Gryphon Pair Among Best in State

(photo - Nick Phillips)
Williamson (left) and Phillips (right) are among the best in the state.

Two Rocky Mount Gryphons are ranked in the top 10 wrestlers in the State by retrorankings.com.

Gryphon senior Chandler Phillips is the #3 ranked 3-A wrestler in the state at 140 pounds. Phillips has held that position for the past two weeks, moving up from #4 to start January. Wrestling at 135, 140 and 145 this season, he has compiled an impressive 27-2 record.


(photo - Nick Phillips)
Chandler Phillips has stretched his opponents out in route to an impressive 27 wins.

Sophomore Gryphon Janicento Williamson is listed as the state's 10th ranked 171 pound wrestler in 3-A. He has been as high as number five this year. Williamson improved his record to 24-8 with four wins at the Thomas Cowles Duals January 16.


(photo - Nick Phillips)
Williamson in action over the Thanksgiving break. he has been ranked as high as fifth this year.

Shorthanded Gryphons compete in duel tournament

The Rocky Mount wrestling team landed a spot in the Team State Duals Tournament by way of their surprising second place finish at the Conference Duals Tournament last week. Coach Jermaine Jones has now guided his fourth consecutive team into the NCHAA State playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Gryphons, that success did not spill over into this weekend's matches against C.B. Aycock, Southern Vance, Cary and Southern Nash at the Thomas Cowles Duals.

The Gryphons had already lost their regular 119 and 145 pounders for the remainder of the season before making the trip to Southern Nash High School on Saturday. They were also going into the matches without their regular 112 and Heavyweight, due to injuries. The remaining team tightened their collective belts and headed into battle short-handed.

The results were not what the team would have liked to see, as the Gryphs went 1-3, dropping their team dual record to 13-10.

Southern Nash hosted a dozen teams, including 4-time defending 4-A State Champion Cary High and traditionally strong 3-A power Havelock. Also wrestling were Northern Nash, Millbrook, Franklinton, Louisburg, Rosewood, and Tarboro.

ROCKY MOUNT 25 - CB AYCOCK 48
This match could have been much closer than the final score, if not for the 12 uncontested points the Gryphs gave to the Falcons on forfeits at 119 and 145.

The teams traded pins over the first four matches, with Nathan Barbour (215) and Mason Holt (103) scoring wins for Rocky Mount. The score was tied at 12 when the Gryphs forfeited at 119 and Nick Wescott retired during his match with a shoulder injury, putting the Falcons up 24-12. Wescott would gut out the rest of the day, wrestling with the sore shoulder.

Alex Knight fought to a slim 3-2 decision win at 130 and Chandler Phillips took four points for the Gryphons with a 9-1 major decision in the 135 contest. The Gryphons had cut the Aycock lead down to five at 24-19.

A heartbreaking overtime loss at 140, a Rocky Mount forfeit at 145, and a Falcon win by pin at 152 clinched the match for Aycock.

J.K. Williamson took a win at 171 with a second period pin to round out the Gryphon scoring.

ROCKY MOUNT 65 - SOUTHERN VANCE 6
Southern Vance had only three wrestlers. Rocky Mount's Williamson and Wescott each won by pin, while SV took the 130 match for their only score.

ROCKY MOUNT 3 - CARY 69
As easy a victory as the Southern Vance win was, the Gryphons were on the other side of the coin against the 4-time-running State 4A team champions. Eight Gryphons were pinned in the first period.

It took nine matches before a Gryphon stayed on the mat with a Cary wrestler. Justin Atkinson fell by close decision, 3-2, in a battle at 160.

J.K. Williamson won Rocky Mount's only points, taking a 7-0 decision to keep the Gryphons from being shut out.

ROCKY MOUNT 34 - SOUTHERN NASH 36
Nowhere did Rocky Mount's missing wrestlers show up bigger than the match against the Firebirds. The Gryphons easily handled Southern just a week before, winning 48-21. The host team got it's revenge with this one.

The two teams traded forfeits at 112 (Sidorayan Petway) and 119 to start the match tied at six.

Wescott (125) won by decision 9-5, followed by a Knight decision win, 9-2 to put the Gryphons up 12-6. Phillips followed with a major decision victory, 14-1, to extend Rocky Mount's lead to 16-6.

