Announcements 2014-2015 Season

Announcements 2018
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Salvador Gilvaja @ 195 wins 3rd Place. He finished the season with a 60-1 record which places him as #1 at the top of the Single Season Wins Leader Board.

Blake Baker @ 132 wins 3rd Place. This was his second time placing at this tournament. He finished the season with a 59-3 record which places him as #2 on the Single Season Wins Leader Board.

Both Salvador and Blake move ahead of Kurt Stephens record of 58 wins set in 2009.

The high school season is over now. We had a very productive season with a 39-5 overall record, a Conference Championship, 7 State Qualifiers, and 3 State Placers.

Our 39-5 record is the most single season dual wins in the history of St. Stephens Wrestling.

Salvador Gilvaja and Blake Baker take over the top two spots of the most single wins record in history.

Eddie Brannock takes over the top spot in Career Near Fall Points.

Blake Baker and Eddie Brannock take over #4 and #5 respectively in the most Career Wins.

There has been a lot of updating to the Historical Archives. All Individual and Career Records have been updated. A new section of historical Team Records has been added. Just keep in mind that we wrestle a lot more now than the early years of our teams.

There is also a link for an updated web Wrestling Board like the one hanging in the gym. This give you an overall look at the top leader in every category of wrestling stats along with the current team members and coaching staff. The actual board in the gym will be update in a few more days.

If you are an old Alumni of St. Stephens Wrestling and you have any old records that are not already recorded in our Historical Archives, please let me know so they can be included. Even if you have any for certain memory of a record just let me know by email.

Saint advanced 7 wrestlers to the Final 4 of the 3a West Regional this past weekend at North Henderson HS. We had 3 champions, 1 Second Place, 1 Third Place, and 2 Fourth Place qualifiers for the state tournament finals. The state tournament will be held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

3A West 4th Place
Ivan Vergel @ 160
Jordan Bolling @ 170

Our other wrestlers who did not place, but added team points to our second place finish were:
Freshman Dalen Milligan @ 103 scored 4 points. He defeated the #2 seed to go to the semi-final. He made it all the way to the consolation semi-final.
Sophomore Jovanny Urzua @ 120 scored 4 points as he knock off two wrestlers in the wrestle back consolations
Sophomore Isaac Leon @ 126 scored 2 points by winning his first match in the championship bracket
Garrett Bolling @ 145 scored 1 point with a 4-3 decision in the consolation bracket
Junior De'Untae Henry @ 152 scored 5 team points with a pin the championship bracket and a 11-5 decision in the consolation bracket.

Congratulations to Graham Ormand
Graham gained his 125th career win milestone in the match against Forestview.
Graham won it with an injury default in the Consolation Semi-Final of the 3A West Regional

Team Scores
1. North Henderson 177.5
2. St. Stephens 155.0
3. Alexander Central 114.0
4. Enka 106.0
5. Hunter Huss 80.0
6. Freedom 75.0
6. Marvin Ridge 75.0
8. North Iredell 74.5
9. Ashbrook 69.0
10. T. C. Roberson 68.5
11. Crest 61.5
12. West Henderson 52.5
13. Kings Mountain 51.0
14. A. C. Reynolds 47.0
15. Forestview 37.5
15. South Iredell 37.5
17. West Caldwell 34.0
18. Statesville 28.5
19. Erwin 22.0
20. Hickory 19.0
20. Stuart Cramer 19
22. Burns 17.0
23. North Buncombe 13.0
24. Tuscola 12.0
25. North Gaston 11.5
26. Asheville 6.0
27. Charlotte Catholic 4.0
28. Watauga 0.0

Saint closed out its dual team season with a first round loss to North Henderson. Our next competition will be the Individual 3A West Regional in North Henderson next Friday and Saturday.

Saint finishes the season with a 39-5 record. This sets a new dual team win record for the wrestling history at St. Stephens.

