Gryphon Wrestlers Tie for Title

Rocky Mount's wrestling team did not leave the Northern Nash gymnasium looking like a team that just won a second consecutive conference championship. Despite finishing the regular season in a tie with Nash Central, the Gryphons were much more disappointed than celebratory.

After sweeping the first round of conference duels, the team had it's sights on being alone at the top. After beating Southwest Edgecombe, Southern Nash and Fike in the first three matches, the Gryphons needed one more victory to clinch a conference championship. A win over either Nash Central or Northern Nash.

The Gryphs fell by a mere five points to the Bulldogs, then in the last match of the day by a heartbreaking three to the Knights.

Francisco Alfaro, Chandler Phillips, Dedrick Silver, Daryl Cross and Guy Williamson each posted 5-0 individual records.

Johnny Stewart, Justin Atkinson and J.K. Williamson all went 3-2.

Damien Smith went 3-1 on the day while Demonte Hill was 2-3.

Antonio Ramerez notched his first varsity win in his only match of the day.

ROCKY MOUNT 42 - SOUTHWEST EDGECOMBE 30

Despite the final score, this was a slow start for the Gryphons. Against a team that had scored a mere 12 points on them less than a month ago, only Alfaro and Phillips won their matches. Both by pin. In the other matches that were contested on the mat, four Rocky Mount wrestlers lost by pin.

ROCKY MOUNT 43 - SOUTHERN NASH 24

The Firebirds had come into the day with only one conference loss and was the team Rocky Mount figured it needed to beat when the day began. The Gryphons took care of their business in this one, but got no help from Southern in their later matches. Four matches won by pin and four others by decision paced the team, which at one point held a dominating 43-12 advantage.

ROCKY MOUNT 57 - FIKE 18

The Gryphons rolled out to a 57-0 lead by getting five wins by pin and three by forfeit.

ROCKY MOUNT 31 - NASH CENTRAL 36

The Gryphons won eight of the 14 matches. Nash Central won six of the 14 matches. The difference was that Rocky Mount could not record a pin in six of their wins. Nash Central won three matches by pin and another three by forfeit and out-pointed the Gryphons, if not out-wrestling them. Rocky Mount held a 31-12 advantage after 10 matches, only to watch helplessly as Nash Central caught and passed them on the scoreboard with three consecutive forfeit wins and a pin in the last match on the mat.

ROCKY MOUNT 33 - NORTHERN NASH 36

Four wins by pin, one by forfeit and a 6-5 decision win was all the Gryphons could get against the Knights. Again, the Rocky Mount team got the better of their opponents on the mat, but with three forfeits looming toward the end of the match, they could not pull far enough ahead of the Northern team to get the victory. For the second consecutive match, the team wrestled into the lead, then watched helplessly as the Knights side of the scoreboard clicked enough points by Gryphon forfeit to catch and pass them.

Despite the way it ended, the Gryphons finish on top of the Conference for the second consecutive season. A trip to the Team State Tournament may be hinging on the outcome of the conference tournament, where each wrestler will compete individually for their places in each weight class while earning team points.