ROCKINGHAM — Senior wrestler Messiah Shaw has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week presented by HWY 55.
Opening the winter sports season last week, Shaw put forth two strong performances in a pair of matches at Union Pines High School. During Saturday’s Viking Invitational, Shaw wrestled his way to a second-place finish in his weight class.
Also one of the Raiders’ senior captains this season, Shaw earned his first career recognition.
Athletic Profile
Year: Senior
Winter Sport: Wrestling
Division: 170-pounds
Years on Varsity: 4 years
Other Sports: Football
“PINNING AND WINNING” WITH MESSIAH SHAW
Kicking off his final season on the mat for the Raiders, Shaw rebounded from a loss in a dual match against Union Pines last Tuesday with a 3-1 record at the Viking Invitational.
The only Raider wrestler to stay in the championship bracket the entire day, Shaw had one pinfall victory and added two other decisions. He collected 18 points, part of a 54.5-point performance by Richmond that landed the team in 10th place out of 20 teams.
Starting his day in the opening round against Marquaa Wolokolie of 71st High School, Shaw battled back and forth through the first two two-minute periods. Early in the third, he pinned Wolokolie for his first points and his first victory.
Moving onto the quarterfinals, Shaw met familiar conference foe Dustin Maness of Union Pines. The pair of Sandhills Athletic Conference wrestlers went all three periods with Shaw adding more points to Richmond’s total courtesy of a 10-6 decision over Maness.
The semifinal round pitted Shaw against Robert Tunoa-Scalan of South View High School. Again, Shaw’s endurance on the floor proved to be helpful, as the two also went all three periods. This time Shaw earned a 7-5 victory to advance to the championship bout.
His hopeful 170-pound tournament title ended with a pinfall loss to Jayden Dobeck of Pinecrest High School in the first period of the championship match.
Richmond’s wrestling team will return to action after the holiday break with another tournament at Pinecrest High School on Dec. 3.
RAPID RESPONSE VIDEO WITH MESSIAH SHAW
Shaw discusses his second-place finish at the Viking Invitational, the benefit of competing in big tournaments, his go-to wrestling moves and what he plans to do after high school.
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Athletes of the Week
next week.
