Six Lumberton wrestlers placed at the Sgt. Mark Adams Invitational in Cary, which concluded Friday. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Travelian Hall and Alexander Moody; in the second row, from left, are Jalen Terry-Winston, James Ellison, Matthew Foil and Jackson Buck, who was named the event’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Contributed photo | James Bell
CARY — Two Lumberton wrestlers won individual titles, four more Pirates placed and the team took fifth place at the Sgt. Mark Adams Invitational in Cary, contested Thursday and Friday.
Jackson Buck won the title at 190 pounds, and was named the event’s Most Outstanding Wrestler; teammate James Ellison won the 175-pound title.
Buck (27-0 this season) pinned all four wrestlers he faced in the tournament, with three of them coming in the first round. He beat Athens Drive’s Zaid Marjan in one minute, 28 seconds, handing Marjan his first loss of the season.
Ellison (29-0) pinned his first three opponents, including two first-round pins, before defeating First Flight’s Kai Reece by a 5-3 decision in the championship match.
Alexander Moody (23-4) narrowly missed joining Buck and Ellison at the top of the podium, falling by 4-3 decision to Cary’s Samuel Beltowski in the 106-pound championship match. Moodywon his first two matches by pin and won his semifinal match by a 7-5 decision.
Matthew Foil (26-4) finished third at 157, coming back from a semifinal loss to win his consolation semifinal by 16-3 major decision and his third-place match by pin. He also had two pins earlier in the tournament.
Jalen Terry-Winston (18-1) finished third at 285; he was dealt his first loss of the season in the semifinal by Clayton’s Deondre Johnson, who pinned him; he won by 4-1 decision in this consolation semifinal match and pinned his third-place match opponent.
Travelian Hall (26-5) was fourth at 113, dropping his semifinal match by technical fall and losing in the third-place match; his tournament wins came with two pins and a 12-0 major decision.
Trenyce Campbell-Bethea (126 pounds), Bryce Ivey (165) and Avery McNeill (215) also competed in the event but did not place for the Pirates.
New Bern took first in the team standings with 214.5 points, with Laney second at 198, St. Stephens third with 172 and Hoke County narrowly beating the Pirates for fourth, with 164 points to Lumberton’s 163.
Rams’ Connor third at Elizabeth Barry Memorial
Purnell Swett wrestler Devon Connor placed third in the 132-pound classification at the Elizabeth Barry Memorial at Mallard Creek Friday.
Connor reached the semifinals by winning two matches with pins and one by a 7-3 decision. He lost the semifinal to Trinity’s Levi Dennis by an 8-5 decision, then won his consolation semifinal by an 18-5 major decision and the third-place match by a 12-5 decision.
He was the only Rams varsity wrestler to compete in the event.
Lumberton and Purnell Swett are both scheduled to compete in the Gate City Grapple in Greensboro beginning on Thursday.
