Announcements 2003

State Dual News A request was made on Saturday by the NCHSAA for St. Stephens to host the First Round (which includes the second round match) this Tuesday. Approval has been granted from the St. Stephens Administration and only the formal reply on Monday is left to be completed. Since the request was made by a representative of the NCHSAA, it is almost certain that this will be a completed arrangement. The Dual Meet will be this Tuesday. Weigh in will begin at 4:00 PM and the matches will start at 5:30 PM. St. Stephens will wrestle Enka who finished 3rd in the Mountain Athletic Conference. East Gaston, 1st in the Big South Conference will wrestle Asheville, 2nd in the Mountain Athletic Conference. The winners of these two matches will wrestle to go to the 3rd Round on Thursday. http://www.ncmat.com/02-03/3adual.html Southwestern Foothills Conference Tournament News The Tribe finished off the regular season in style Saturday at Kings Mountain. After completing their 4th straight undefeated dual team conference season, they won their third straight conference tournament. The finals appeared to be the Tribe against the best of the Southwestern Foothills. The Tribe had 12 out of 14 in the Championship Finals and one in the Consolation Finals. First Place finishers for the Tribe were TJ Yoder 121, Drew Forshey 127, Nathan Sefcik 142, Travis Krogman 162, Ben Godfrey191. Second Place finishes: Cody Whitener 103, Derek Crump 132, Jonathan Troutman 137, Brian Wales 154, Brandon Sisk 173, Justin Isaacs 21, Stuart Colwell 277. Finishing Fouth for the Indians was Kevin Indenbaum 114. The resulting team scores were: St. Stephens 323, Hickory 153, R-S Central 139.5, Crest 138.5, Kings Mountain 131, Fred T. Foard 123.5, Burns 88. What is so ironic is that, with the exception of St. Stephens, the order of finish in this individual tournament was almost a total reversal of the conference dual team final standings. http://catawbarasslinln.home.abts.net/confstand.htm

Congratulations to Hickory for their best conference tournament performance in over ten years.

On a few rare occassions I stick my two cents in on this page and this morning is going to be one of them.

In any competition, the last thing a senior wants is to lose in front of the home crowd on Senior Night. RS Central weighed in a wrestler last night at 191, but he was sick and was only weighing in to meet the state criteria for weigh ins. This would mean that our Ben Godfrey would receive a forfeit on Senior Night and be assured of a higher percentage record going into the Regional Seed Meeting.

Instead Ben wanted to wrestle and to do so he would have to bump up to 217 and face the 3rd Ranked 217 in the 3A Division Reid Crummie. Ben took a chance to wrestle for the home crowd, a chance on losing his undefeated conference record, and to have at least a memory of competing on Senior Night. Ben lost the match, but gained more as a person. The applause and verbal support from the crowd, his teammates, and the coaching staff demonstrated their appreciation for his effort and for laying it out on the line for the Tribe.

Ben, a Team Captain, demonstated what it means to wrestle for the Tribe. All Heart with a Dedication to Challenge. After all, if you read the Home Page of this website, this website is "For those that had the Courage to Challenge" .

Thanks Ben, it is wrestlers like you that motivated the creation of this website and give it energy to continue. Best of Luck to the Tribe at the Conference Tournament this weekend. 31-0 and 5 to GO.

St. Stephens defeated RS Central 50-16 St. Stephens finishes with an undefeated conference record of 6-0 and the Southwestern Foothills Dual Team Champion. This is the fourth straight undefeated conference championship. The first two were in the Western Foothills Conference and the last two were in the Southwestern Foothills Conference.

St. Stephens overall dual record is 31-0. The overall average winning margin for the Tribe has been 32 points. The average margin of victory over conference competition has been 40 points. This group of Seniors has had a 112 - 24 record over their four years of competition.

The conference tournament will be held this Saturday at Kings Mountain. The seed meeting will be held on Friday night at 7:00 pm in Kings Mountain. We will post the brackets late Friday night, if we can stay awake.

