UCA, Trinity capture state titles again

TRINITY — A season of pleasant surprises became even more pleasant Tuesday night as the Trinity High School wrestling team captured the NCHSAA state dual meet championship for the second time in the past three years.

While the team that won the 2024 2-A title was an experienced group, this year’s squad continued to exceed expectations all season long as the Bulldogs finished the 3-A dual meet campaign 34-0. 

On Tuesday night at Wheatmore High School, the Bulldogs rolled through Ayden-Grifton (71-6) in the East Regional semifinals, Wheatmore (56-21) for the regional championship and West Lincoln (42-33) for the state crown.

The state championship final was not nearly as close as the score indicates as THS forfeited the final four weight classes after clinching the title.

The dual meet championship came just a few days after THS won the team title at the 3-A East Regional and placed 12 wrestlers to the state meet this weekend at the Greensboro Coliseum.

All this in what veteran coach Brandon Coggins said he thought would be a rebuilding year.

“We are young,” he said of a lineup that includes just four seniors. “Our coaches were talking and we thought we’d be talking about what we need to do to be competitive, not win a state championship. This whole season has been a pleasant surprise.”

The four seniors in the starting lineup — Edgar Vasquez (126), Addam Bernal (157), Harris Idrees (165) and Joseph Trahan (285) —  all earned berths in the state meet with Idrees and Trahan earning regional championships.

“I believe in peaking at the right time and the last few weeks, we have been wrestling tough,” Coggins said. 

Because of a two-week hiatus due to weather issues, there was plenty of wrestling packed into a short time span. The dual meet state championships are usually held at the Novant Health Fieldhouse at the Greensboro Coliseum complex, but centrally-located schools for each of the eight classifications hosted three rounds of action Tuesday night.

“There were two big concerns for me,” Coggins said of going two weeks without practice or matches. “One was making sure the kids were on weight. With no practice, some are stagnant. And the way regionals is laid out, kids were getting put out and that’s normally the end of the season. We still had dual meets after the regionals and they could have easily said we’re not going to the state tournament so we’re done.”

The Bulldogs have a number of underclassmen dotted throughout their lineup, including Hezekyah Matson at 138, Simeon Hammett at 144, Spencer Moore at 150, Anees Kahn at 175 and Grayson Carroll at 190. All qualified for the state meet.

The Bulldogs are readying for the state tournament this weekend.

“We talked today about staying focused and not letting your surroundings impact you,” Coggins said. “Being in the semis (against host Wheatmore) was loud and electric. There was a lot going on.”

Wheatmore defeated county foe Eastern Randolph 42-36 in the regional semifinals before the Warriors fell to Trinity for the regional title.

Eagles capture fourth straight dual championship

For the seniors on the Uwharrie Charter Academy wrestling team, expectations for the dual meet tournament have always been high. That remained the case this year, even though the Eagles, who captured three straight 1-A dual meet titles from 2023-25, moved to the 4-A division in the NCHSAA’s new eight-classification realignment.

But, as UCA coach Hayden Waddell said after his team won the team portion of the 4-A East Regional championship, placing 11 wrestlers into this weekend’s state championship meet, “New division, same results.”

The Eagles captured three dual meet wins Tuesday night at home, dusting off North Pitt (75-6) and Central Davidson (51-22) before capturing their fourth straight dual meet state title with a 44-28 win over Pisgah.

UCA, which finished 38-0 this season, has won five dual meet state championships in all.