Announcements 2008
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5-29-08

6th Annual St. Stephens Wrestling Camp June 16-19

This is the 6th year for this growing summer wrestling camp. We have a great lineup of special coaches for this year. John Mark Bently (Assist. Coach at ASU), Jerry Winterton (Head Coach Cary HS.), Tony Robie and Nate Yetzer (Virginia Tech Coaches), and Drew Forshey (4X NCHSAA and ACC Champion UNC).

Click Here for Pdf view of flier

4-26-2008

Cody Stephens Wins
Ohio Tournament of Champions

Congratulations to Cody Stephens for winning his weight class of 116 at the prestigous Ohio Tournament Champions this past weekend.

2-23-2008

Saint Places 6 at State Tournament

Saint battle hard against the best in the state this weekend and came away with a 5th place finish as a team with 69 points. We had 6 placers in the tournament. This is the most acknowledged placers on our team in history, to the best of my knowledge. The State use to only place the top 4 up to a few years ago.

Kurt Stephens won 4 matches, scored 19.5 points, and placed 3rd at 114. Kurt lost to the eventual State Champions in the semi finals and then defeated another state ranked opponent to capture 3rd place. Kurt has now placed in the state tournament both as a freshman and a sophomore.

Cody Stephens won 2 matches, scored 9 points, and placed 6th at 121. This was Cody's second trip to the state tourament and the first time he has placed in the event.

Gunnar McDowell won 2 matches and scored 5 points in his first trip to the state tournament.

Sam Monish won 4 matches, scored 13 points, and placed 5th at 142. This was his 3rd trip to the state tournament and the first time he placed in the event. Congratulation to Sam for finishing his career by breaking the 125 Milestone Marker to finish 126 career wins.

Cody Rink won 2 matches, scored 10.5 points, and placed 6th at 154. This was his3d trip to the state tournament. He has placed twice in this event. Congratulation to Cody for finishing his career by breaking the 150 Milestone Marker to finish 151 career wins.

Logan Self won 2 and scored 6 points at 162 in his first trip to the state.

Steven Rink won 2 matches and scored 5 points at 191 in his first trip to the state.

Micheal Ellis won 1 and scored 1 point at 217 in his first trip to the state.

This finish tops another great year of Saint Wrestling. We had a great senior class and great team spirit. We won the 2008 Indian Classic, the West Lincoln Rebel Duals, the North Wilkes Viking Duals, the Northwood Duals, the CVAC Regular Season with a 9-0 record, CVAC Conference Tournament Champions, 3A Western Regional Championship, Finish in the Final 4 of the State Duals, placed in the top 3 in three other dual and individual tournaments. Saint was 34-4, with 2 losses to the State Dual Team Champions.

This was a very good and solid team. It was a great ride. Thanks guys. To you seniors, you will all be missed.

2-16-2008

Saint Clinces 3A West Regional Title

The results from the 3A West Regional can be viewed from the Latest News page of our web site. Saint led from the first round of the tournament and built on its lead for two days of wrestling. The Tribe earned 176 tournament team points and out distanced the second place team by 57.5 points. Eight Saint wrestlers qualified to go to the State Tournament. This was the 3rd Regional Championship for Saint in the last 6 years.

Kurt Stephens placed 1st at 114. This will be Kurt's 2nd trip to the State Tournament. Last year he place 2nd in the State at 103.

Cody Stephens placed 2nd at 121. This will be Cody's 2nd trip to the State Tournament.

Gunnar McDowell placed 2nd at 137. This will be Gunnar's first trip to the State Tournament.

Sam Monish placed 3rd at 142. This is the 3rd trip to the State Tournament.

Cody Rink placed 2nd at 154. This is the 3d trip to the State Tournament. Last year Cody finished 4th in the State at 142.

Logan Self placed 2nd at 162. This will be Logan's first trip to the State Tournament.

Steven Rink placed 2nd at 191. This will be Steven's first trip to the State Tournament.

Micheal Ellis placed 3rd at 217. This will be Micheal's first trip to the State Tournament.

Special congratulation are extended to Logan Self on this weekend. Not only did he qualify for the State Tournament, he passed the 100th Career Win Milestone and reached 101 career wins. His 100th win came in the Championship Quarter Finals with a win over Lake Norman in a hard fought 5-4 match.

These were the wrestling highlights of the weekend. The Individual Stats, Career Win Milestones, and other files will be updated later this week. There is to much info to generate to post to this page tonight.

A Special Thanks go to all the wrestling parents and friends that made this 2008 3A Western Regional Tournament a great success. The visiting coaches raved about the hospitality shown at the Wednesday's Seed Meeting, the Hospitality Room Food at the tournament, and the special attention our parents gave to them.

The Chow Hounds and Grillin' Crew take first place honors again for preparing and serving hot food contineously.

Our T-Shirt Sales Babes sold all the State Regional T-Shirts.

The Outback Steak House fund raiser was a complete success with all 400 Steak or Chicken Meals sold.

Our table workers, and the parents that controlled their activities, made it a smooth running tournament from the mat side of the operation.

Thank you to all the parents that controlled our "Wrestler's Bunker" which took care of the needs of our competing wrestlers during their down time between matches.

Our "Picture Lady" whose efforts gave all wrestling parents an opportunity to capture a special moment in their wrestler's career.

Our sincere thanks to Shannon and Arlene Lail who ran the "Control Tower" of the tournament and kept it organized and under control (despite me driving Shannon crazy). Also, Arlene took the special care to hand write all the Champion's Brackets.

Our volunteer coaching staff kept an eye on every wrestler and was there for them at every match.

I know everyone is feeling the aches and pains today, but all of you, our family of Saint Wrestling, were a part of our most successful regional tournament. On and Off the mat.

2-7-08

Saint Made Final Four - Lost To Parkland

Now we are on to the Regionls held this weekend at St. Stehphens High School

2-6-2008

Milestone Update

It was late last night and I failed to highlight that our Senior Justin Baumgarner reached a milestone in his wrestling career last night.

Justin's win against Lake Norman set him at 100 career wins. His next win against Enka raised him to 101 career wins for the Tribe.

Congratulations to Justin

2-5-2008

Saint Moves On To The
Great Eight in State Duals
Defeats Enka in Second Round

What a great job our young men did tonight. The first match of the night was against Lake Norman. This was one of three teams to beat Saint this year in early season action by a score of 31-36. There were hard fought matches and the Tribe prevailed with a 45-18 win.

While the Tribe was winning it's match, Enka was on the other match defeating North Gaston 49-28.

The second round was with the Enka Jets. Coached by Mark Harris, Enka is always a solid opponent. There were big pins tonight for the Tribe by Sam Monish, Justin Baumgarner, Stephen Rink, and Micheal Ellis.

Travis Paap, ranked #3 3A, won a key match for Saint over #4 ranked 3A Joe Shively. This was the first match of the evening against Enka. It would set the tone for the rest of the night. Travis scored first on a takedown, but Shively reversed Travis and also received a penalty point. Score 2-3 going into the secord period Shively took down. Travis rode him out of the second period. Travis took down in the third trailing 2-3. Travis obtained the reversal and maintained control of Shivley for the rest of the match for a 4-3 win.

Our next match will be with Mooresville. It will most likely be at Mooresville.

2-2-2008

Saint Doubles Up With
2008 CVAC Tournament Championship

What a great day for the Saint Wrestling family as our young men claimed the CVAC Tournament Championship. This is the first time since the creation of the CVAC that both the Regular Season Championship and the Conference Tournment Championship was claimed by the same team. In the first year of the CVAC, Saint won the Regular Season Championship, but lost the Conference Tournament. Last year we lost the Regular Season by one point, but won the Conference Tournment. Our team, lead by seniors that were on the last conference double championship in the Southwestern Foothills Conference, finished with the ultimate conference goal. No dual losses and a conference tournament championship.

All the scores, brackets, and finals results can be viewed on the Latest News page. Click on the CVAC Conference Tournament.