A Firebird pin at 140 and forfeit win at 145 quickly put Southern ahead on the scoreboard, 18-17.

Damien Smith took a 6-0 decision win at 152, followed by an Atkinson pin at 160, and the Gryphons looked to be in control, leading 29-18.

The Firebirds retaliated with pins at 189, 215 and Heavyweight to clinch the match.

With Southern Nash up 36-29, Holt put an end to the Firebird pin streak with a pin victory of his own for Rocky Mount's final tally.

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Unless Jones comes up with another match or two for his grapplers, the Rocky Mount team will be on the practice mat until Saturday, February 6th when they compete at the Conference Individual Tournament at Northern Nash High School. Following the conference individual, the team will travel to an undetermined location to compete in the first and second rounds of the NCHSAA Team State Tournament on Monday, February 8.

GRYPHON GRAPPLER NOTES:
Congratulations go out to Coach Jones for his fourth consecutive berth in the State Team Tournament.

Chandler Phillips may be the first Gryphon to compete at the NCHSAA Team Duals in each of his four years at Rocky Mount.

Some notable season milestones have been reached both individually and by the team that should get some notice:
** Janicento Williamson surpassed the twenty win mark for the second consecutive season. He continues to be on pace to reach 100 sometime during his senior season.
** Mason Holt follows teammates Williamson and Chandler Phillips as a 20+ win freshman. Mason will be gunning to be the first freshman to reach 30 wins since Phillips did it in 2007.
** Alex Knight surpassed 15 wins at the Cowles Duals on Saturday. He will be gunning to join Holt as another 20-win first year wrestler.
** Nick Wescott has come on strong as of late, surpassing the 10 win plateau. Nick is standing on 12 victories for the season.
** Adam McRae danced his way past the 10 win mark at the Conference Duals, landing on 13 wins for the year.
** Damien Smith wrestled his way past the 10 win mark at Southern. He now stands at 12 for the season.
** The Gryphon team went over 1,000 team points for the year during the Conference Duals. Unofficially, they stand at 1,204. (Unofficially, they have given up 902)
** Rocky Mount also surpassed 100 pins as a team during the Conference Duals. Unofficially, they have now tallied 115.


(photo - Nick Phillips)
Coach J.J. Jones has guided the Gryphons to four straight playoff appearances.

Gryphon Grapplers place second in Conference Duals

The 2009-2010 regular season Big East Wrestling Conference Championship took almost twelve hours to conclude. The crown was not decided until the final, 30th match of the day. Each of the six conference teams wrestled the other five, and it all boiled down to the last match of the day. The Northern Nash Fighting Knights won all five of their matches to snatch the first (new) Big East Wrestling Dual Championship.

Northern came into the day as one of the two favorites, along with Nash Central. Northern had placed second at the Pierce-Davis Invitational (Rocky Mount finished 5th) while holding a Takedown Report ranking of the #5 3-A team in the East. Nash Central was working on a stellar year, holding an 18-7 team record and a TDR ranking of 3-A #3. Rocky Mount checked in as the 7th-ranked 3-A team by TDR.

Northern and Central would clash in the first match of the day. The match would eliminate one of the two favorites from a conference championship right off the bat. The Knights slipped by The Bulldogs 37-33 in an electric match.

The Rocky Mount Gryphons started their day with a 66-12 trouncing of Wilson Hunt, followed by relatively easy victories over Southern Nash (48-21) and Wilson Fike (54-27) before squaring off against Nash Central.

In a classic grudge match, the young Gryphon team outlasted the Bulldogs in a back and forth, tick for tack battle that went down to the final individual match, 39-30.

Rocky Mount had one last match. Northern Nash had one more match. Both teams 4-0 on the day. With the Big East Conference Championship on the line, the Knights took the final six individual matches to handily beat the young Gryphons 51-25.

ROCKY MOUNT 66 - WILSON HUNT 12
Justin Atkinson got the day rolling for the Gryphons by taking an 11-5 decision at 160. Janicento Williamson won by pin and Jeffrey Henderson took a forfeit win to put the Gryphs up 15-0.
Jemor Parker took the heavyweight match by pin in between two Hunt pins at 215 and 103. Rocky Mount was on top 21-12.

