North Carolina Wrestling Scout Report

On Friday morning 672 high school wrestlers from all across the state will converge upon Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem. Last weekend there were four regional tournaments for each of the three different high school divisions where these wrestlers qualified for the North Carolina High School Individual State Wrestling Championships. To qualifiy the wrestlers had to place in the top four of their regional tournament. Now these state qualifiers will get a shot a winning a highly coveted individual state championship. For some it is a final chance to show a college coach they have what it takes to compete at the next level. For others, it will be their first trip to the "Big Show". Starting on Friday morning and ending Saturday night, the best high school wrestlers in the state will show case the skills they have developed through years of training and dedication. The event is set up where wrestlers in three different divisions will be vying for individual championships. There will be eight different mats used for the state tournament. Twenty-five Catawba County wrestlers will be competing in the state tournament this year. Five of these wrestlers have even been in the state tournament finals before.

Bandys senior Patrick McIntosh was a state champion last season in the 140lb weight class. This year McIntosh (56-5) will be attempting to win his second state championship, this time in the 145lb weight class. McIntosh was a state runner-up in 2005 and placed 4th in 2004. Another Bandys wrestler will also be trying to win his second state championship. Senior Colt Howell was a state champion at 140lbs in 2005. Last season Howell placed third at 145lbs. This year he will be in the 152lb weight class. He was a 140lb state qualifier his freshman season. Howell's current record is (59-2). Both McIntosh and Howell are currently ranked as the top wrestlers in their weight class in the 1A/2A division.

Newton-Conover's Eric Webster was a state qualifier in 2004 at 103lbs. In 2005 he placed third wrestling in the 112lb weight class Last season Webster was a runner-up at 119lbs. For his senior season he is still at 119lbs compiling a (51-2) record. Webster and Bandys' senior Ryan White (51-11) have been ranked #1 and #2 in the state rankings all season for the 1A/2A division with Webster owning a couple of wins over White. White did not qualify for the state tournament last season, but he placed 4th in the 103lb weight class in 2005. Last Saturday these two paired up again in the Midwest Regional semi-finals where White came away with a third period pin over Webster only to be pinned himself in the regional finals by West Stanley's Chase Calloway. Webster and White could match-up again in the state tournament semi-finals. Calloway is in the opposite half of the bracket. When the dust settles in the 119lb weight class on Saturday evening any of these three wrestlers could come away with the championship.

Bunker Hill had their first ever state champion last season in 103lb Kiel Sampson. Sampson did not start wrestling this year until late January. He has a 14-1 record. On Friday the senior will be going after his second state championship. Last season Sampson defeated North Surry's Justin Jones for the regional championship and one week later he defeated Jones again for the state championship. Last week Sampson won his second regional championship and guess who he had in the final? Sampson eaked out a 2-1 win over Jones in the regional and these two could very likely be wrestling again in the state finals on Saturday. Sampson and Jones are ranked #1 and #2 by NC Mat's Super - 32 state rankings for 1A/2A wrestlers.

St Stephens senior Jesus Vasquez was the 3A 103lbs state runner-up last season. This year Vasquez has moved up to 112lbs where he has compiled a (39-3) record. Vasquez is one of the favorites to come away with the state championship Saturday. He is currently ranked #3 by NC Mat's Super - 32 rankings and he won his second regional championship last Saturday. Vasquez placed 6th at 103lbs in 2006 and he was a state qualifier in 2005.

Catawba County's state tournament qualifing wrestlers:

Bandys (4) 1A/2A

119lbs Ryan White, Sr. (51-11), 130lbs Josh Armstrong, So. (35-25), 145lbs Patrick McIntosh, Sr. (56-5), 152lbs Colt Howell, Sr. (59-2)

Bunker Hill (3) 1A/2A

103lbs Kiel Sampson, Sr. (14-1), 112lbs Tee Lee, Jr. (51-14), 140lbs Brandon Cromartie, Sr. (52-15)

Newton-Conover (7) 1A/2A

119lbs Eric Webster, Sr. (51-2), 135lbs Joe Smith, Sr. (43-14), 145lbs Ethan Carter, So. (35-16), 171lbs Chucky Jacobs, Sr. (50-6), 189lbs Brian Mulligan, Sr. (54-5), 215lbs Andrew Reinhardt, Jr. (39-2), 285lbs Julian Cernuda, So. (32-13)

St Stephens (9) 3A

103lbs Kurt Stevens, Fr. (32-2), 112lbs Juses Vasquez, Sr. (39-3), 119lbs Cody Stevens, Fr. (33-7), 125lbs Travis Paap, Jr. (47-4), 130lbs Bradley Pendelton, Sr. (32-2), 135lbs Sam Monish, Jr. (33-8), 140lbs Cody Rink, Jr. (49-7), 145lbs Brandon Lackey, So. (31-18), 160lbs Justin Baumgarner, Jr. (37-8)

Fred T Foard (1) 3A

145lbs Ahren Weinrich, Jr. (28-10)

Hickory (1) 3A
125lbs Joey Alfonso, Jr. (39-4)

This year the state tournament has changed its format for the first round of competition. In the first round of competition the 1A/2A division wrestlers will compete first. They will be followed by the 3A division and the 4A division will start competing after the 3A wrestlers finish their first round.