We had 8 champions, 1 second place, 3 thirds, and 1 fourth. We placed in 13 out of the 14 weight classes. And now for our starting line up.

103 Jason Lee, placed 4th, 2 wins 2 losses, scored 8 points. Jason shows great promise and desire for our team. He won one match by pin and the other one by a 10-6 decision. He has a 5-4 record in overall conference action this season.

114 Kurt Stephens, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 22 points. Kurt continues to dominate his weight class in the conference with 2 pins and a 5-0 decision in the finals. He went 12-0 in overall conference action this year. He is CVAC All Conference. Kurt also reaced the 75 win milestone with his championship win in the finals on Saturday. Click on Career Win Milestones in the upper section of this Announcements page.

121 Cody Stephens, placed 3rd, 3 wins 1 loss, scored 13 points. Every day Cody grows stonger on the mat. He majored in all his wins today and now has an overall conference action record of 7-3.

127 Chris Moody, placed 2nd, 2 wins 1 loss, scored 16 points. With a 11-1 conference action record this year, Chris is easily the biggest surprize wrestler this year. This was a great turn around season and we could not be more prouder of Chris and his accomplishments. He is CVAC All Conference.

132 Travis Paap, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 22 points. What a big day for Travis as he completes his final conference season with a 11-0 record. He is CVAC All Conference.

137 Gunnar McDowell, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 22 points. Gunnar finished conference action with a 11-1 record. This has been a great freshman year for Gunnar. He is CVAC All Conference.

142 Sam Monish, placed 3rd, 3 wins 1 loss, scored 16 points. Sam finished the conference season with a 10-2 record. He is CVAC All Conference.

147 Brandon Lackey, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 21 points. Brandon finished with a 8-1 conference record. He is CVAC All Conference.

154 Cody Rink, placed 1st, 2 wins and a bye, scored 21 points. Cody finished his final conference season with a perfect 11-0 record. He is CVAC All Conference.

162 Logan Self, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 22 points. His huge win in the finals gave Logan an 11-1 conference season. He is CVAC All Conference.

173 Justin Baumgarner, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 21 points. Justin finished his final conference season with a perfect 12-0 record. He is CVAC All Conference.

191 Steven Rink, placed 1st, 3 wins, scored 23.5 points. Steven's win in the finals gave him a perfect 12-0 record. He is CVAC All Conference.

217 Micheal Ellis, placed 3rd, 3 wins 1 loss, scored 14 points. Micheal finished his conference season with a 9-2 record.

287 Brandon Townsend, 1 win 2 losses, scored 3 points. Brandon ran his conference season record to 6-4. Brandon has everyone's respect for the job he did this year as a significantly undersized heavy weight. His record is even more impressive when you have seen the competition that Brandon has wrestled against.

The BRAINS Behind the Saint Wrestling Operations - Sierra, Courtney, Tiffany, Kayla

1-29-2008

Saint Defeats Bandys 52-18
Completes a Perfect 9-0 Conference Dual Season

Saint was almost at full steam tonight against Bandys. Winning 10 of the 14 weight classes, the Tribe accomplished 5 pins, 1 techfall, 2 major decisions, and one decision. The pins came from Kurt Stephens, Chris Moody, Gunnar McDowell, Travis Paap, and Logan Self. Cody Rink worked the techfall. Sam Monish and Steven Rink worked the major decisions. Justin Baumgarner wrestled to a decision.

The Tribe started off with some trouble in the opening matches. The match started at 105 where we lost by pin. Kurt Stephens evened the score with a 2:20 pin at 114. The match now stood at 6-6.

Cody Stephens wrestled a tough match against a state ranked opponent but came up short in a 7-9 loss. Mat time for Cody this season has been limited, but there is great expectations for this weekend's CVAC tounament. Saint 6 - Bandys 9

Up to this point of the match, the Saint Bench and the Saint War Party had been rather calm. Cody's match had started the coals burning for the team and the Saint War Party. The next match was the match that started the bonfire.

Our senior Chris Moody, unranked in the state polls, entered the match with a 8-0 conference record. His opponent is recognized as the #8th ranked 125 in 2A and also with a 8-0 conference record. Given the normal facts of the opponents, one could predict the normal outcome of the match. BUT WHOEVER SAID THAT SAINT WRESTLERS WERE NORMAL, WAS WRONG. Chris has wrestled for Saint for four years. His very first match ever was 11-18-2004 against Josh Webster of NC which he lost. Now he faced another Josh out of the 2A division.

Chris was taken down first and was now behind 0-2. His opponent was working a tight ride on him. We were hoping that Chris could ride out the first period and get a fresh start in the second period. BUT THAT WOULD BE NORMAL. Four long years of work. Four years of preparation. An 8-0 conference record that could be blemished by a loss on the last match of the dual season. It all came down to the last 38 seconds of the 1st period. Chris worked a switch, or some kinda move, with 38 seconds to go. Not only did it give Chris the reversal, it opened his opponent up for a pinning exposure. Chris seized the moment to lock in the pinning combination. With 27 seconds left in the first, the official slapped the mat for the fastest pin on the night for the Tribe. 1:43. Our bench erupted, the Saint War Party stomped with joy, Mama Moody scream with elation, and Daddy Moody was carried off by a heavenly host of angels. I can testify to that, because his feet didn't touch a thing between the 3rd level bleacher and the gym floor.

This was not a celebration over specifically defeating this wrestler, which is a very good wrestler. It was an outbreak of joy for Chris. His 4 years of effort for the Tribe paid him back tonight and he will forever claim an undefeated 9-0 conference dual record. Chris went to the stands to hug his Mom and then met his Dad behind the bench area. I overhead his Dad say something about a new car. I might have been mistaken. Oh how I love these family moments. That's Saint Wrestling. Saint 12-Bandys 9.

The Tribe, now reved up from Chris's win, went on to clinch the match and our 8th undefeated conference season over 9 years.

Gunnar McDowell pins @ 130. Saint 18-Bandys 9
Travis Paap pins @ 135 in 3:31. Saint 24-Bandys 9
Sam Monish majors 12-3 @140. Saint 28-Bandys 9
We loose in a heartbreaker at 145, 7-9. Saint 28-Bandys 12
Cody Rink techfalls 17-0 @154. Saint 33-Bandys 12
Logan Self pins @ 162 in 2:21. Saint 39-Bandys 12
Justin Baumgarner decisions 10-4 @ 173. Saint 42-Bandys 12
Steven Rink majors @ 191 9-1. Saint 46-Bandys 12
Micheal Ellis is given at forfeit at 217. Saint 52-Bandys 12
We loose by pin @ 287. Saint 52-Bandys 18.

Saint wrestled the CVAC regular season with a 9-0 record. Our individual match wins/lose record was 106-20. We scored a total points of 564 against 98 points.
Pins were 62-12, techfalls were 4-0, majors were 8-0, and decisions were 17-8.

Our average conference dual match score was 63-11. We defeated 3 top 10 ranked 2A schools that are in our conference. Hibriten, Newton, Bandys.

Other Saint wrestlers with a 9-0 conference record were Justin Baumgarner, Cody Rink, Steven Rink, Kurt Stephens. Travis Paap finished with a 8-0 conference record. Conference records can be viewed on the Latest News web page.

We finished the regular dual meet season with a record of 31-3 with an average winning score of 45-15.

Next up is the CVAC tournament this Saturday at Hibriten. We won the tournament last year and have won it 7 times over the last 8 years.

1-25-2008

Saint Still Undefeated in Conference Action
Defeats Maiden 78-6

Saint pushed it's season record to 30-3 and a conference standing of 8-0 in the CVAC with a dominating win over Maiden. The Tribe is just one step away from winning another undefeated conference championship. The last team it will face will be Bandys this coming Tuesday night at Bandys.

While it appeared by the score to be an overhelming match by Saint, I was impressed with the young Maiden team's determination and the passion of their coaching staff. There is a burning desire under the radar at Maiden for this wrestling group to succeed. Their coaching staff displays passion for their kids and for their success. This is a very good sign for Maiden and a credit to their coach. It is easy to lay down, rather than to fight the good fight and take up for their wrestlers.

