CHARLOTTE — Richmond Senior High School junior wrestler Joseph Nicholson earned himself an early Christmas present last Saturday at the E.B. Memorial Clash at the Creek wrestling tournament at Mallard Creek High School.
The two-day event featured 24 teams from across the Carolinas, and while Richmond finished in 20th place overall with 49.5 points, Nicholson wrestled his way to a championship title in the 113-pound weight class.
Rock Hill High School (South Carolina) came out as the tournament’s victors with a final score of 176 points, followed by East Rowan High School (126.5 points) in second place and the host Mustangs earning third place (119 points).
“We had to battle illness, injury and the holiday (break),” Richmond head coach Earl Nicholson explained. “We competed with only nine wrestlers in the tournament, and four of those nine guys advanced to the second day of the tournament. Although some of our younger guys were forced into the lineup, I saw a lot of improvement.”
Joining Joseph Nicholson on day two of the event were juniors Austin Gallops (152-pound) and Steven Morales (132-pound) and freshman Ahmad Shelton (285-pound). Gallops was the second-highest finisher for Richmond, as he wrestled his way to a seventh-place finish in his weight class.
Gallops began with a bye in the first round, followed by a pinfall victory over Rock Hill’s Colton Wood in just 1:23. His run would come to an end in the quarterfinals, as he lost to Myers Park High School’s William Lowery in a 9-4 decision.
Morales would finish in eighth place in his respective bracket, pinning Ardrey Kell High School’s Ariya Habibi, before suffering a pinfall loss in 32 seconds to East Gaston High School’s John Bedard in the quarterfinals.
Shelton lost to East Mecklenburg High School’s Christopher Dickey, but managed to pick up a win against Myles Perry (Mountain Island Charter School) in the first round of the consolation bracket. Shelton finished the tournament in ninth place.
Coach Nicholson described his son’s run through the 113-pound weight class a “dominating performance,” as Joseph Nicholson went a perfect 4-0 at the Clash by the Creek to improve to 26-1 on the season. His four victories came via two pins, a technical fall and a major decision.
Joseph Nicholson opened the tournament with an 18-2 technical fall win over East Rowan’s Landon Jones in four minutes. Just two weeks prior, Nicholson had defeated Jones by technical fall in a regular season match in the Cat Fight Duals at Anson High School.
In the quarterfinal round, Nicholson made quick work of Purnell Swett High School’s Zane Kelly, who he pinned in just 47 seconds, his fastest victory over the weekend. Next was Providence High School’s Amin Bakhtiari, who proved a tough opponent in the semifinals. It took Nicholson all three rounds to muster the win, but he did so in 11-1 major decision fashion.
Nicholson completed his sweep to earn the 113-pound championship with a pinfall victory over East Mecklenburg’s Lal Nung. He pinned Nung to the mat halfway through the second round at the 3:26 mark. Prior to facing Nicholson, Nung had earned his three wins by a forfeit, a major decision and a pin.
Coach Nicholson noted that Joseph Nicholson “stepped his wrestling up another level” to bring home the hardware.
In the junior varsity bracket, Richmond’s Joshua Wallace took first place, while Jackie Bloomfield and Gerardo Godinez both took second place in their respective weight classes. Evan Ingram and Phillip Gillis also impressed with fourth-place finishes for the Raiders.
Richmond will return to the mat on Saturday, Dec. 29, when it travels to West Stanly High School for another regular season non-conference dual. Matches are expected to begin around 9 a.m.