North Henderson 35 St. Stephens 33
170: Paul Searcy (NH) p. Jayden Jackson 1:09 (SS) 0 (NH) 6
182: Anthony Johnson (NH) d. Jordan Bolling 6-2 (SS) 0 (NH) 9
195: Dakota Metcalf (SS) tf. Christian Robles 21-6 (SS) 5 (NH) 9
220: Salvador Gilvaja (SS) forfeit (SS) 11 (NH) 9
285: Jacob Allison (NH) p. Dawson Lail 3:04 (SS) 11 (NH) 15
106: Lazaro Vazquez (NH) tf. Dalen Milligan 22-7 (SS) 11 (NH) 20
113: Graham Ormand (SS) p. Kyle Randall 3:01 (SS) 17 (NH) 20
120: Jovanny Urzua (SS) d. Luis Uriostegui 6-4 (SS) 20 (NH) 20
126: Josh Blatt (NH) p. Isaac Leon 3:54 (SS) 20 (NH) 26
132: Blake Baker (SS) maj. Joshua Feliz 21-12 (SS) 24 (NH) 26
138: Eddie Brannock (SS) d. Jonathan Dalton 11-6 (SS) 27 (NH) 26
145: Jose Rodriguez (NH) d. Garrett Bolling 9-2 (SS) 27 (NH) 29
152: Ivan Vergel (SS) p. Tristan Norris 3:51 (SS) 33 (NH) 29
160: Morgan King (NH) p. De'Untae Henry 1:04 (SS) 33 (NH) 35

3A State Duals 4th Round - 2/1/2018 Piedmont 39 North Henderson 32
Piedmont goes on to Saturday in Greensboro for the State 3A Championship to take on Orange HS.

Round #1 of the night pitted Saint (37-4) against Enka (26-6). Saint pulled out to a 14-0 lead before Enka scored their first decision. After dropping a decision and a pin, Saint started pulling away in the match. Dalen Milligan pinned in the 106 match and gave Saint a 37-18 lead with two matches to go in the dual. Following the tradition in state dual matches, Saint forfeited the last two matches of the night and finished with a 37-30 final score. Forfeiting viable matches is done to avoid an unforeseen injury to a wrestler that you will need in the next dual match.

Round #2 was against North Iredell (25-5) which had defeated Kings Mountain (35-6) with a score of 49-26 in their previous Round #1 match up. Saint rolled up the score to 49-14 with two matches to go. We forfeited the last two weight classes to finish the team score at 49-26.

The two wins tonight elevates our dual record of 39-4. This is the highest single season dual wins in the history of St. Stephens Wrestling. This surpasses the two teams of 2006 and 2009 which had 37 dual wins.
Congratulations to all of our wrestlers and coaching staff.

Saint will take on North Henderson (23-0) on Thursday in Round # of the State Duals. St. Stephens will host the event on Thursday 2-1-2018 and it will start at 6:00 p.m. The winner of this match will take on the winner of the match between Southeast Guilford (20-1) and Piedmont (34-1).

126: Isaac Leon (SS) d. Kyle Valliere 6-4 (SS) 3 (ENKA) 0
132: Blake Baker (SS) tf. Carson Turner 24-9 (SS) 8 (ENKA) 0
138: Eddie Brannock (SS) p. Griffan Garmany 5:34 (SS) 14 (ENKA) 0
145: Tony Torres (ENKA) d. Garrett Bolling 4-1 (SS) 14 (ENKA) 3
152: Phil Daub (ENKA) p. De'Untae Henry 0:49 (SS) 14 (ENKA) 9
160: Ivan Vergel (SS) tf. Garrett Pugh 21-6 (SS) 19 (ENKA) 9
170: Jordan Bolling (SS) d. Eli Vassey 7-2 (SS) 22 (ENKA) 9
182: Elijah Ballew (ENKA) p. Jayden Jackson 0:29 (SS) 22 (ENKA) 15
195: Dakota Metcalf (SS) p. Eli Kayne 3:17 (SS) 28 (ENKA) 15
220: Salvador Gilvaja (SS) d. Trey Wilson 4-0 (SS) 31 (ENKA) 15
285: Justin Parker (ENKA) d. Dawson Lail 1-0 (SS) 31 (ENKA) 18
106: Dalen Milligan (SS) p. Hunter Miller 0:40 (SS) 37 (ENKA) 18
113: Corbin Dion (ENKA) Forfeit (SS) 37 (ENKA) 24
120: Eli foster (ENKA) Forfeit (SS) 37 (ENKA) 30