Frankly, the Maiden team Friday night gave me, an old timer that was there the first year of Saint Wrestling in 1969, a flash back. Maiden looked like the young team of Saint in 1968. Full of desire to win, full of athletic kids, but just out wrestled by opponents that have been on the mat a lot longer than they have been. In Saint's case, it was West Lincoln that took us to the mat, but later under their wing to try to show us a little bit of wrestlting. Ironic isn't it. The link with West Lincoln and Saint go all the way back to the very first days of Saint Wrestling. Friendships are a very good, good thing.

Little is remembered of the day when Coach Tom Brown of Maiden came to St. Stephens to provide assistance to our very first wrestling Coach Tommy Simmons on the sport of wrestling. Coach Simmons told me years later that "Coach Brown didn't know anymore crap than he did" about wrestling. Both, you must know, were big time football heroes in this area of the country at that time. Coach Simmons, which I played for at Saint, intercepted a pass for Lenoir Rhyne Football in the National Championship Game to seal the victory for Lenior Rhyne and Lenior Rhyne's only National Football Championship Title. (Hey, Happy Appy State Alums and fans, App wasn't the first team to win a national championship in this area. Most of your were not born when we use to call Appalachian, "UNC at Tweetsie", and I think the App Mascot was Fred Kirby.(How we love the Little Rascals, Little Rascals, Little Rascals, there's Spanky and Buckwheat, Alflafa, and Porky, how we love the Little Rascals, Little Rascals are they.) Those were great days. Beats the pants off of Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Well tonight our wrestlers just won with their overhelming experience. Our only lost came from our newest wrestling team mate, Jason Lee, that continues to show great improvement every match. Tonight he was beaten by a Maiden wrestler that just had more mat time than he did. Jason shows very good progress and will continue to develope for the Tribe. Everyone else on the team, except for the two forfeits, pinned for the Tribe.

Another point about our team that goes unsaid. These kids work to fill out the line up. We have had injuries and sickness throughout the year, but our team members keep stepping in and stepping up to keep our winning tradition going. Tonight, one of our Saint War Party favorites, Brandon Townsend @ 287 was just too sick to wrestle. Adam Starnes stepped back into the line up at 173 and scored the fastest pin of the night at 0:41 seconds. This allowed Justin Baumgarner, Steven Rink, and Micheal Ellis to bump up a weight class and close with a 78-6 conference win. My hat is off to young men like Adam Starnes that keeps prepared to win for the team whenever he is called on to do so.

We are 8-0 and have sealed the 3A title of the CVAC. One more win over Bandys on Tuesday will give us the outright undefeatd 2A/3A CVAC title.

One final word. What makes Saint Wrestling unique to most other sports programs is the shared experiece between wrestlers, parents, and coaches. This total group is there for the kids, for each other, for the team. While I report the human tragedies and drama that occur in the stands with our Saint War Party as their sons battle on the mat, a shinning display of team spirit is shown by our parents. I just loved the over the top response by Mama Bobbie and Daddy Gene at the Maiden match. What other wrestling team and group has the confidence in their relationship to pick and counter react to each other as this Saint Wrestling Family? This is a special time for all of us. The Maiden Crowd must have thought we were idiots, but we were just an extended family. Thank you Bobbie and Gene for such a great memory that all will share. To those of you trying to figure out what is paragraph is all about, just drop it, you just had to be there to understand.

8-0 Bandys to Go.

1-22-2008

Saint Defeats Bunker Hill on Senior Night 57-9

Our ten seniors and their parents were honored before the match tonight with Bunker Hill. Most of these young men have been in our school and club program for 6 to 9 years. We rejoiced in the success these individuals have had in the wrestling program and we're always touched by the character of each individual. They will leave their mark on the wrestling history of Saint Wrestling. But, the season isn't over yet and more accomplishments await this stable of stallions. Those seniors are Justin Baumgarner, Seth Eckard, George Hahn, Will Lominac, Chris Moody, Sam Monish, Travis Paap, Cody Rink, Adam Starnes, and Dylan Story.

We also honored and are most appreciative of the dedicated work by our Senior Scorekeepers Tiffany Hudson and Kayla Hopkins. They have been with the team for the last two years. All the stats that everyone enjoys reading about on the website starts with the alert record keeping from this two young "college bound" young ladies. (Yes Mary, she will be going away.)

Saint Wrestling and Catawba Rasslin are also very appreciative of the support and work that these parents have contributed to the success of our wrestling programs. Their efforts have given the team the ability to acquire equipment, clothing, transportation, and housing on road trips. (Now don't forget parents. Just 4 more monster tournaments to run this year.)

The Bunker Hill Bears are a sturdy group of young men and a dedicated coaching group. We wish them the best in the continued growth of wrestling at Bunker Hill and applaud their efforts.

Saint won 12 of the 14 matches, 6 by pins from Travis Paap, Gunnar McDowell, Sam Monish, Logan Self, Micheal Ellis, and Jason Lee.

There was one Senior Night match that I will always remember. Senior George Hahn, our "where ever you need me coach" wrestler, won a high scoring 11-9 match on his Senior Night. I must tell you, I was totally moved and exhausted when George won the match. Here is a young man that has been in our program from his middle school days, worked hard every day, went to everything we could dream up, wrestled up in weight when the team needed help. With a 33-50 record, George always seemed to draw the other team's Beast throughout his career, and not always with the best outcome. But, by golly, George was there for us and we were there for him. It's a team thing.

George's opponent scored the first take down. (Was this going to be bad senior night?) No it's not! No it's not! George gets a reversal to tie the score 2-2. "Crap", the guy got away and scores 1, now 2-3. "COME ON GEORGE, COME ON GEORGE". "YES". "YES". George scores a takedown to close the first period and leads 4-3.

The opponent takes down in the second. "DARN IT", he got a reversal on George. Score 4-5. "SIT OUT GEORGE", "YOU CAN DO IT". "Oh YES", George gets an escape and BLASTED a takedown. Score 7-5. Just seconds left in the second period. Almost out of the period, "WELL DUKEY", that guy got away, again. 7-6.

Just two minutes to go.
Senior Night.
Last Home Regular Season Match.
Last Home Varsity Match.

George takes down to start the 3rd period, "MOVE GEORGE". "OH YES", George gets the reversal, "LOOK", "GO FOR IT GEORGE", "BOOM", George scores a nearfall 2. George scores 4 points off his move from bottom and goes up 11-6. Times running down, "HANG IN THERE GEORGE" "DANG", the guy gets away, AGAIN, scores 1, score 11-7.

Times running out. The Saint War Party is Screaming for George. Mama Bobbie up in the stands has a headlock on Daddy Gene, snapping him back and forth. I'm yelling "GO GEORGE, BE CARefu----,^*&(%<," he took George down, score 11-9, "RUN CLOCK --RUNNNNN". The Saint War Party is yelling "5"4"3"2"1"."TIME'S OUT""TIME'S OUT", "GEORGE WINS", "GEORGE WINS". The Saint War Party erupts in celebration. Mama Bobbie throws her hands up in the air, wiggles her body around and around, throws her head back and starts repeatedly yelling "SHAKE & BAKE, BABY." Daddy Gene falls into the bleachers, cluching his throat, body jerking and gasping for air. Poor man, he never saw it coming. I couldn't sleep this night. Justice was finally served to George. These are the wins that make Saint Wrestling special.

7-0. Let's go to Maiden.

1-18-2008

Saint Defeats Hickory

It was a short night with Hickory. The Tornadoes gave up 5 forfeits and 8 pins. The final score was 78 - 6.

Pinning for the Tribe were Jason Lee, Kurt Stephens, Cody Stephens, Chris Moody, Gunnar McDowell, Cody Rink, Micheal Ellis, and Brandon Townsend.

There were a few events to point out to our fans that occurred tonight.