A good crowd of followers support the Tribe at Foard as our grappers won a commanding 50-13 win over the Tigers. This win clinches this year's Southwestern Foothills Conference Wrestling Title for the Tribe. The closest contenders are Kings Mountain and Burns. Both have aready been defeated by the Tribe.

Senior Night is Tonight 1-29-03
Tonight's schedule of events starting at 5:00 PM:

Due to the Snow, will go to Fred T. Foard as scheduled on Tuesday night. This will be a great match up for spectators.

I am reluctant to say to much at this time. The weather has really messed up the schedule. The Conference Tournament is scheduled for this coming weekend at Kings Mountain.

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE, (Yes!! THE OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE Mate), has teamed up with SAINT WRESTLING for a fund raising event at the Regional. OUTBACK will funish top quality steak or chicken plates, the cooking, and assistants in serving lunch 11:00 to 12:30 on the Saturday of the Regional Tournament. They provide the food, the wrestling team gets the money. Details and menu will be posted on the 3A Regional Info page by this coming TUESDAY. Even if you don't want to watch the wrestling, the food will be excellent and at a great price at the Regional Tournament. Come by the school and buy a plate.

The Tribe will face off against RS Central in a conference match in the last home regular season match.

You are invited to attend and honor this group of Seniors
that have fought for a 110-24 record in their four years at St. Stephens.

The 51-16 win over Burns on Tuesday night places the Tribe in front of the pack of the Southwestern Foothills Conference. The Burns team fought for every match and demonstrated that they were not intimidated by the Tribe. They also displayed great sportsmanship toward our school by recognizing the 200th win by Drew Forshey in the 125 pound match. There are several coaches and wrestlers that would have dodged or forfeited to Drew under these circumstances. Displaying a heartful of class and school pride, Chris Parks when out to face Drew and valiantly wrestled by his school. We commend the Burns Wrestlers and Coaches for their gesture of true competition.

The winner of this match will take a commanding lead in the Southwestern Foothills Conference. Both teams are tied at 3-0 in the conference standings. The Burns team will be pump for this rematch. It will be on their mat and they will be seeking revenge for the early season lost to the Tribe. The Tribe intends on keeping its undefeated record in tact and want repeat as conference champions for the 4th straight year. A conference win here, coupled with a possible 200th individual win by Forshey will make this a Special Night.

The Tribe will be wreslting Burns at 6:30 pm at Burns High School. This will be an historical milestone in Drew Forshey's wrestling career and in the history of St. Stephens Wrestling. Forshey will be wrestling for his 200th career win. His current scholastic record is 199-2. Drew started with Catawba Rasslin in the third grade and spent 10 years of dedication to this sport to reach this level of wins. There are only two other retired wrestlers in the history of North Carolina High School Wrestling to every reach this level. It will be a special night for Drew, his family, and those of us who have watched his career. Here's to you Drew. Lots of Luck and Best Wishes.

With a good home crowd on hand, (Sorry if you were home watching the 2000th rerun of Law & Order), the Tribe made a steady climb up Kings Mountain to clinch a 55-10 victory and a 3-0 conference record.

Nathan Sefcik reached his 140 career win with a 14-1 win over Chris Patrick. Ben Godfrey won his 50th career victory over #12th ranked Johnny Gilliard at 189. TJ Yoder won over #16th ranked Bradley Camp after an injury forced Camp to default the match. Yoder was ahead 7-1 when the injury occurred. (Best Wishes to Bradley. He a great young man and helps me with information for this web site.) Cody Whitener reached his 30th career win with a pin over Ryan Bolin.

Now in the middle of the conference schedule, the Tribe has accomplished a average match score of 58-14 with a 44 point spread. They will be tested in conference again next Tuesday at Burns. Burns is now 3-0 in the conference and has a chance to upset the Tribe. Burns will be going to Crest this Friday and may walk out with the conference lead of 4-0. They can't take Crest lightly as the Chargers have strong wrestlers that are ready to spring an upset on somebody.

The Tribe has a conference bye on Friday, but will be traveling to West Lincoln to wrestle Cherryville and Shelby.