That's as close to the Gryphons as the Warriors would get. Adam McRea won by decision, 8-2, in the 112-pound match, followed by John Earl (119) and Nick Wescott (125) wins by forfeit. The Gryphs were rolling on the scoreboard, 36-12.

Alex Knight (130) and Chandler Phillips (135) won by pin and Elliot Whitehead took the 140 match by forfeit. Diandre Harris (145) and Damien Smith (152) capped off the match by winning by pin for the final margin of victory, 66-12.

ROCKY MOUNT 48 - SOUTHERN NASH 21
Willliamson rolled off a major decision win, 11-0, to get the Gryphons off against the Firebirds.
The Rocky Mount squad found themselves down for the first time on the day when they lost by pin in the second match (189).

With Southern up 6-4, the Gryphons rolled off consecutive pin victories by Nathan Barbour (215), Parker (HWT) and Mason Holt (103) to go up 22-6.

After a 112 pound forfeit win by McRea and an Earl pin at 119, the Gryphons were out of reach at 34-6.

Knight added a pin at 130, while Harris took a wild 17-11 decision and Smith won by tech fall 16-0.

ROCKY MOUNT 54 - FIKE 27
Rocky Mount was down at the start of the match after giving up a pin at 189. Barbour tied it up at 6-6 with his second pin of the day, but Fike took the Heavyweight match by technical disqualification to lead 12-6 after the first three matches.

The Gryphs took wins by forfeit at 103 and 112 before Earl won the 119 pound match with a jaw-dropping pin in just 12 seconds, putting Rocky Mount on top 24-12.

Gryphon forfeit wins at 125 (Wescott) and 135 (Phillips) bracketed an 11-5 decision loss at 130 and the Gryphons were up 36-15.

Whitehead won with a first period pin at 140 to push the Gryphon lead to 42-15.

The Gryphons and Demons traded pin victories in the final four matches, with Smith (152) and Williamson (171) coming out on top for Rocky Mount.

ROCKY MOUNT 39 - NASH CENTRAL 30
The Bulldogs jumped on the Gryphs early, winning the 215 bout in an exciting squeaker, 6-5, and a pin at Heavyweight, to go up 9-0.

Rocky Mount answered with a Holt pin at 103, a hard-fought McRea decision, 13-10, at 112 and an Earl decision win at 119, 11-4. Gryphons 12, Bulldogs 9.

Central took the 125 match by pin and the 130 by a 6-2 decision. Bulldogs 18, Gryphons 12.

A Phillips win by forfeit tied the score at 18. Whitehead followed with a first period pin victory at 140. Gryphons 24, Bulldogs 18.

Nash Central pushed back on Rocky Mount by winning both the 145 and 152 matches by pin to go back in front of the Gryphons 30-24.

Justin Atkinson won by pin at 160 to knot the score at 30 with only two matches to go.

Brandon Branch frustrated his 171 pound opponent into a disqualification to take six points and put the Gryphons up 36-30 entering the final individual of the match.

Williamson wrestled up at 189 and clinched the victory for Rocky Mount, winning by decision 6-0 and a 39-30 team win.

ROCKY MOUNT 25 - NORTHERN NASH 51
This one was close and exciting through the first nine matches, as the two teams traded both decisions and pins.

The Knights ran out to a 12-0 lead by way of pin at Heavyweight and forfeit win at 103.

Coach Jermaine Jones decided to bump his 103 through 135 wrestlers up one weight class. His six wrestlers responded by not only catching Northern, but putting the Gryphons up on the scoreboard.

Holt took the 112 pound match by pin to start off the bumped up Gryphons. McRea scored 4 points for the team with a major decision win, 17-4. Earl took a close decision, 8-6, at 119.
After the first five individuals, Rocky Mount led Northern 13-12.

The Knights took a decision win at 125 by a slim 5-3 margin to regain the lead, 15-13.

Alex Knight and Phillips won with back-to-back pins and the Gryphons were back on top, 25-15, just past the halfway point of the duel.

But that would be the end of the Gryphon run. With his wrestlers bumping up, Jones had no answer for the 145 bout and the Gryphs forfeited to let the Knights inch closer, 25-21.

Northern flexed their collective muscle on the Gryphons, winning by pin at 152, 160, 171 and 215. The Gryphons did not send out a wrestler for the 189 match. The 36 unanswered points buried the Rocky Mount squad for the final 51-25 tally.