Jason Lee, our freshman 103, won his first "wrestled" varsity match tonight. He pinned Zack Sigmon in 2:24. Jason is credited with 2 other varsity wins, but they were forfeits. So Jason now holds a 3-4 varsity record for the season and 2-1 in conference. Jason is a first year wrestler and is now getting the feel of the sport.

Chris Moody, our Senior 125, reached the 75 win milestone tonight with a pin over Kyle Sigmon, at the 2:51 mark of the match. Chris is now 6-0 in conference action.

Micheal Ellis, our Junior 215, reached the 50 win milestone tonight with a pin over Ethan Queen at 3:42 mark of the match. Micheal is 3-1 in confernce action.

Congratulations to these 3 wrestlers for acheiving special moments in their wrestling career. Saint is now 6-0 in conference action.

A special "Thank You" to the "Saint War Party". I failed to highlight the absolutely GREAT and LOUD support you gave to the team on our special night at Newton. It was equal to the geat night we had at Bandys a few years back when we defeated the defending state champs. You, the parents-grandparents-friends- neighboors, are an essenital member of the team. It is your relative or friend that is battling on the mat. They are an extension of you. So, thank you again for being an vital member of the team.

Six down and Three to go.

SENIOR NIGHT

Tuesday night will be Senior Night to give special recognition to 10 young men. They have dedicated their high school career to continuing the winning tradition of Saint Wrestling. Please be there to applaud their dedicated efforts and to cheer them on to another conference victory over Bunker Hill.

Another passing note. Since Coach Baker has joined the Saint Wrestling as the Head Coach, his wrestlers have achieved 250 dual meet wins with tonights Hickory match. Officially, he is at 232 Saint Wins due to Coach Carpenter being the head coach during Billy's year in Iraq. Coach Baker has already passed the 250 career win mark with his wins at Lincolnton, now standing at 265. All of the summary records can be viewed from the links at the top of this page.

1-15-2008

Zip-po-de-do-daa, Zip-po-de-day, My oh My what a wonderful day.
I feel pretty, so very pretty.
TNT, I'm dynomite, TNT, and I'll win that fight.
I know you want to leave me, but I refuse to let you go.

Oh, Hi there. I didn't know you had tuned in so soon to the SUPER STATION OF SAINT WRESTLING. Let me get out of the shower here and switch over to the sports section of our broadcast..

Saint Defeats Newton-Conover
in Big CVAC Win

We Worked a Year to Get Back to Here. Saint 34 - NC 27. This was a win the senior class has had hanging over their head for a year. After losing last year in conference competition to Newton by one point, and the only conference loss in eight years, this group of Saint wrestlers were charged with the responsiblity of regaining a conference regular season championship. It was a hard fought match all the way as the majority of matches went the full 6 minute match.

Kurt Stephens started the night off at 114 with the quickest pin of the night at 1:51 for the Tribe. Kurt worked up a 8-0 lead before finishing with the pin.
Saint 6 NC 0

Cody Stephens @ 121 made his second appearance of the year at 121 and wrestled a decision at 9-7. This was a pure gutsy performance for Cody who had work out one week after being sidelined with an injury since November. Totally exhausted from the 6 minute grind, Cody led by one point and was on bottom with seconds remaining in the 3rd. It would take only one tilt for his opponent to claim the win, but Cody managed an escape to pull out a 9-7 victory.
Saint 9 NC 0

Chris Moody @ 127 continues the wins for Saint. Chris had lost his match up with a NC opponent in the Indian Classic, but was not denied tonight. Winning 4-3 late in the 3rd and on bottom, Chris works an escape to seal the match with a 5-3 win.
Saint 12 NC 0

Travis Paap@ 130 had a rematch with his Indian Classic opponent and 11th ranked Charlie Avis, which he had won 7-0. This time Travis scored a major decision at 11-3 to gain 4 more points for the Tribe.
Saint 16 NC 0

Freshman Gunnar McDowell @ 135 battles 5-5 into the 3rd period. His opponent scores a take down with seconds remaining the 3rd to steal away NC's first win on the night. Gunnar fought off the pin to only allow a 3 point loss.
Saint 16 NC 3

Sam Monish @ 140 had a rematch with his Indian Classic opponent and 8th ranked Mat Owensby. Sam had pinned him in the Classic, but this was a much improved wrestler at this time of the season. Sam controls the match and only gives up two escapes and a penalty point to win 5-3. A slight scuffle of the wrestlers at the end of the match caused some fan excitement as the two young men were just taking up for themselves, one out of flustration, the other out of a retailiation reflex.
Saint 19 NC 3

Brandon Lackey @ 147 scored 3 take downs and a reversal in a wild match that ended up 8-6.
Saint 22 NC 3

Cody Rink @ 154 control his match by scoring 2 takedown, 2 nearfall, and a reversal at the end of the match to seal a 8-3 win.
Saint 25 NC 3

Logan Self @ 162 had a heartbreaker against #3 ranked Ethan Carter. Battling to a 2-2 stand off until the 3rd period Carter scores a takedown and Logan get caught into a pin. It was a great battle between two top level wrestlers. Newton scores its first big match of the night and starts to mount a comeback. The question at this point, was there enought left for Newton to pull out the match with 5 matches and a possible 30 points to win.
Saint 25 NC 9

Justin Baumgarner @ 173 battles to a 5-4 close of the 2nd period with #3 ranked Shawn Mulligan. Justin's 3rd period efforts scores an escape and a takedown to a pin to regain the Tribes momentum and pulls us closer to regaining the much sought after dual meet win. This was a big match and win for Justin, but there was still room for Newton to get the win with 4 matches and 24 points left to be claimed by Newton..Newton could still win it 31-33.
Saint 31 NC 9

Steven Rink @ 191 topped off the efforts of his teammates before him with a 8-4 decision. Steven scored 2 takedowns and 2 reversals to win a 8-4 match. The deed was done. Newton could only score 18 more points with 3 matches to go.
Saint 34 NC 9

And score 18 points they did. Newton pinned in the remaining 3 matches to finish the scoring to Saint 34 NC 27. This was a great great win for our kids, this years wrestling program, and for our winning wrestling tradition. The conference championship is totally in our control now with only 4 matches to go in the conference. All the other schools in the conference have losses. We are the only team still standing with no losses.

We worked a year to get back to here. The young men's and coach's efforts have paid back a little dividend tonight.

The SUPER STATION OF SAINT WRESTLING is now off the air.

Hey Nancy get me a towel, quit laughing at me, it's cold out here, and turn the heat up. What do you mean the mic is still on. "Click".

1-11-2008

Saint Defeats West Caldwell

West Caldwell battled hard with the Tribe, but our more experienced line up held the Warriors at bay all night. Capturing a 83-0 win, the Tribe won all 14 matches by 10 pins, 1 tech fall, and received 3 forfeits. All of our wrestlers scored the first takedown of their matches and controlled until the conclusion of the match.

There were two significant events that happened for the Tribe tonight and a couple of points to note.

Cody Stephens, our 2007 Conference Champion @ 103 and our last year's state qualifier @ 119, made a successful first start of the season with the quickest pin of the night at 49 seconds. Cody was pretty jacked up for tonight after waiting the entire season to get back into the competition. The match was a simple and direct shot to a takedown and pin. Just what the doctor ordered. The Yeng is back with the Yang.

The big crowd pleaser of the night was the stepping up of junior Paul Lane @ 142. Paul has paid his price to the success of the team by his constant work ethic in the practice room for the past three years. He has won his weight division at his last two JV tournament opportunities. He is now 3-1 in this year's varsity matches. But most importantly of all this night was that Paul won his first ever conference match. Paul pinned his opponent with the second fastest pin of the night with a 58 seconds pin. Grown women were screaming and fainting in the stands. Old men's chest swelled with pride as tears filled their eyes. It truely was another great Saint Wrestling Moment for the Tribe family. This ain't Band Camp any more Big Boy. Geat Job Paul.

The matched started at 135 with a tech fall by the "Grinder", T-Paap, Travis Paap. After Paul Lane energized the crowd at 142, the winning roll was on and the crowd showed it's strongest vocal support of the year for the duration of the match. All of our wrestlers worked aggressively and forcefully. Maybe the entire Tribe Nation is peaking for the show down match with Newton-Conover next Tuesday.

