WADESBORO — The Richmond Senior High School wrestling team opened the new slate with a pair of wins on Tuesday.
Competing in a tri-match against non-conference host Anson High School and Sandhills Athletic Conference foe Scotland High School, the Raiders helped head coach Richard Kerekes and assistant head coach Andre’ Ellerbe earn their first career wins.
The Raiders toughed out a conference win against the Fighting Scots 42-36, and cruised past the Bearcats 54-12.
“There were a lot of forfeits in each matchup, but those who did wrestle, got the job done,” Kerekes said. “I’m very proud of their performances and their sportsmanship. I’ve never coached a better group of characters, and with every practice I get more excited about this season.”
Against Scotland, Richmond used four forfeit wins to earn 24 points. Collecting those wins were Andres Sanchez (106-pound), Jaxson Martin (126-pound), Messiah Shaw (152-pound) and Henry Jimenez (160-pound).
The Raiders also tacked on three wins by pinfall for an additional 18 points. Senior Kaden Walker pinned Darion Harris in the 170-pound matchup, while fellow senior Michael DeMay (145-pound) defeated Jason Blackenship.
Louis Fernandez added the third pinfall victory, holding Keldon Clark on the mat in the 138-pound match.
Kerekes said that DeMay, Fernandez and Walker were “confident and aggressive” in their wins. He added that Aiden Roundtree (113-pound), Eric Greene (182-pound) and Daniel Griggs (220-pound) “all put up great fights, but came up short.”
Richmond’s win against Anson was aided by six more forfeit victories, adding a quick 36 points to the board. Roundtree, Naamon Perakis (138-pound), DeMay, Shaw, Jimenez and Walker all walked off with a win without having to wrestle.
The Raiders won four of the five remaining matches, starting with Sanchez in the 120-pound weight class and a pinfall win over Jason Zell.
In what Kerekes described as an intense 132-pound match, Martin nearly defeated Omarion McCune by pinfall, but instead was awarded the win following McCune being disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Martin bumped up a weight class to wrestle McCune.
Shaw (152-pound) and Griggs (220-pound) both defeated their respective opponents to close the match (names of opponents not available at the time of publication).
“Andres, Kaden and Michael also looked amazing,” Kerekes said. “They didn’t break a sweat and used a great arsenal of moves out on the mat. They all have great work ethic and I can’t wait to see how well they do this season.
“The only disappointment I have is not being able to watch Naamon get to wrestle,” he closed. “He has been there every practice and is one of my captains. I look forward to watching him wrestle this Friday.”
Kerekes also tipped his cap to team managers Darice Martin and Amirah Shelton, who helped organize the team's uniforms, kept score and ran the clocks.
The Raiders (2-0, 1-0 SAC) will return to the mat Friday for a non-conference tri-match. Richmond will travel to host Asheboro High School and also wrestle Chatham Central High School.