106: Dalen Milligan (SS) p. Thomas Webb 3:51 (SS) 6 (NI) 0
113: Graham Ormand (SS) p. Lucas Keller 1:22 (SS) 12 (NI) 0
120: Julian Guadarama (NI) Forfeit (SS) 12 (NI) 6
126: Noah Ford (NI) Forfeit (SS) 12 (NI) 12
132: Blake Baker (SS) p. Ethan Waldrup 1:07 (SS) 18 (NI) 12
138: Eddie Brannock (SS) maj. Patrick Mahaffey 14-2 (SS) 22 (NI) 12
145: Chandler Jordan (NI) d. Garrett Bolling 2-1 (SS) 22 (NI) 15
152: Ivan Vergel (SS) p. Ben Padgett 2:19 (SS) 28 (NI) 15
160: De'Untae Henry (SS) d. David Lister 5-3 (SS) 31 (NI) 15
170: Dawson Sipes (NI) p. Dorian Whitworth 1:52 (SS) 31 (NI) 21
182: Jordan Bolling (SS) p. Luke Wilson 1:39 (SS) 37 (NI) 21
195: Dakota Metcalf (SS) p. Carter Williams 0:43 (SS) 43 (NI) 21
220: Salvador Gilvaja (SS) p. Wyatt Atkins 1:10 (SS) 49 (NI) 21
285: Nick Hampton (NI) tf. Ryan Campbell 23-8 (SS) 49 (NI) 26

1st - St. Stephens 191.5
2nd - Alexander Central 171.0
3rd - McDowell 125.5
4th - Freedom 101.5
5th - Hickory 77.0
6th - South Caldwell 47.0
7th - West Caldwell 45.0
8th - Watauga 14.0

Saint pulled away from the conference woes at the end of the consolation semi-finals with 1.5 points. After the consolation finals and the championship finals they have built our lead to 20.5 points. The Tribe placed 13 wrestlers in the top 4 of their respective weight classes. This is the first team to win both the Conference Dual Season Championship and the Conference Tournament Championship since 2009.

1st Place Champions
120: Graham Ormand - 20 pts
132: Blake Baker - 22 pts
138: Eddie Brannock - 20.5 pts
182: Dakota Metcalf - 22 pts
195: Salvador Gilvaja - 22 pts

3rd Place Winners
126: Isaac Leon - 10 pts
152: Ivan Vergel - 12 pts
170: Jordan Bolling - 12 pts

4th Place Winners
145: Garrett Bolling - 4 pts
160: De'Untae Henry - 7 pts
285: Dawson Lail - 6 pts

Congratulations to Dakota Metcalf
Dakota gained his 75th career win milestone in the Quarter-Final match
in the Conference Tournament against Watauga.
Dakota grabbed a 0:10 first period pin against Tanner Hollars.

Saint took on McDowell tonight in the final and deciding conference match of the season. Saint was 6-0 and McDowell was 5-1 in conference action before tonight's match. Saint won decisively with a 52-12 victory. This was the first conference title since 2010 Co-Champion Title and the first all out conference champion title since 2009. This information can be seen on the "Coach Baker's Career Record" tab on the Announcements page (above, for you folks from Rio Linda).

Ivan Vergel won the biggest match of the night knocking off the #4 ranked wrestler Jacob Phillips in a 9-6 decision. Simply a great effort.

Freshman Dalen Milligan (winner of the Gomer Pile Award - "Surprize! Surprize! Surprize!") pulled off an upset @ 106 with a 3:28 second period pin. We were so proud of our bowed out, bird chested Golden Finch. You could even hear ESPN Sports Center break in on the speaker system "DA-DA-DA, DA-DA-DA". Dalen set the tone for the night with a great start to the match.

Graham Ormand pinned at 2:39, Blake Baker pinned at 4:34, Jordan Bolling pinned at 0:58, and Salvador Gilvaja pinned at 2:14.

Garrett Bolling, Eddie Brannock, Dakota Metcalf, and Justin Beltran all majored in their matches to pickup bonus points.

Tonight's win, number 37, ties with the teams of 2005-2006 and 2008-2009. 37 is the most dual match wins in a season ever recorded by a St. Stephens team. They will have to win in the State Duals next week in order to claim the outright bragging rights to the most wins in St. Stephens wrestling history.