We need all the support you fans can bring to the match on Tuesday.

1-9-2008

JV Tournament Information for This Weekend 1-12-2008

JV TOURNAMENT @ ALEXANDER CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Saturday, January 12, 2008

***All JV wrestlers should be at the school at 7:30 Saturday morning!!!  Bring $3 = for lunch!  If you pack drinks or snacks, pack something healthy!  (no chips, sodas, etc.)  Make sure you pack your wrestling shoes, singlet, head gear, towel, toiletries, etc.

You will weigh in, so bring something to eat after weigh ins are over.  Fruit, cereal bars, etc. are great= .

Directions to Alexander Central

Go east on Springs Rd. all the way to HWY 16.  Turn onto HWY 16 North. You will pass Ford and Chevrolet dealerships on the left as you come into town. Go through the first light, cross over Hwy. 64-90, and turn right at the next light onto the highway. Travel about one mile to a traffi c light at Liledoun Rd. Turn right at this light. You w ill pass the ACHS tennis courts, the Alexander Co. Board of Education building, and the south entrance to ACHS on your left. Continue on to the next light. At this light, you will see the ACHS softball field on the right. To reach ACHS, tu rn left at the light. The school is ahead on the left.

Schedule

8:30 a.m— Weigh-ins.

9:30-10:30 a.m. – Wrestling begins.

3:30 p.m. – Tournament should be over and we are headed home.

Admission $5.00 All Tournament Pass

1-8-2008

Saint Rolls Past Patton 61-14

Saint pushed its conference record to 3-0, moving closer to the showdown with Newton Cononver. It was another strong showing for the Tribe with 11 winning weight classes by 9 pins, 1 major decision, and 1 decision.

There were two ranked matches on the night. Saint's Sam Monish, ranked #4 3A vs Kyle Benson, ranked #1 2A, at the 140 pound classification and Saint's Cody Rink, ranked #6 3A vs Hal Robinson #13 2A.

Cody Rink won with a major decision with a 12-2 score. Cody scored the first takedown and followed with a nearfall 3, but Robinson worked out of the hold and scored a reversal. That was the last scoring by Robinson as Cody rolled out 7 more points over the next two periods.

Sam Monish fought a tough 8-10 lost against Kyle Benson. This was the closing match of the night and it was a great show of wrestling for the crowd. Benson scored first with a takedown and nearfall 2, but Sam reversed the control before the end of the first period to draw close with a 2-4 score. Sam drew closer in the second with both wrestlers scoring in the period. Sam was down 7-6 at the close of period #2. The third period saw Benson add on 3 more points, but Sam closed at the end with scoring 2 more points at the close of the match. It was a geat effort by both young men.

Micheal Ellis returned to the line up tonight at 217 an won his match with a pin. This was Micheal's first match since 12-08-2007 when he finished 2nd at the Eden Tournament.

I must say that the FAN NOISE LEVEL was much improved. It made the matches more exciting and gave that distinguished looking older guy with the red towel and microphone little biddy goose bumps. Next up West Caldwell. Keep Rolling SAINT.

1-5-2008

Saint JVs Win Top Honors at Ashbrook JV Tournament

Seventeen JV wrestlers took the early morning ride to Ashbrook and eight came back as place winners in a late night tournament. Take Frist Place Honors were Paul Lane, Saylor Barnette, and DJ Belcher. Evan Payne placed second. Tyler Helton, Dillon Lail, Zac Hampton, and Matt Sims placed third.

1-4-2008

Saint Wins at Foard

Saint moved it's conference record to 2-0 win a win at Fred T. Foard 65-9. This one was a run away with the Tribe winning 12 of the 14 matchups including 8 pins and 1 techfall.

Pinning for theTribe were Alex Pollard, Chris Moody, Gunnar McDowell, Travis Paap, Sam Monish, Logan Self, Justin Baumgarner, and Steven Rink.

Kurt Stephens claimed the techfall in a carefully wrestled match against Jeffrey Buchanon. Buchanon is a young and small 103 that was bumped to 112. His physical size was no indication on the big heart that his young man had as he did not back down from our #1 ranked 112. He took shots and held on. Kurt demonstrated good sportsmanship in protecting his young opponent while they scramble around the mat.

The brawling match of the night was Brandon Lackey against Orlando Rhinehart which ended in a 14-8 decision for our Lackey. Brandon took charge of the match in the first with a take down and a 3 point nearfall, but was injured in a freak collision after Rhinehart obtained a reversal. To Brandon's credit he contiued the match and scored 9 more points for the win. It was a great performance by Brandon.

The highlight match of the night was Cody Rink against the #8th 3A ranked Ahran Weinrich @ 152. Cody score the first takedown and pulled away in the second period with 6 more points. The final score was an 8-5 decision.

Our FAN NOISE LEVEL was much improved at this match over the "sleepy rest home atmosphere" of our opening match with Hibriten. Maybe more people got a nap before coming to the match. Ever how they did it, it was significantly more noticable and highly appreciated by the team and staff. I seem to recall hearing a chant coming out of the crowd. The big conference match ups are coming folks and you need to practice to be in shape for the big ones.

Our next match up is with the new Burke County high school, Patton. Patton is coached by Mark Crisp which was the long time coach of East Burke. They will come in prepared for the match.

1-02-2008

Saint Opens 2008 With Conference Win Over Hibriten

What looked to be a tough night of wrestling against the 19-1 Hibriten Panthers turn out to be a high scoring night for the Tribe. Winning 56-9 in the season confernce opener, Saint looked strong across the lineup. It was not without a tremedous effort from our wrestlers as Hibriten had the athletes to steal away the victory. Hibriten has a young, but strong, line up and will cause several upsets in the CVAC this season. The majority of the matches went deep into the 3rd period, even the ones ending with Saint pins.

Saint only won 12 of 14 matches tonight which included 3 pins by Steven Rink, Sam Monish, and Justin Baumgarner. Gunnar McDowell scored a tech fall and major decisions scored by Kurt Stephens, Travis Paap, and Logan (Smith) Self.

There were multiple highlights tonight that displayed the Pride of Saint Wrestling. Sophomore Kurt Stephens and Freshman Alex Pollard both fought through health issues to score big wins for the Tribe.

Kurt majored 4th 2A ranked Johnny Lefevers 17-5 in a match that had to be stopped on several occassions. Kurt scored 10 of his points by nearfall, but could not get the call from the offical on the pin.

Alex won in a last burst of energy in the closing seconds of the 3rd period to overcome a 4-6 deficit. After a stoppage of the match for illness, Alex scored a 5 point reveral to nearfall back points and held on the win a 9-8 match. This was a big step up for the freshman.

Senior Chris Moody took on a very good wrestler at 125. Chis closed the match in the third gaining an escape and takedown to pull away 10-4.

Senior Travis Paap took on 7th 2a ranked Jordan Fisher and shut down the match with a 9-0 major win.

Senior Cody Rink defeated 12th 2a ranked Davonique Nelson in a 4-3 decision.

The crowd also received another unexpected surprise on the night. HE'S BACK. Senior Justin Baumgarner retuned to the lineup to close out the night at 171. Justin won in a fitting fashion win a pin.

Milestones were past over the holidays and tonight. Travis Paap past 125 career wins to reach 127. Travis's 125th win was against Stephen Mitchell of Chatham Central on 12-28-07 at the Northwood Duals. Brandon Lackey reached in 50 win mark with the forfeit from Hibriten tonight.

The Tribe was very successful at the Northwood Duals. Going 5-0 on the day and getting 23 wrestlers into the starting line up. The Tribe accomplished a 51-19 individual winning record and outscored the other teams 280-89 in total team points.

The Varsity travels to FTF this Friday and the JV's will travel to Ashbrook on Saturday.

SAINT FANS - We need more noise from the bleachers. Get the fever.

