ASHEBORO — Thanksgiving break was put on pause for the Richmond Senior High School wrestling team Saturday as it competed in the annual Cold Turkey Duals invitational.
Held at Asheboro High School, the Raiders would take fourth place out of 10 teams, compiling a 3-2 record in their five team matches. Through two duals this season, Richmond has a 7-3 overall record.
Richmond would pick up wins against Chatham Charter (78-3), North Forsyth (46-36) and Providence Grove (71-8) high schools. Its two losses would come at the hands of host Asheboro (72-11) and Southwestern Randolph (44-27).
Head coach Earl Nicholson said he “we wrestled really well considering we were competing without five starters.”
The Raiders were without sophomore Dante Baldwin (126-pound), junior Bryant Coll (138-pound), junior Cameron Russell (182-pound), freshman Dylan Locklear (195-pound) and heavyweight junior Noah Gomez.
Leading the way for the Raiders were Joey Nicholson (senior, 120-pound) and Andres Sanchez (sophomore, 113-pound), both of whom finished the day with 5-0 records.
Sanchez had two pins on the day, coming against Kalann Witherspoon (West Forsyth) and Ross Allred (Providence Grove). The sophomore also recorded two technical falls, defeating Asheboro’s Nick Chavez 18-1 and Southwestern Randolph’s Shayne Deaton 17-2.
Nicholson, who remained a perfect 10-0 on the season, also impressed with a pair of pins and one tech fall. The senior won by pinfall over Asheboro’s Abraham Mora and Southwestern Randolph’s Alex Medina, and his tech fall was over Providence Grove’s Marcos Rodriguez (15-0).
With his five wins, Nicholson pushed his program-leading wins total to 128 victories in his career.
Senior Austin Gallops (160-pound) would finish the tournament with three wins, including one decision and one major decision. Gallops earned a 9-0 major decision over Zaire Adkins (West Forsyth) and edged Southwestern Randolph’s Jacob Billings in a 7-4 decision.
Junior Joshua Wallace (132-pound) picked up four total wins and two pins on the day. He won by pinfall over Seth Lindley (Chatham Charter) and Nathan Rubesch (Providence Grove), before adding a 5-3 decision over Walker Teal (Southwestern Randolph).
Other Raiders to find the win column (not by forfeit) were Jaxon Martin, Carson Jordan, Ethan Owens, Naamon Perakis, Tyson Holloway, Hector Castro and Nathaniel Parker.
The Raiders will begin Sandhills Athletic Conference competition on Wednesday when it they face Hoke County and Pinecrest high schools at Scotland High School. Matches will get underway at 6 p.m.