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The Big East Conference scheduled only one of these conference duals this year, making the Northern Nash Fighting Knights the conference's Regular Season Champions.

With the second place finish and four wins, the Gryphons upped their dual record to 12-7. They should see their TDR Ranking rise with the results on Saturday, also. It is not clear at this time if the second place finish has qualified Rocky Mount for another NCHSAA Team State Tournament, or if a team placing at the Conference Individuals will decide that. Jones has guided his last three teams into the state tournament. That information will be passed along as it becomes available.

BIG EAST TEAM RESULTS
Northern Nash Knights 5-0
Rocky Mount Gryphons 4-1
Nash Central Bulldogs 3-2
Southern Nash Firebirds 2-3
Wilson Fike Demons 1-4
Wilson Hunt Warriors 0-5

GRYPHON INDIVIDUAL WINS
Adam McRea 5
John Earl 5
Mason Holt 4
Chandler Phillips 4
J.K. Williamson 4
Alex Knight 3
Elliot Whitehead 3
Damien Smith 3
Nick Wescott 2
Diandre Harris 2
Justin Atkinson 2
Nathan Barbour 2
Jemor Parker 2
Jeffrey Henderson 1

Rocky Mount's Grapplers will be on the practice mat until Saturday, Jan. 16. They will travel to Southern Nash High School to compete in the Thomas Cowles Duals, where they will look to improve on their team dual record and continue to work towards a possible spot in the NCHSAA team state, the individual conference and regional tournaments, held in February.

Mid-Season Gryphon Wrestling Stat Leaders

Here are the halfway stats for the Gryphon wrestling team -

-Stats compiled through December 31, 2009-

Gryphon Team Dual Record: 8-6
Team points: 841-622
Individual record: 152-115
Decision record: 18-18
Major Decisions: 8-5
Tech Falls: 1-4
Pins: 86-88

Individual Leaders:
OVERALL WINS:
Chandler Phillips - 20
Mason Holt - 16
Janicento Williamson - 16
John Earl - 12
Alexander Knight - 11
Sidorayan Petway - 10

WIN BY DECISION:
Janicento Willliamson - 5
Alexander Knight - 4
John Earl - 3
Chandler Phillips - 2

WIN BY MAJOR DECISION:
Chandler Phillips - 2
John Earl - 1
Mason Holt - 1
Janicento Willliamson - 1
Alexander Knight - 1
Nick Wescott - 1
Damien Smith - 1

WIN BY TECH FALL:
Alexander Knight - 1

WIN BY PIN:
Chandler Phillips - 13
Janicento Williamson - 10
Mason Holt - 10
John Earl - 7
Dashawn Taylor - 6
Chase Brewer - 6
Adam McRea - 5
Sidorayan Petway - 5

Gryphon Wrestlers work through the Holidays

Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, black-eyed peas, cookies and pie. Oh, that great food we all get to eat too much of during the Holidays!

School's out. Down days. Football bowl games and basketball games on the tube. We get the opportunity to kick back and take it easy during the Christmas to New Year's break, right?

Not the Gryphon wrestling team.

While we all got to eat until we burst, watch sports on television, enjoy no school days or generally do nothing but take in the "Christmas Break", the Rocky Mount wrestlers were still at work. No over indulgence in the holiday food. No down days relaxing. No weekends off. Practice. Work. Maintain the weight. Wrestle.

The Grapplers had their December 19 Milt Sherman Duals Tournament cancelled because of forecasted bad weather, but their Holiday vacation from schoolwork was jam packed with mat time. They traveled to Rosewood High on Tuesday, Dec. 22 to take on the Eagles, plus the Smithfield-Selma Spartans. They hosted the New Bern Bears on Dec. 28. Then threw in a couple of more duals on Dec. 29 against a pair of Viking squads in Greenville, when they took on host Conley and Tarboro High. Here are the results of the Gryphon holiday schedule.

Rocky Mount 64 Smithfield-Selma 12
December 22, 2009
The Spartans added the dual against the Gryphons and host Rosewood Eagles at the last minute and were without many of their regulars. Rocky Mount took full advantage and crushed the depleted Spartan squad.