12-24-2007

Saint Finishes 2nd At Cary

This was a great weekend for wrestling for the Tribe, but in the finals the power of Cary proved to be to much to overcome. The Tribe scored 260 points, just 39.5 points behind Cary and 79 points ahead of the third place finisher Sanderson. 12 of our 14 wrestlers placed in the top six of their weight classes.

Kurt Stephens at 112 took top honors for his weight class by a 9-2 win in the finals. Finishing in 2nd Place were Travis Paap 130, Sam Monish 140, Brandon Lackey 145, Cody Rink 152, Logan Self 160, and Steven Rink 189. 3rd Place finisher was Brandon Townsend at 285. 4th Place finisher was Gunnar McDowell 135. 5th place finishers were Alex Pollard 119, Chis Moody 125, and Seth Echard 215.

It was the effort that made this a great day for the Tribe as our guys never stopped, nor backed down, in any of the matches. They all wrestled up to their potential and received numerous comments of respect for other coaching staffs.

As you know, I will usually highlight a special moment or effort for the event. While all of our group made outstanding efforts, Brandon Townsend at 285 stood out to me in the tournament. Brandon gave up 60+ pounds or more in all the heavy weight class matches. He had only one loss to the 4a State Champion and won with 3 pins and a 4-1 decision to take 3rd. If you saw the significant height and weigh advantages that Brandon overcame during the tournament, you would walk away saying "How did he do that?". The simple answer is "Heart". I would be scared to death having to face the huge young men that Brandon takes on just to wrestle in the St. Stephens line up. My hat is tipped to Brandon for an outstanding effort at the Cary tournament. I will never forget the moment after the consolation semi-final win that put Brandon in the consolation finals. While I was reaching up to pinch the tilted bleeding nose of Brandon, he looked to the ceiling through squinted eyes and said "That was a pretty big guy!". Yes it was Brandon, yes it was.

In other noteworthy achievements, Sam Monish met the 100th career win milestone at this tournament. He defeated Nick Albertson of Mt. Pleasant 8-2 to go to the championship round. Steven Rink broke the 50th career win milestone and finished the tournament with 51 career wins. He defeated Richard Barbour of Hillside in a 0:34 pin in the championship quarter-finals. He broke pass the 50th milestone in his next match with a 1:27 pin of William Page of Durhan Jordan in the semi-finals. Congratulations to these two dedicated Saint Wrestlers.

12-20-2007

Saint Defeats Glenn 68-6

The Tribe overhelmed the competition from Glenn tonight with a 68-6 victory. On their way to winning 12 of the 14 matchups, Saint accumulated 10 pins, 1 tech fall, and 1 decision. Glenn won two matches by decision.

The highlight matchup of the night was at 189 with Saint's Steven Rink, ranked # 7, against Nick Davila, ranked #11. Steven grappled to a 7-2 lead in the second period before finishing with the pin at 3:20 mark in the match. Steven is now 19-4 on the season.

It great to celebrate a young wrestler's first win tonight. Dallas Morrow @103 achieved his first varsity win with a pin at the 1:10 mark in the match. Dallas is now 1-2 on the season.

Evan Payne returned to the line up tonight at 112 and showed a no quite attitude. Losing 9-5 in the second period, Evan made a move to put his opponent on his back to capture the pin at 3:04 mark of the match. Evan is now 5-7 on the season.

Another wrestler stepping up for the Tribe tonight with a big win was Adam Starnes at 171. Adam was leading 4-0 in the first period when he forced his opponent's back to the mat for a pin at the 1:40 mark. Adam is now 3-3 on the season.

Those pinning for the Tribe tonight were Dallas Morrow, Evan Payne, Kurt Stephens, Gunnar McDowell, Sam Monish, Brandon Lackey, Cody Rink, Logan Self, Adam Starnes, and Steven Rink.

Travis Paap achieved a tech fall in the third period to win his match 15-0. Seth Eckard won his match by 3-2 decision.

Saint is now 17-3 on the dual season. All dual results can be seen on our Current Dual Record link on the Latest News page.

There are a few new additions to this web page. You may not have noticed, but there are two new links in the header section. Career Win Milestones and Coach Baker's Career Records. The Career Win Milestones shows current wrestlers and their records reaching 25 match increments of wins. The one on Coach Baker is there to highlight his accomplishments as a head coach.

2-15-07

Saint Captures Rebel Duals Championship

Saint rebounded from Wednesday nights lost to Parkland and captured the West Lincoln Rebel Duals. The team scores can be seen on our Current Dual Record web page. Saint won all 5 dual matches, including the championship match with West Lincoln. The West Lincoln group ran a great tournament and hospitality room, that is, until the very end of the tournament when things got just totally out of hand.

Logan Self equalled the 75 career win mile marker with a win over Chris Vaugh of Vance with a score of 15-2. He pushed his personal record higher during the dual tournament by adding another 3 wins to his credit.

Cody Rink broke the 125 career win mile marker with a 1:09 pin in the Alleghany match and pushed his total to 126 career wins by his pin in the championship match with West Lincoln.

Sam Monish is now only 3 wins away from matching the 100 career wins mile marker. Sam also won the award for the most pins in the least amount of time for the tournament. Sam had five pins on the day.

Steven Rink and Micheal Ellis are just 3 matches away from matching the 50 win mile marker.

Our wrestlers won 51 individual match ups againts only 19 losses for individual wrestlers. The Tribe out scored the competition in the 5 matches 283-104.

Coach Baker reached a mile marker as well this weekend. His win of 60-18 over Watauga was his 250 career win as a head coach. He now has 253 career wins. These wins include his record at Lincolnton High School and excludes the wins which the team won when he was serving in Iraq.

Coach Baker used 21 wrestlers on the day at various weight classes and grade levels. I have witnessed a lot of teams and matches over the years. While many teams will keep all their starters in the line up to overhelm the competition, Coach Baker constantly looks at the score in hopes of inserting our younger and/or less experienced varsity wrestlers. We certainly want to win the match, but the wrestling program is built on young men who work hard everyday and are rewarded with the chance to wrestle in the varsity match.

And now for a comment on the most diabolical attack of the day against our team. It got so out of hand, the one school officer had to be woke up in the main gym to come to the championship match between Saint and the Rebel of West Lincoln. (He was still guarding the wooden basketball floor in the new gym from food and drinks. Everybody was gone.) During the third match of the contest, Butch Ross's army of paid assassins (his grandkids), pummelled our wrestler with (Wes said it was one, Billy said it was two, but he might have been so mad he was seeing double), but is was at least by my count 37 tennis balls. The match was stopped and the mat had to be cleared. It was a terrible sight. To their credit, the West Lincoln staff punished the screaming army of attackers by ripping off their headgear and taking away a few lollipops. Justice was served and the friendship between the two schools went back to normal. It was a close call. I'm sure there is going to be something wrote on the Forum about this.

12-13-07

Saint Falls to Parkland 8-53

It is what it is. We lost big to the defending state champions which are loaded with highly ranked all-stars. Every member of the Parkland team, with the exception of their 103 for this night, is currently ranked no lower than #11th, 6 of them are ranked #2. But looking past the team score, there were very positive efforts for the Tribe and some light hearted comments to ease the pain of the loss.

Jason Lee (103) a freshman wrestling in his very first varsity match almost stole the show. Leading and controlling the majority of the match, he was only overpowered in the waning moments of the third period. I tell you, I was proud of our newest starter. In a big match, he wrestled with a big heart. He was leading 8-5 before falling in the final second. He fought his way through the team wrestle offs and demonstrated he could compete in a varsity match.

Kurt Stephens (112) ranked #2 fought off Juan Stimpson ranked #4 in the final period to claim a 4-3 win.

Sam Monish (140) ranked #8 turned in the first upset match of the night by defeating #2 ranked Lane Wilmoth in a injury laden 10-7 match.

Seth Eckard (215), unranked, turned in the the biggest upset of the night by defeating Eric Sims ranked #5 by a score of 9-8. Seth, lossing 7-8, won the match by out lasting Sims. Seth obtained and escape and captured the last second takedown for the win.