Conference Title At Stake Tuesday Night 6:30 Against Kings Mountain
Tribe Wrestling Program on Local WHKY-TV

It is an absolute must win situation for the Tribe Tuesday night as the Mountaineer of Kings Mountain try to take over control of our mat. Tied at 2-0 in confernce action, a loss would most certainly strip any hope of a conference championship. We need the whole school out to support or wrestler Tuesday night.

The interview with Coach Baker will air tomorrow night at 5:30 and 10 p.m. as part of sports (WHKY-TV 14, Charter Cable channel 7.) It will be a little over 3 minutes long. Our high school intern (ironically, a St. Stephens student) was our reporter. It was her first interview, and I'm impressed with how she did.

Questions asked included: how the program began to be the traditional power house it is now; Forshey's accomplishment of 200 wins this season; those involved that help the team maintain it status; how important it is to St. Stephens to host the 3A regionals; and others. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to spread the word.

Thanks for you consistent updates. I appreciate it, and I hope that I have been able to help spread the word about St. Stephens wrestling.

Jason Savage WHKY-AM and TV Sports Director
828.322.5115, ext. 110 (voice)
828.322.8256 (fax)
jsavage@whky.com

It was a dominating match with Crest on Friday night as the Tribe defeated the Chargers 63-12. The Tribe goes 26-0 overall and 2-0 in conference. This is the longest winning dual team streak in the history of SSHS Wrestling.

The individual that stepped up for the Tribe tonight was Stuart Colwell at heavyweight. Taking over the heavyweight position after an injury to Richard Williams, Colwell was in his third varsity match of the year. Stuart spend the most of the match defending off the attaches of Charger Scott Smith. Smith, slightly larger than Stuart in this heavy weight matchup, controlled the match. Lossing 1-7 and on his back in a pinning combination, it looked as though Stuart was about to lose his second varsity match of the year. With less than 40 seconds left in the match, Stuart worked off his back and powered a reversal on Smith and placed him on his back. The reversal and the eventual nearfall points would not save the match for Stuart or the Tribe. He had to pin to win. With 29 seconds left in the match, Stuart achieved the pin. Congratulation to Stuart Colwell for his win and his determination.

In this match with Crest, Derek Crump reached 80 career wins and Justing Isaacs reach 30. In our next match with Kings Mountain, which is at home Tuesday night, 6:30 PM, Ben Godfrey will be going for win 50, Nathan Sefcik for win 140, Cody Whitener for win 25, and TJ Yoder for win 30.

Drew Forshey will be going for career win 199 on Tuesday night. According to NCMat.com, Drew in third place as the all time career wins leader in the state of North Carolina. He may reach the 200 career level this Friday week 1-17-03 at West Lincoln High School. If you are a fan of St. Stephens wrestling, I urge you to attend this historical event in St. Stephens Wrestling History.

The Tuedsay night match with Kings Mountain will be a crucial match for the Tribe. Currently the Tribe is tied with Kings Mountain and Burns for the Conference lead at 2-0. A loss would dash any hopes of the Tribe obtaining it's Fourth Straight Conference Championship. Please be there to support your Students and fellow Classmates.

The Tribe opened the 2003 Conference Season with a 56-21 victory over the Tornadoes of Hickory High. Including the two other victories against East Lincoln 72-9 and South Caldwell 69-12, the Tribe has accomplished a 25-0 dual team record, the longest winning streak that is on record over the past 10 years.. Now 1-0 in the conference they are tied with Burns who defeated RS Central on Tuesday night.

Some milestones in the career of our wrestler's have been reached or on the verge of being met at our next match.
Senior Brandon Sisk won his 125 victory for the Tribe in the South Caldwell Match. Sophomore Jonathan Troutman had his 80 win against East Lincoln and finished the night with 81 career wins. In

Crest is the next opponent this Friday night. Derek Crump will be going for his 80th career victory for the Tribe. Brian Wales and Justin Isaacs will be going for win 30.

