johnston: Chris McHenry (126, 4th).

MIDWEST

Host Piedmont took the team title with 153 points. Central Cabarrus (123) and Asheboro (100.5) rounded out the top three.

East Rowan (80.5) was sixth, with Concord (59) eighth; Parkwood (54) ninth; and Cox Mill (49) 10th.

Other area teams: Weddington (48) 11th; A.L. Brown (36.5) 12th; Jay M. Robinson (35) 13th; Sun Valley (28) 15th; West Rowan (15.5) 18th; Jesse Carson (14) 19th; Monroe (6) 23rd; and West Cabarrus (4) 25th.

State qualifiers:

A.L. Brown: Trevor Freeman (113, 3rd); Gavin Hartsell (182, 2nd).

Central Cabarrus: Charleston Baglio (106, 1st); Jackson Baglio (113, 1st); Marcus Jackson (126, 2nd); Luke Masterton (152, 1st); Michael Forney (170, 4th); Oluwaferanmi Bamikole (285, 4th).

Concord: Daniel Tierney (138, 1st); Riley Nimer (170, 3rd); Nelson Pascual-Mateo (220, 4th).

Cox Mill: Cooper Davis (113, 2nd); Samuel Cowher (182, 3rd); Bryce Gadson (220, 3rd).

East Rowan: Luke Heglar (113, 4th); Shayden Edwards (126, 3rd); Oren Bost (160, 1st); Tavron Frost (182, 1st)

Jay M. Robinson: Connor Goodman (132, 2nd); Joshua Heyward (152, 4th)

Jesse Carson: Drake Cadle (145, 4th).

Parkwood: Caleb Simpson (138, 2nd); Cody Hardy (285, 2nd).

Piedmont: Noah Cauble (106, 2nd); Jake Cauble (120, 3rd); Tripp Collins (126, 1st); Colby Locklear (145, 1st); John Lewis (160, 2nd); Jerrett Rayfield (195, 2nd); Ryan Whetzel (220, 2nd).

Sun Valley: Andrew Macchiavello (220, 1st).

Weddington: Devin King (138, 3rd); Janyd Houghton (195, 4th).

West Rowan: Luke Harrison (132, 4th).

WEST

Enka captured this regional, beating host North Henderson 145.5 to 130. Cuthbertson (95.5), St. Stephens (88) and Stuart Cramer (82.5) rounded out the top five.

Charlotte Catholic (57), North Iredell (56), North Gaston (53.5) and Kings Mountain (51) finished 6-10.

Statesville (46) was 11th, with South Iredell (33) 14th; Forestview (30) 15th; Crest (26) 16th; Hunter Huss (25.5) 17th; Ashbrook (23) 18th; Alexander Central (21) 19th; and Freedom and Marvin Ridge (12) tied for 21st.

State qualifiers:

Alexander Central: Elijah Peel (160, 3rd).

Ashbrook: Elijah Antis (160, 2nd).

Charlotte Catholic: Joey Baisley (106, 1st); Andrew Templeton (182, 3rd).

Crest: Rex Howard (138, 1st).

Cuthbertson: Ashton Schutz (106, 3rd); Grant Kahlenberg (138, 2nd); Noah Zandy (145, 4th); Jack McDermid (152, 3rd); Myles Lopez (285, 2nd).

Forestview: Jacob Massengill (126, 1st).

Freedom: Kalvin Khang (152, 4th).

Hunter Huss: Giovanni Bernal (285, 3rd).

Kings Mountain: Trey Crawford (182, 2nd); A.J. Richardson (285, 1st).

North Gaston: Caleb Haynes (106, 2nd); Chance Cottingham (120, 1st).

North Iredell: Will Akers (182, 4th); Elijah Hurt (220, 2nd); Eddie Flores (285, 4th).

South Iredell: Mike Rank (195, 4th); Dylan Donaldson (220, 3rd).

St. Stephens: Ethan Robinson (120, 3rd); Brady Connell (132, 2nd); Kymani Evans (138, 3rd); Andre Britt (182, 1st).

Statesville: Leo Martinez (113, 4th); Parker Galliher (120, 3rd); Antonio Caldwell (132, 4th).

Stuart Cramer: Charlie Sly (113, 3rd); Matt Karagias (120, 2nd); Zack Karagias (145, 1st); Jonathan O’Shea (170, 2nd).

Class 2A

EAST

Currituck County (123 points), Southwest Onslow (120) and Dixon (111) led the field, at Croatan High. North Johnston (32) was 12th.

State qualifiers:

North Johnston: Michael Linko (132, 2nd); Alex Logan (145, 4th).

MIDEAST

Reidsville (155.5), Trinity (142) and Morehead (90.5) led the field. Carrboro (37) was ninth, Anson County (12) was 18th, and N.C. School of Science and Math (0) was 23rd.

State qualifiers:

Anson County: Zachary Wall (145, 3rd).

Carrboro: Francesco Fulghieri (160, 4th); Jason Kelic (195, 2nd).

MIDWEST

Defending state champion Central Academy breezed to victory, with 178.5 points to second-place Mount Pleasant’s 123. East Lincoln (115.5), Bandys (76) and Salisbury (65) rounded out the top five.

North Lincoln (61) was seventh; Bunker Hill (44.5) 10th; South Rowan and West Stanly (31) tied for 14th; East Gaston (27) 18th; West Iredell (8) 21st; and Forest Hills (4) 23rd.