The Gryphons took the 125 and 130 match by forfeit to start the match 12-0. Chandler Phillips took a major decision victory at 135 to push the Gryphon lead to 16-0.

Rocky Mount also took the 140 and 145 match by forfeit and were up 28-0 before the Spartans won by pin at 152. SSS also gave the 160 and 171 matches away by forfeit to give the Gryphs a 40-6 lead. Triple-S took the 189-pound match by pin to close the gap to 40-12.

Nathan Barbour (215) and Jamor Parker (Hwt) each won by pin, while Mason Holt took a forfeit win at 103 to extend the Gryphon lead to 58-12. A double-forfeit at 112, followed by a John Earl (119) pin put the final points on the board for the Gryphs.

Rocky Mount 42 Rosewood 37
December 22, 2009
The Eagles were ranked one spot above the Gryphons on The Takedown board going into the match, so Rocky Mount figured this would be a tough one. It was an evenly matched bout that went back and forth to the end.

Alex Knight opened up the scoring by pinning his 130-pound opponent, followed by forfeit wins by Phillips and Elliot Whitehead (140) and a quick 18-0 Gryphon lead.

The Eagles got right back into the match by winning at 145 and 152 by pins and at 160 by major decision to pull to within two points. Janicento Williamson won by pin at 172 to extend the slim Gryphon lead to 24-16, but consecutive Eagle pins at 189 and 215 put Rosewood in the lead at 28-24.

Parker (Hwt) and Holt (103) won back to back by pin to put Rocky Mount back on top 36-28. The Gryphons gave up a forfeit at 112 to let the Eagles inch back within two at 36-34. At 119, Earl clinched the match with a pin. The Gryphs lost by decision in the final, 125-pound match for the final score and win.

The Gryphons upped their team record to 7-4 with the two wins at Rosewood.

New Bern 52 Rocky Mount 24
December 28, 2009
The young Gryphons welcomed the Bears and their lofty #2 team ranking into the Rocky Mount Auxiliary gym. Both teams may have been surprised at the start of this one.

After dropping the 125 match by decision and 130 match by pin to start off the night in a 0-9 hole, Phillips got things rolling for the Gryphons by winning the 135 match by pin. The Gryphs were only down 6-9.

The match took on another back and forth tussle from there, The Bears took 140 and 152 by pin and the 160 match by major decision. The Gryphons took the 145 match by pin and were only down 12-25.

Williamson won by pin at 171 and the Bears forfeited the 189 pound match to get Rocky Mount to 24-25 at just over the half-way point.

But that would be it for the Gryphon scoring, as they dropped the next three matches by pin and the final two matches on the night by way of forfeits.

Rocky Mount 69 Tarboro 12
December 29, 2009
The Gryphons faced off against the Vikings for the second time this season. The result was another easy Rocky Mount victory.

Damien Smith (152), Willliamson (171), Adam McRea (119), Nick Westcott (125) and Phillips each took six-point wins by pin. Holt took the match's only decision (7-2).

The Vikings gave the Gryphons five forfeit wins.

Conley 41 Rocky Mount 37
December 29, 2009
Another exciting back and forth battle for the young Gryphon team. Up by two points, 37-35, the disappointed Rocky Mount squad gave the Vikings a forfeit in the final match for a close defeat.

Williamson opened the scoring for the Gryphs, winning by decision. Jeffrey Henderson was next up, and won by major decision at 189 and a 7-0 RM lead.

The Vikings took the lead by winning at 215 and Hwt. by pin, but Holt put the Gryphs back on top, 13-12, with a pin of his own. Sidorayan Petway won by forfeit at 112 for the Gryphons.

Conley took the 119 and 130 by pin and 125 by tech-fall to make the score 29-19 in favor of the Vikings.

Phillips won by way of a 14-second pin at 135 to close the gap to 25-29. But the Gryphs lost by pin at 140 to go back down by ten, 25-35.

Conley gave the Gryphons forfeit wins at 145 and 152, but the Gryphs gave up the 160 pound match for the final score.

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Rocky Mount's record stands at 8-6 as they closed out the 2009 portion of the schedule. Coach Jermaine Jones and his squad will host the Big East Conference Duals on Saturday, Jan. 9. Wrestling will start at 10 in the morning. Each team will wrestle five matches on the day.