PEMBROKE — Four wrestlers for Richmond Senior High School began 2026 by reaching the podium Saturday in one of the team’s biggest invitationals of the season.
Traveling to Purnell Swett High School for the PJ Smith Memorial Invitational, the Raiders competed in a double-elimination tournament and were one of 25 teams competing for individual titles.
Leading the Raiders were a trio of veteran wrestlers, as well as one freshman. Together as a team, Richmond recorded a 20-16 record and finished sixth overall with 82.5 points.
Winning the 120-pound weight class championship with a perfect 4-0 record was sophomore Dylan Nunez.
Junior Hayden Smith (175-pounds) and senior Jordan Hamilton (215-pounds) each went 3-1 and placed second overall in their respective weight classes. Freshman Axel Nunez (126-pounds) was the fourth podium placer with a 3-2 record and a fourth-place finish.
Dylan Nunez won each of his four matches by a different result, starting with a bye in the opening round. Facing Luis Robles (Heide Trask High School) in the quarterfinals, Nunez collected his only pinfall victory, which came early in the second period.
Advancing to face Abdiel Rodriguez (Pine Forest) in the semifinals, Nunez punched his ticket to the championship with a 9-5 decision victory. That set him up against Connor Dean (Westover) in the title bout, who Nunez steamrolled en route to a 19-3 technical fall in the second period.
Smith also started the championship bracket with a first-round bye. He followed that with a pinfall over Matthew Paoni (Pine Forest) in the first period of the quarterfinals. Smith notched his second victory in the semis via an 18-2 tech fall over Rocky Giannetti (White Oak).
In the first-place match against Ladarius Page (Lumberton), Smith took second when he was pinned in the first period.
Hamilton, who entered the invitational with an undefeated record on the season, racked up three more wins before suffering his first loss. He began with a pair of second-period pins in the opening round and quarterfinals, resulting in holding Keith Ezzell (Pine Forest) and Malik Currie (Westover) to the mat.
Needing just a little bit of the second period in the semifinals match, Hamilton racked up the points against Landon Cline (Gray’s Creek), which ended in a 16-1 tech fall victory.
Facing North Stanly’s Nash Mullis, who is ranked as the No. 2 wrestler in the state in the 215-pound weight class, Hamilton nearly pulled off the upset. Going to overtime and then the tiebreaker, Hamilton lost 6-5.
Axel Nunez continued his strong start to his high school career and won three of his four matches by decision.
He opened with a 15-13 win over Kayden Bondurant (St. Pauls) and advanced past the quarterfinals with an 11-6 decision against Gene Martin (Seventy-First). After a pinfall loss in the semis, Nunez bounced back with 6-4 victory over Jamison Giannetti (White Oak).
Matching up with Christ Braxton (New Hanover) in the third-place match, Nunez was pinned just before the end of the first period.
Six other wrestlers competed for a shot at the podium for Richmond. They were freshman Jafourtae Bridges (138-pounds), junior Atticus Wise (144-pounds), sophomore NaSean McBride (150-pounds), sophomore Jacob Hall (165-pounds), junior Konner Gardner (175-pounds) and senior Esaias Brunson (285-pounds).
Gardner was the closest of the six to getting to the podium, finishing with a 3-2 record and exiting in the semifinal round of the consolation bracket. He had two byes and won the third round of the consolation bracket with a 9-6 decision over Aiden Throop (Seventy-First).
Wise, McBride, Hall and Brunson each went 1-2 and were eliminated in the second round of the consolation tournament. Earning a pinfall each were Wise and McBride, who defeated Niceas Stevens (Seventy-First) and Jha’monie Sealey (Terry Sanford), respectively, in the first period.
Both Hall and Brunson advanced thanks to a bye in the first round of the consolations. Bridges finished the day 0-2 and was eliminated after the first consolation round.
Geiger, Windley represent Lady Raiders well
As Richmond continues to try and grow its girls’ wrestling program, two constants have been junior Brooklyn Windley (185-pounds) and sophomore Gabbi Geiger (120-pounds).
Also wrestling in the PJ Smith Memorial Invitational, Windley and Geiger each secured multiple wins before being eliminated deep in the consolation bracket.
Windley went 3-2 on the day and made it as far as the consolation semifinals. All three of her wins were by pinfall over Abigale Sisler (West Brunswick), Precious Skilling (E.E. Smith) and Jalisa Pryce (Jacksonville).
Windley pinned Sisler and Pryce in the first period and held Skilling to the mat in the second round. Her bid for a chance at the consolation title ended with a pinfall loss.
Geiger recorded a 2-2 record and was one round behind Windley, going out in the third round of the consolations via a 7-0 decision loss.
She pinned Madelyn Jacobs (Purnell Swett) in the first period of her opening match, and later advanced on a bye.
Richmond (10-15) will begin Mid-South Conference action Wednesday at Jack Britt High School. Matches will start at 5 p.m.