State qualifiers:

Bandys: Joey Levine (126, 4th); Bryson Burkett (132, 3rd); William Nix (138, 4th); Caleb Moore (160, 4th)Matthew Cranfill (182, 4th); Zackory Evans (195, 4th).

Bunker Hill: Lawson Vang (106, 2nd); Raul Hernandez (120, 4th); Brayden Guess (160, 3rd).

Central Academy: Grant Haney (113, 3rd); Kyle Montaperto (120, 1st); Elijah Harris (126, 1st); Hunter Ross (132, 1st); Logan Fite (138, 3rd); Colin Lutz (145, 4th); Aiden Curry (160, 1st); Brady Ross (170, 1st).

East Gaston: Massey Adam (220, 3rd).

East Lincoln: Devean Huskey (113, 1st); Luke Davidson (126, 2nd); Caleb Hines 9152, 2nd); Grayson Connor (182, 1st); Trent Smith (285, 1st).

Mount Pleasant: Trent Almond (106, 3rd); David McEachern (120, 3rd); Dalton Miller (160, 2nd); Kyler Pickard (170, 2nd); Levi Kluttz (195, 1st); Chase Crayton (220, 1st).

North Lincoln: Jorden Schlossman (132, 2nd); Joseph Plyler (170, 3rd); Jordan Dininny (182, 3rd).

Salisbury: Javon White (120, 2nd); Michael Lowry (145, 1st); Tkaii Gaither (195, 2nd).

South Point: Ryley Goble (113, 4th); Tyson Ryley (152, 4th).

South Rowan: Jacob Cox (138, 1st).

West Stanly: Bryson Whitley (132, 4th); Aidan Holt (152, 1st); Andrew Becker (220, 4th).

WEST

Fred T. Foard led the field, with West Lincoln and Pisgah finishing 2-3. R-S Central was fourth, with Newton-Conover fifth.

Hibriten finished seventh and Lincolnton 10th. Other area teams were Patton 15th; Shelby 18th; East Rutherford 19th; Maiden 20th; Chase 21st; and Burns and Draughn tied for 23rd.

State qualifiers:

Ashe County: Drew Rowland (132, 3rd); Gabriel Bare (182, 2nd); Timothy Peterson (195, 3rd).

East Burke: Grayson Phillips (120, 4th); Caleb Johnson-White (138, 3rd)

Fred T. Foard: Brayden Mejia (106, 1st); Hunter Clark (113, 1st); Spencer Bechtol (120, 3rd); Brock Carey (126, 1st); Jamie Richard (145, 1st); Connor Weaver (152, 4th); Zane Birtchet (170, 1st); Landor Foor (182, 1st); Colby Mace (195, 2nd); Amorion McAfee (220, 2nd); Dylan Smith (285, 3rd).

Hibriten: Josiah Honer (120, 1st); Ross Watts (132, 2nd); Zay Barnes (220, 4th).

Lincolnton: Quinlan Hunter (138, 4th); Elijah Powell (182, 4th).

Newton-Conover: Owen Clark (195, 1st); Cole Clark (220, 1st); Ryan Walker (285, 1st).

Patton: Dilan Patton (152, 3rd).

R-S Central: Sumter Horton (113, 3rd); Zachariah Lewis (138, 2nd); Sam Wilson (145, 4th); Malaki Ryan (160, 3rd); Jevon Snoddy (170, 2nd).

Shelby: Jamajah Patterson (126, 4th)

West Lincoln: Andy Saine (106, 4th); Eli Leatherman (113, 4th); Chade Norman (120, 2nd); Langston Hoffman (126, 2nd); Luke Stewart (132, 1st); Ricky Reynolds (152, 2nd); Patrick Goins (170, 4th);

Class 1A

EAST

Uwharrie Charter took the team title with 215 points, followed by host Rosewood (172) and South Stanly (109). Other Charlotte-area teams were Albemarle (sixth, 57) and North Stanly (12th, 26). Raleigh-area teams were Neuse Charter (10th, 30) and Voyager Academy (16th, 7).

State qualifiers:

Albemarle: Harveli Rodriguez (113 pounds, 4th); Ricardo Bustos (120, 2nd); Naqian Carpenter (285, 1st).

Neuse Charter: Camden Gurley (152, 3rd); Matthew Pelletier (160, 4th).

North Stanly: Meliek Bryant (195, 1st).

South Stanly: Chris Ramirez (120, 4th); Jaquavius Caraway (132, 4th); Ranfere Garcia (138, 3rd); Michael Gabbard (152, 2nd); Trent Drake (160, 2nd); Hunter Barrier (170, 3rd); Tony Rogers (220, 2nd).

WEST

Defending 1A state champion Avery County (245.5) topped the field, at Robbinsville High. Robbinsville (163.5) and Mount Airy (123.5) were second and third.

Cherryville (64) finished fifth, with Bradford Prep (38) ninth.

Mountain Island Charter (22.5) was 13th; Union Academy (17) 18th; Thomas Jefferson Academy (16) 19th; Bessemer City (4) 22nd; and North Rowan, Lincoln Charter and Queens Grant Charter (0) tied for 24th.

State qualifiers:

Bradford Prep: Gavin Mann (120, 4th); Matthew Mauro (170, 2nd).

Cherryville: Brady Buchanan (113, 2nd); Ryan Riffle (132, 2nd); Chase Miller (160, 2nd).

Mountain Island Charter: Bunmi Abudu (182, 2nd).

Thomas Jefferson Academy: Nathan Halliday (145, 4th).

Union Academy: Isaac Williams (160, 3rd).

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle