Gryphons Surf Rapids

The Rocky Mount wrestlers, fresh off a dominating performance in conference duels on Saturday, traveled to Roanoke Rapids High School Monday night to meet the Yellow Jackets for the second time this season. The Gryphons won a back and forth battle in the first meeting at home, but they had little problem this time around, posting an impressive 49-24 victory.

The squad posted it's sixth consecutive team victory while improving their season record to 10-5.

RMHS gave away their (so far) customary two matches by forfeit (this time, the 112 & 125 contests) and lost only two others on the night (130 & 160). Neither team put a wrestler on the mat for the 103 weight class, and Dedrick Silver won the 189 pound match by forfeit.

Francisco Alfero dominated his 135 opponent with a 13-0 decision and Johnny Stewart went the distance in winning at 145 in a 13-7 decision.

The remaining Gryphon match wins seemed to be a competition between themselves to see who could record the quickest pin, as all six Rocky Mount pins were recorded before the end of the first period. Guy Williamson, wrestling up at Heavyweight, took the longest time for his pin in the night's first match. The referee's hand slapped the mat just ahead of the horn to end the first period.

Damien Bynum recorded his 152 pound match pin in 1:45, only to be bested by Ahmir Scott's time of 1:25 in the 119 pound match.

Chandler Phillips (140) out did Scott by getting his pin in 1:21. Daryl Cross recorded his pin in a mere 52 seconds at 189. The quickest pin belonged to J K Williamson in the 171 pound match. If you blinked, you missed the 44 seconds of work he put in on the night.

The Gryphons will be back on the practice mat until Saturday when they travel to D.H Conley High School in Greenville to compete in the Milt Sherman Duels starting at 9:30 A.M.

The team will face off against at least 4 other teams throughout the day. The tough slate of teams competing include Louisburg, who beat RM in their first meeting, State 4A Champions Cary High School, Conley, J.H. Rose (who also beat the Gryphs in the team's first match of the year) and others.

These Duels should be a good measuring stick of where the Gryphon team stands at about the halfway point of the season.