CAMERON — Most notably, K’Mauri Morgan has made his name recognizable the last several years for his smash-mouth style of play as an interior linebacker at Richmond Senior High School.
While his football career has earned him recognition in its own right, including two All-Conference selections and a spot in the coveted East-West All-Star Game last month, Morgan has somewhat quietly made an equally impressive splash in his wrestling career.
Taking to the mat his freshman year for the Raiders, Morgan has developed into the face of the wrestling program the last several years.
His size, speed, strength and wrestling IQ in the 215-pound division paid dividends this past week when he recorded his 100th career varsity victory.
In doing so, Morgan became the most recent Raider wrestler to eclipse the century mark since former state qualifier Joey Nicholson did it as a junior in January 2019.
“It’s been a long journey the last four years,” Morgan shared. “There have been a lot of ups and downs and hard work that has gone into reaching this point.
“It feels great to hit 100 wins and to know that hard work pays off. But I have to give all glory to God because without Him none of this would be possible. And I really believe this is only the beginning for me.”
Knowing he was nearing the personal milestone, Morgan entered a tri-meet at Union Pines High School with the plan to walk away with win No. 100.
During that event, Morgan secured that achievement with a 3-0 performance. He racked up a pair of pinfall wins and added a technical fall to lead the Raiders with 17 points on the day.
The monumental win was a first-round pin in Richmond’s match against Athens Drive High School. With four seconds left on the clock in the opening round of his match with Luke Rutheny, Morgan ended it by holding his opponent to the mat.
Just before the official raised Morgan’s hand as the victor, Morgan looked up toward his family in the stands and couldn’t contain his smile.
Leading up to his individual milestone, Morgan was the only Raider wrestler to compete in the Gate City Grapple at the Greensboro Coliseum, a two-day championship tournament featuring some of the top wrestlers in the state.
In the 215-pound weight class, Morgan worked himself into the championship round and ended the tournament with a 3-1 record and a second-place finish.
To start, Morgan pinned Jamarian Miles (Purnell Swett High School) early in the second period of the opening-round match. He followed that with an 18-1 technical fall victory about halfway through the second period of his quarterfinals match with Davonte Johnson (Newton-Conover High School).
Advancing to the semifinals, Morgan worked his way to a 13-9 decision win in his bout with Dewayne Davis of North Gaston High School, which sent him to the title round.
In the championship contest, Morgan faced Hayden Haynes of McDowell High School, the reigning NCHSAA 4A state champion. Lasting all three periods, Morgan was narrowly defeated 7-2.
“This was a tough tournament with a lot of state placers,” head coach Andre’ Ellerbe said. “K3 got a chance to wrestle some tough opponents and he got to see how close he is at capturing that state title. He came up short, but I am proud of him.”
With much of the regular season still remaining, Morgan hopes to use the momentum of his 100th career win and his performance at the Gate City Grapple tournament to help get him get ready for a run at a state championship of his own.
“Finishing second is not something that I wanted, of course, but it was a great experience,” Morgan said. “I managed to make it to the finals and now I know what I need to do for the rest of the season and I will be ready for states this year.
“I want to continue running and getting my body in shape,” he closed. “And I will keep wrestling hard and controlling the pace of my matches.”
Morgan, who has a 15-1 record this season, and the Raiders will return to action Wednesday for a Sandhills Athletic Conference match at Southern Lee High School, which will start at 5 p.m.