Never in the last 10 years has the Tribe gone this deep into the season without a few losses. On Saturday, 1-4-03, the Tribe completed an improbable pre-conference run of 22-0 wins. They have won four dual tournament championship titles this season. Indian Duals, Viking Duals, West Lincoln Duals, and the East Burke Duals.

The last five dual matches were won at the East Burke Duals. SSHS won the championship match over East Burke in a thrilling 34-27 match. Trailing East Burke 25-27 with only two weight classes to complete, TJ Yoder fought out of a pinning combination in the 119# match that would have sealed the championship for the Cavaliers. TJ was leading 4-1 when a scramble with James Cook ended out of bounds and with a injured thumb to TJ. Cook caught TJ in the third period and threw him to his back. The East Burke gym was screaming for the pin that would push East Burke out to an insurrmountable 8 point lead and the championship. After what seemed as hours, TJ work his body into a position to counter the pinning situation. He managed a reversal and placed Cook on his back for a 3 point near fall to finish the match. Battled to exhaustion, TJ was surrounded and held up by his team mates as he left the mat. It was a thrilling come back that will be remembered by all that was present for years to come. This story will be retold when these boys are in nursing homes.

TJ's last second win gave the Tribe new life with a lead of 28-27. The final match to win the championship was with Drew Forshey in the 125# match. End of Story. Forshey pins in 17 seconds to finish the match at 34-27.

On Tuesday 1-7-03, Hickory will come to our mat for a conference opening match and face a 22-0 Tribe Wrestling team. We will also wrestle Shelby and Cherryville that night. Start time is 5:00 PM.

In one of the toughest nationally ranked tournaments in the nation, the MEN in RED made an outstanding showing. There were wrestlers from NJ, PA, GA, SC, LA, VA, and NC. You just don't get any breaks (unless it's a bone) in this type of tournament. Some have considered it more difficult than the State Tournament due to the top level entries from numerous states.

Drew Forshey was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2002 Tiger Holiday Classic. He was the champion of the 125 pound weight class. His braket included 4 state champions, 2 state runner-up, one state 4th place finisher, and 4 regional placers.

It was a nail biter in the Finals at the Rebel this year for the Indians. With walk away matches against Starmount 74-6 and then Chase 63-10, the Tribe had it's toughtest dual match of the season against those Rebels. Hard to the Bone, these Rebels would not give an inch in the finals. After starting the match at the 103 division, the score was 14-14 halfway though the lineup after the 140 division. Starting with 145, the match see sawed back and forth. Nathan Sefcik put the Tribe back in the lead by 5 points with a masterful tech fall over his Rebel opponent. The Rebel's Dusty Hester brought the Rebels closer with decision over Wesley Harmon at 152. With only a 2 point lead and only five weights to go, the Tribe had not been pushed like this so late into the match.

The Tribe had to make it's move now. Freshman Travis Krogman and Seniors Brandon Sisk and Ben Godfrey sealed the victory with three straight pins to move the Tribe out to a safe distance with 37-17 lead. The two upper weights for West Lincoln did all they could do for the Rebels by pinning their matches, but the Rebels fell short 37-29.

On Friday of this week the Tribe traveled to RJ Reynolds in Winston-Salem. It was another win for the Tribe with a 47-18 final score. The matchup of the night was that of Drew Froshey against the #3 ranked 4A 125 pounder, Brian Smith. It was tough early for Drew. Down 0-3 in the 2nd period, Forshey hit a 8 point scoring streak that sealed the win witha 8-4 decision. Another standout performance of the night was when Stuart Colwell stepped in for the heavy weight match and won a major decision over his opponent.

Web site back on line. Most of the features are working. If you see something that is not working email Roy Hoffman at catawbarasslin@abts.net .

The Tribe is 12-0 with last week's win over East Burke. The Tribe faces their next opponent Friday night at RJ Reynolds in Winston-Salem. Go to Maps to get the driving directions from Hickory. The JVs will attack first at 4:00 PM and the Varsity Match will be at 6:00 PM.

