North Carolina Scout Report

Former Bandys and current UNC Greensboro wrestler Daren Burns captured third place honors  at the Cliff King Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This tournament is considered one of the top regular season collegiate wrestling tournament in the nation.  It features 48 college teams from throughout the country and many of the country's top collegiate wrestlers.  The two-day tournament was held November 30th and December 1st at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

Anthony Clinton wins the 189lb title

On Saturday October 20^th, Anthony Clinton did something that no other North Carolina wrestler could do. He won a “Championship Belt” at the Super 32 Challenge wrestling tournament in Greensboro, NC.  

Clinton is no stranger at winning big matches; after all, he is a two-time state champion. This past Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum, he added to his credentials, as being one of the top college prospects in North Carolina, by beating a couple of All-Americans and national ranked wrestlers.

When you hear the names Eric Cubberly, David Taylor, and Scott Winston, several thoughts go through any hard-core high school wrestling fan’s mind. With Taylor and Winston, perhaps the thought is: recently crowned Fargo National Champions. Another thought might be that all three are returning state champions and top college recruits for this upcoming year.  What many people may not know is that all three were last year’s Super32 Challenge Champions, and they won this tournament as underclassmen!   

As the opening registration date approaches, one wonders who will enter in this year’s Super32 Challenge. Will the above mentioned wrestlers return to defend their belts? What new top talent will show for this year’s tournament? Looking over the list of past participants, it is apparent that the Super32 has built itself into the premier pre-season tournament in the country.

On July 19th, North Carolina's National team traveled to Fargo, North Dakota to the Cadet and Junior National Championships.  The tournament is the pinnacle of high school wrestling.  Imagine yourself, as a high school wrestler, competing with another state's top wrestler, and when the match is over you shake the hand of your opponent's coach.  This is something every wrestler does many times in his career.  At Fargo though, this coach might be an Olympic Champion like Kenny Monday (Team Texas) or Jeff Blantnick (Team New York).  They could be a former NCAA National Champion like Daryl Weber (Team Virginia) or one of the many college coaches on staff for several of the state teams.

The event is held in the Fargo Dome at North Dakota State University.  This is the school's indoor football stadium.  In the Fargo Dome, there are twenty-five wrestling mats on the floor.  The mat in the center is raised four feet off the ground, and it is used for the championship match during the All-American placing round of competition.