Travis Paap (135), ranked #6, pushed #1 Luis Camacho to the final seconds of the match. Paap was winning 8-6 when Camacho hit a counter move to gain a reversal and nearfall 2 as the match closed. This was twice in 5 days that Paap has taken the #1 and #2 ranked wrestlers in the state to the final seconds of the match.

Freshmen Alex Pollard (119) and Gunnar "TP" McDowell (130) both encountered #2 ranked wrestlers and enjoyed an learning experience of defeat for their young varsity careers. Alex lost by pin after a physical 1-4 match. Gunnar lost 9-0. Gunnar was so impressed with his experience that he complimented Mr. Cooper at the close of the match. The referee was so impressed with the oratorical compliment that he agreed with Gunnar. He was convinced that Mr. Cooper's efforts deserved one of Saints points. So a point was taken away from Saint so that Mr. Cooper would be rewarded a bonus point for his fine effort.

Although all the other matches were lost, there was not one match that our wrestlers didn't give it their all. For that, we see positive signs for later in the year. We might have been overmatched, but we didn't back down.

Now People Please, let's deposit all drink bottles properly in the trash can at close range. Trying to hit the can from a distance, while your excited about the match, just doesn't work out. And for the Love of God, get off the Forum, which was built for the people that have completely missed the bus in the "No Child Left Behind" program.

It's tough to lose. It's tough to compete against school systems that allow schools to draw from a student population bigger that 4A. But it is in their rules. That's the way it is. I am proud of this school, this wrestling progam, this team, and how Billy Baker runs this program. I am even more proud that this program has built its reputation from our community, from our kids, for 39 years.

Now lets go get the Rebel Duals Trophy this weekend and let Butch Ross pay the invoice. Again.

12-8-2007

Saint Finishes Second At Eden Holiday Classic

It was so close, but so far away. Tribe led the entire day of wrestling, but lost out to Morehead in the final rounds of the individual tournament by 4 points. This was a hard fought two days of wrestling in this 21 team tournament from schools from NC and Virginia. We had 13 entered weight classes and 12 wrestlers to finish in the top eight places of their weight class.

Travis Paap had an outstanding day and a great performance in the finals against 2x state champion Jacob Creed of Ragsdale. The match swung back and forward with Travis gaining a reversal at the end of the match, but just one point short of tying the score. Sam Monish, Steven Rink, and Micheal Ellis also finished second in their weight classes.

Kurt Stephens had only one loss during the tournament and finished 3rd. He had a rematch with Patrick Graham of Ragsdale in the semi-finals and lost in the closing seconds of the third period. This was an exciting match due to the fact that these two wrestlers had met in the State Finals last year in Winston Salem.

Kurt Stephens also hit the 50 career win barrier on his first match of the tournament win a win over Zach Gillett of Bassett HS, Bassett, Va.

Place Winners

(130) Travis Paap, 2nd Place, with 3 pins
(140) Sam Monish, 2nd Place with 2 pins and a decision
(189) Steven Rink, 2nd Place with 2 pins and a decision
(215) Michael Ellis, 2nd Place with 2 pins and a technical fall

(112) Kurt Stephens, 3rd Place with 3 pins and one decision

(152) Cody Rink, 5th Place

(145) Brandon Lackey, 6th Place
(275) Brandon Townsend, 6th Place

(119) Alex Pollard, 7th Place
(135) Gunnar McDowell, 7th Place

(125) Chris Moody, 8th Place
(171) Logan Self, 8th Place

12-4-2007

Saint Regains Winning Ways Over Alexander Central

Last year's lost to AC was still on the minds of the Tribe Wrestlers and Coaching Staff as they headed into this home match Tuesday night. The effort gave results as the Tribe won going away with a 51-22 win.

The early scores went back and forth causing flash backs to last years lost. Evan Payne 112 stepped up big tonight to come from behind and pin his opponent. His pin evened the score 6-6 as the evening started.

Kurt Stephens 119 put the Tribe into the lead with a pin. Saint would not give up the lead after this match.

Tyler Helton 130 took advantage of his starting opportunity and scored a second period pin.

Travis Paap, Sam Monish, Logan Simpson, Micheal Ellis, and Brandon Townsend pinned in the Tribes win. the Tribe is now 11-2 on the season.

We next travel to Eden, NC to Morehead High School for a weekend tournament. Bus leaves at 1:30 this Friday.

12-01-2007

See tounament details at http://www.saintwrestling.org/ic2007r.htm

Indians win big in a commanding performance at all weight classes. Even our younger underclassmen looked much improved in their tough fought losses. They were in all the matches and just experience held them off at the end of the match. This was the Tribes first individual tournament win of the season. They have one first place finish and one third place finish in dual team tournaments. It was a great day for our team that has been fighting off injuries and line up positions.

Jonathan Helms 103 and Alex Pollard 119 wrestled agressively for the Tribe. Although they did not place in the tournament, they contributed for 7 points to assist in the Tribe's commanding lead. Both are first year starters with the right attitude to be solid contributors for the Tribe this season.

Kurt Stephens 112 captured his second Indian Classic title in dominating matches. He had two pins and a 12-1 major decision in the finals over 4a #3 ranked Josh Craig from Chapel Hill. Kurt's two pins to advance to the finals took 2:03 minutes in the earlier two rounds.

Chris Moody 125 wrestled a great day for the Tribe. Even with a 4th place finish, his losses were against Corey Mock 4a#1 and a tightly contested 3-4 loss in the consolation final. Chris continues to improve his abilities and competitiveness. Great job Chris.

T-Paap 130, formerly known as Travis Paap, won his division with two pins and a 7-0 decision in the finals. T-Paap was named by "Krogzilla" Travis Krogman. Krogman said there would only be "one" Travis on the Tribe, so T-Paap was so named. Well our T-Paap is grown up now and has continued the winning tradition set by former Tribe wrestlers.

Gunnar McDowell 135 claimed his stake in the Indian and established that he will be a force to reckon with, even as a freshman. Gunnar won the championship with a 6-5 decisioned over 4a#5 ranked Byron Beddingfield, a senior out of Chapel Hill. It was a great outing for our freshman.

Sam Monish 140 makes in back into the line up in time to claim his championship title. He has been out most the season with injuries and is now making his way back as a starter in the Tribe's line up. Sam pinned all his opponents on his way to claiming the championship. He has been missed and we're glad he is back to wrestle his senior year.

Brandon Lackey 145 placed second for the Tribe. He had two pins in the tournament. A solid and aggressive style of wrestling is what makes his matches exciting to watch.

Cody Rink 152 placed second. After convincing wins in the first two rounds, Cody's Christmas Gift was to face 4a#1 Nick Gregoris of Chapel Hill in the finals. (Hey Santa, get that sled out of here). Wrestling a great day, Cody's contributions continue to solidify the teams ability to win.

Justin Bumgarner 160 finish 4th losing two tough matches, one by an overtime 1 point and the other by 3 in the consolation final. Justin will regroup from the tough day and once again lead the Tribe in future matches.

Logan Self 171 won the championship with two pins and major decision. Logan has proven to the Tribe that his heart is into Saint Wrestling. Aggressive and under control, his style of wrestling is great to watch.

Steven Rink 189 won the championship with three straight pins. How does he do it? However it goes, he will make you crazy while he works his style of wrestling on the mat. Keep doing it Steve, we'll live with the stress.

Micheal Ellis 215 placed third. Along the way Micheal pinned 3 opponents with only one loss on the day. Micheals entry into the 215 lb class has strengthen the Tribes chances on the top end of the weight classes.

Brandon Townsend 285 placed third. "There's no need to Fear, Underdog in Here". The Tribes favorite wrestler who is not suppose to win at heavy weight, continues to bring admiration from the Tribe faithful. Grossly undersized for the weight class, Brandon wrestles wisely to stay in the matches and finds a way to win. Brandon went 3-1 for the day to top off the scoring for the Tribe.