On Saturday, the saga continues on at the West Lincoln Duals. This is an annual visit to our friends and meanest competitors, year end and year out. Coach Ross always has the Rebels fired up for this tounament. Coach Ross has been coachin' those Rebels long before Table Rock got flat on top. It'll be great to compete against those Rebels and to see what "Lesson Learned" will be this year at the Rebel Duals. You know the food will be good in the Hospitality Room cause that Biscuit can run a good tournament. Wrestling starts around 9:00 AM.

The Tribe made a overpowering showing against the Greyhounds of Stateville with a 66-9 win Tuesday night. Adam Hosterman finished strong in the 140 pound match against #12 ranked Chad Messick with a major decision 8-0 win. Pinning for the Tribe were Cody Whitner, Michael Syta, TJ Yoder ( now 11-0 ), Drew Froshey, Brian Wales, Ben Godfrey, Justin Issaacs, and in his first every varsity match Kyle Goodson pins his first opponent at heavy weight. Jonathan Troutman won by tech fall.

Seeking revenge from a 0.5 lost to East Burke in last year's Classic, the Tribe made a remarkable come back in the championship finals to clinch the 2002 Indian Classic. After falling to 3rd place after the consolation finals and with 5 wrestlers left in the battle, the Tribe pulled off a must win 5 match sweep to win over East Burke by 3.5 points.

TJ Yoder kept his unbeaten streak alive with a 12-9 win over James Cook of East Burke. TJ is know 10-0 in his senior year and an Indian Classic 119 Champion. This is a wonderful come back by TJ who battled for the Tribe a few years ago at 103.

Drew Froshey pinned all his opponents on his way to his 4th Indian Classic Championship. Drew's pin of West Lincolns Zeb Elmore was only one of the three pins in the final round. Drew was voted by all the tournament coaches as the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.

Jonathan Troutman decisioned Patrick Shannon of Chapel Hill 6-5 to make the run of Indian finals win to three and drawing every closer to the win. (Thanks Jonathan from a Wolfpacker).

Brandon Sisk faced off with Shelton Brown of East Burke in the 171 pound division. Brandons match was exciting up to the finish as he held off Brown's final attack to win a 15-14 decision. Brandons win put the Tribe ahead by a slim 3.5 lead over East Burke.

Ben Goodfrey was the last wrestler in the finals for the Tribe and it's last hope of pulling away from the Cavilers. East Burke still had 3 wrestlers to compete in the finals. A loss here would shut the door on any chances of winning for the Tribe. Ben had to face off with Mike Walden of East Burke. Walden had advanced to the final with a pin. The match put the crowd and the team through a fast track roller coaster. Walden scored the takedown on Ben. Ben countered attacked from bottom, his favorite position, scored a reversal and then scored a pin in 1:28 of the first period. This put the Tribe ahead by 7.5 points. We were out of competitors and could not have asked for any more from the guys in red.

East Burke still had two more weight classes to compete in and we needed a break. East Burke had to lose one of the two remaining matches. Enter Kenny Brock of Newton Conover. He defeats Kyle Elliott 9-3. The victory for the Tribe was sealed for the 31st Annual Indian Classic.

Others Placers for the Tribe were Brian Good @ 130 finishing 3rd, Nathan Sefcik @ 145 finishing 4th, Brian Wales @ 152 placing 3rd, and Justin Isaacs @ 275 finishing 4th.

It was a great win. If you were not there, you missed a piece of Tribe Wrestling history that will be told for years.

St. Stephens JV Wrestlers Placed Third at Mt. Tabor Junior Varsity Tournament.

Only competing in eight of the fourteen weight classes, they finished with 127 points. Morehead took second with 154 points and West Stokes finished first with 157 points. Brett Vondrehle won the 125 class. Mike Radiochenko placed first and Steve Pritchard placed 3rd at 145. The young Tribe wrestlers swept the 152 pound class with three top finishers. Roger Troxell took first, Charlie Powell took second, and Dylan Godfrey placed third. Shane Broyhill had his competition of the year with a fourth place finish in the 160 pound class. Travis Krogman place first in the 171 pound class and Jonathan Moretz placed second in the 215 pound class.
The future looks great with these young wrestlers wait their turn on deck for the Tribe.