Saint won the event by a 74 point lead and the first Indian Classic in many years. The anguish over our two early season losses was extinguished with the sought after Indian Classic Championship. We finally went into the tournament with a healthier lineup, and nobody was out of the line up "gone huntin'" or in SAT exams. What a great day for the Tribe.

11-28-2007

Saint Wins Over East Burke 69-8

The Tribe won 12 of 14 matches against the Cavilers in a very one sided match. There were several additional bright spots on the night for the Tribe as Senior Same Monish returned to the line up for the first time this year. Sam started his season off with a 1:32 pin in the 140 weight class. Kurt Stephens made his first appearance of the year in the 112 class.

Pinning for the Tribe was Kurt Stephens, Chris Moody, Tyler Helton, Sam Monish, Brandon Lackey, Cody Rink, Justin Baumgarner, Logan Self, Steven Rink, and Micheal Ellis. Travis Paap scored a technical fall with a 16-0 win.

There were several accomplishments of note during the dual meet. Sophomores Jonathan Helms and Tyler Helton stepped up for the Tribe tonight with wins in their young careers. Jonathan "Beast" Helms demonstrated improvement in his technical skills and aggression. He scored a major decision in a high scoring 16-8 match. Sophomore Tyler Helton score the quickest pin of the match with a 21 second pin. This was great work from our developing wrestlers.

Senior Justin Baumgarner turned in a dazzeling rompin' and stompin', sling and fling match with a 2:56 pin after running up a 10-4 score.

Freshman Alex Pollard showed marked improvement in a hard fought 6-11 loss. He made several moves tonight to avoid bad situations that would have caught most people. He also demonstrated the determination to fight out from bottom. Good hussel in a tough match. Well done freshman.

But let's talk about the match of the night for showing heart and will power. Junior Brandon Townsend goes to heavy weight tonight and gives up nearly 50 pounds to his 4A #2 state ranked opponent Tyler Shatley. Brandon goes through three tough periods before falling to a 15-0 technical fall. Brandon's task was overhelming and the crowd recongnized the tremendous effort that Brandon demonstrated in the match. There was no doubt that Shatley's overhelming power would win him the match, but Brandon's mental toughness kept him out of a pinning loss. There was a standing ovation from the team and from the home crowd to show their appreciation for Brandon's effort. He lost the match, but touched the Saint Spirit that we all have in us. You know what I mean. He won the match as far as we were concerned. Great Job Brandon!! Team Hoffman is very very proud of your effort.

The Tribe is now 10-2 with Alexander Cental coming up in December as the next dual match up. See the varsity schedule for details.

11-22-2007

Saint Finishes 3rd at Indian Duals

Saint fell short in its effort to take the Indian Duals this year, but finished up the day with a 3rd place finish. The Tribe's only lost was to South Caldwell which has had significant improvement in the off season. South Caldwell finished the tournament in 2nd place after falling in a tight 36-33 battle with Davie County. See the tournament results at http://www.saintwrestling.org/id2007r.htm.

There were some moments of improvement in our overall team as some freshmen and sophomores picked up on wins.

Freshman Jonathan Helms 103 collected 3 wins for the team on the day. One match was a barn burner with Jonathan leading 14-8 before he pinned his opponent at the 5:01 point in the match. At one point of the day the chant "Beast""Beast"could be held from the masses of Saint fans.

Sophomore Evan Payne 112 won two matches on the day. He won a high scoring 16-7 against Avery County and a pin against RS Central.

Junior Micheal Ellis 215 finished the day in big style with a 5-0 record for the day, along with Senior Travis Paap 145 with a 4-0 day.

Junior DJ Belcher 285 continues his improvement by finishing the day with a 3-1 record. The most significant improvement was his impoved determination and efforts to fight off bottom and pin his opponents.

Sophomore Kurt Stephens went 5-0 on the day in his domination of the 119 weight class. He scored 3 pins, one tech fall, and received on forfeit on the day.

Junior Brandon Lackey 145 finished the day with 3 pins and only one lost.

Seniors Cody Rink 152 had four pins on the day for the Tribe along with Justin Baumgarner who finished with a 3-1 record.

We are looking for more improvement in the line up this week as other members of last year's team heal up from injuries and others work themselves back into wrestling shape after their fall sports activities.

Even with the disappointment in our placement in this weekends tournament, we must take time to acknowledge the success that our wrestlers have achieved in the long run. A big CONGRATULATIONS are in order for several of our upper classmen wrestlers. I try to highlight the milestones in our wrestlers career in appreciation of their efforts in our program.

Cody Rink past the 100 win career record last year finishing with 105 career wins. Cody's 9 wins this season now has him at 114 career wins. This moves him up to the 14 place of all time wins surpassing "Krogzilla" Travis Krogman of 2006.

Travis Paap has now passed the 100 career win record during the North Wilkes Duals and now stands at 105 career wins. This moves T Paap up to 17 position surpassing Doyle Spencer 1990 and just one match away from matching Kyle Stephens 2006.

Justin Baumgarner finished last season with 75 career wins and now stands at 84 career wins. Justin moves to the 30th position surpassing Jason Mertz 1997, Shawn Allred 1996, and Nathan Bridges 1997. He is one match away from matching Brandon Pierce 1998 and Robert Stone 1991.

Chris Moody has now pasted the 50 career win milestone and now stands at 54. He is now tied for 62nd position with Brent Pless 1983 and surpasses Robert Wessels 2007. His next win will match the record of James Carswell 1986.

If any of you alumni wreslters are reading this article or you know any of these alumni wrestlers and how to contact them, we would like to the alumni wrestlers at our Wednesday night match to support our current wrestlers and congratulated them in their career efforts.

Several underclassmen are approaching the 50 win milestone and I hope to proudly announce them as the year progresses.

We are now setting on a 9-2 record with one more match left in November. We take on East Burke in a home match the Wednesday 11-28-07 at 7:00 pm.

11-17-2007

Saint Sweeps the North Wilkes Viking Duals

The Tribe regrouped after the season opening lost and wrestled with a goal of their first tournament championship of the 2007-08 season. Winning all five dual match ups, including wins over Bandys and Northwest Cabarrus, the Tribe took every opportunity to improve their intensity and strengthen the line up. The Tribe defeated a football play off crippled East Wilkes 75-6. Conference foe Bandys was defeated 46-32. Northwest Cabarrus won 4 matches in their 57-22 defeat. The Tribe's next win was over JM Robinson 58-24.

With the championship at hand, the Tribe broke out their first ever championship finals singlets. The team took on a new intensity and spirit with the new singlets and won a 63-18 dual match over Wilkes Central.

The Tribe quote of the tournament was from our 103 Jonathan Helms who said "the new singlet made me look like a beast, so I decided to wrestle like a beast". Helms won his match with a pin in the first period.

The most improvement in individual wrestlers for the Tribe this weekend was the return of Micheal Ellis to the line up at 215. Micheal went 5-0 with 4 pins and a forfiet win. DJ Belcher, at heavy weight, went 4-1 with an outstanding improvement in his wrestling skill and intensity.

Upper classmen Travis Paap, Cody Rink, Logan Self, and Justin Baumgarner all went 5-0 in the tournament. Sophomore Kurt Stephens also finished 5-0 on the day.

11-15 -2007

Saint Falls to Lake Noman

Saint split 7 and 7 with the Wildcats, but could not over come the pin losses given up by our younger underclassmen in a 31-36 loss. Lake Norman has made great strides in their program and we congratulate their efforts.

Junior Steven Rink started our season off with third period pin a physical match which he was winning 8-6. Saint dropped the next five of the next six matches as new starters and rookies got their first experience of the varsity mat. The Tribe was down 6-21 before Kurt Stephens could stop the Wildcat surge with a major decision. We dropped the next two matches to fall behind 10-30. Freshman Gunnar McDowell kick started the comeback surge with a first period pin in his first varsity match at 135. Our upper classmen took over with wins by Travis Paap, Cody Rink, Logan Self, and Justin Baumgarner. We just could not get enough pins to close the gap in the score.