The Tribe won its second straight dual team tournament on Wednesday 11-27. The championship match was an exciting show down with Davie County. The Tribe was victorious with a hotly contested 34-31 win. Brackets can be seen at the Indian Duals page. Individual resluts will be posted later.


New Bleachers Made Possible by the SSHS Boosters Club

Mat Signs Donated by Rudy & Donna Wright - American Sign

The wrestlers of St. Stephens appeared in their first competition of the year at the Viking Duals at North Wilkes. It was a impressive 5-0 showing for the revamped Tribe as they claimed the tournament championship. The two most impressive wins for the Tribe were over 4A powers Durham Riverside and Jack Britt.

The Tribe opened the tournament competition with a 67-12 win over Laney and then faced the NCMat #2 ranked 4A Durham Riverside which won the 4A dual team state championship last year. It was the most contested match of the day for the Tribe as they pulled off a 42-29 victory.

The Tribe defeated the host team North Wilkes by a score of 72-12 and then took on the NCMat #5 ranked 4A team of Jack Britt. Britt took and early lead, but the Tribe controlled the mat to a 50-26 victory. The last match was forfeit by Hopewell. The Tribe won the competition with an average 58-20 scoring advantage against its opponents and opens its 2002-2003 season with a 5-0 record.

A few points of interest in the tournament for the Tribe and it's wrestlers. On a individual basis, the Tribe out score its competition 315 to 79 points. We matted 27 pins and only gave up 9 pins.

Brandon Sisk had a milestone day as he surpassed the 100 win barrier for the Tribe he now has 102 wins in his career. This places him in the 9th position of career wins for St. Stephens surpassing Doyle Spencer mark in 1990. Brandon also had the quickest pin for the Tribe with a 26 second pin over his opponent from Riverside. Freshman Kyle Stephens at 103 had the second quickest pin in 28 seconds over his opponent from Laney.

Freshman Travis Krogman started is career off right with 5 victories in the 171 lb class. He also had two pins in the tournament.

T.J. Yoder returned this year to grapple for the Tribe and went 3-0 picking up 2 pins in the battle. It was great to see TJ back with the Tribe and doing so well.

Tribe Wrestling Welcomes the Arndt Faculty
You are invited to join the ride to another exciting year.

It's a GIRL
Congratulations to the Baker Family on the 11-29-02 addition of
Wt. Class 6 Lb 13 Oz, Rylee Elizabeth Baker,Taller than Daddy at 20-1/2"




First Glamour Shot	"And a New Set of Head Gear with each New Baby"	" Oh My God! I wound up in Lincolnton! This was NOT in the brochure. What do you mean "There's no bus back?"

The Big Chief wants to welcome you to another year of exciting St. Stephens' Wrestling. This year again has the potential for another winning season. We had heavy losses this past graduation from our second straight 3A Dual Team Finalist Team, but the Tribe Spirit is running high with the upcoming Senior Class. This group has been in the battle during the last three straight conference championships.


2001 3A State Runner Up Picture Mounted in the Gym Concession Area September 2002 Framing of Picture by Joey Franklin	Catawba Rasslin aquires Clocks and prepares for Indian Duals & 3A Western Regionals to held at SSHS Feb. 14 & 15, 2003

Seen here in his first Lincoln County Cage Match. He won by chokin' his opponent with the Kudzu Vine (a classic Baker move) and throwin' him over the top cattle crossin' gate bar. He still had a smile on his face even though he lost his lower left leg in a "Terrible" biting incident in the first go round. His Trainer, Pierre Bushea, had brought his staple gun and quickly reattached the leg.

In a related story, "Blake the Blade's" uniform consultant was immediately FIRED for the color selection of his wrestling wardrobe. Pierre Bushea was qoted "If'in it ain't RED, We're goin' Commando."