The Northwestern 3A/4A Conference Individual Tournament is this Saturday at Alexander Central. Start time 9:00 a.m.

The Tribe is now 36-4 overall and 6-0 in conference action. This year's team is just one match away to tie the all-time single season dual win record of 37 set by the teams of (2005-2006) and (2008-2009). *see Coach Baker's Career Records on the link at the top of the "Announcements" page. They have a chance to tie the record this Tuesday night 1-23-2018 on Senior Night in Baker Arena at the school. Come out and cheer them on to victory.

The Tribe defeated Freedom 61-15 on Friday evening in a conference matchup and the went to Olympic High School and won 5 non-conference matches.

The Tribe downed Olympic 64-14, Providence 50-6, Vance 66-9, East Mecklenburg 50-18, and Queens Grant 66-6.

Congratulations to Eddie Brannock
Eddie gained his 150th career win milestone in the match against Olympic.
Eddie won it with a 16-0 techfall against Colby Schefers.

Congratulations to Blake Baker
Blake gained his 150th career win milestone in the match against East Mecklenburg.
Blake won it with a 2:26 pin against Nebyu Assefa.

Congratulations to Salvador Gilvaja
Salvador gained his 125th career win milestone in the match against East Mecklenburg.
Salvador won it with a 8-3 decision against Raymond Jones.

Congratulations to Ivan Vergel
Ivan gained his 100th career win milestone in the match against Vance.
Ivan won it with a 5:01 pin against Mohammed Zaghari.

Congratulations to Dalen Milligan
Dalen gained his 25th career win milestone in the match against East Mecklenburg.
Dalen won it with a 5-2 decision against Victor Lal.

The Tribe extended their record 30-4 and 5-0 in conference action tonight with a 62-6 win over South Caldwell.

As indicated by the score, the Tribe's dedication to the sport of wrestling was on display in tonight's match up.

The match started off with trading the first two weight classes with a forfeit to us and then they won by pin. That was the last trade out of the night. (6-6)

Jovanny Urzua @ 120 built up a 9-0 lead before pinning his opponent at 5:05 of the match. Jovanny "Your-zoo-a", (as he kindly taught me how to properly announce his last name), has shown great competitiveness and development in his wrestling skills. (12-6).

Isaac Leon, I already knew how to say that last name because I use to listen to Leon Redbone music, controlled a 8-2 decision @ 126. (15-6).

Eddie Brannock was awarded a forfeit. Sorry no near fall points tonight Eddie. (27-6)

WHAT? WHAT? I'm reading my score sheet. Do my eyes deceive me. YES! YES! IT IS TRUE! IT IS TRUE! IT WAS NOT A DREAM!! Garrett Bolling scores the "first take down" of the match. (That's it. That's the final proof. I'm going to church on Sunday) Garrett went out with aggression and won a 10-2 major decision. I was overjoyed, but I'm not going to tell him that. (31-6) (Take that you Heathens)

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on

Ivan Vergel has put in the dedication and hard work. It was on display in his match tonight against an opponent he lost to twice last year. He got the first take down of the match and stretched his lead out to 5-2 at the end of the second period. His opponent, who is also a battle harden competitor, surged back in the third period with a reversal and a take down. Ivan kept his composure and escaped from both attacks to win a hard 7-6 decision. This was the most boisterous match of the night. Both teams and the crowd knew this was the real deal in wrestling competition and they were LOUD! A match on that level of wrestling deserves more than 3 points for a decision. Congratulations to Ivan. (34-6)

The next two matches broadened the Tribe's lead when De'Untae Henry scored a quick 0:43 pin and then they forfeited the following weight class. (46-6)

Sophomore Justin Beltran continues to improve in technique and aggression. Justin won with a 9-4 decision. (59-6)

Senior Dawson Lail @ 285 finished the evening off with first period take down and won 2-1. (62-6)

One final note. The Youth Recreation League Championships that we hold for the Hickory Recreation Department that was scheduled for 1-20-2018 has been cancelled.

The Tribe won Tuesday night by overwhelming West Caldwell 71-3. West Caldwell gave up 4 forfeits. Pinning for the Tribe were Isaac Leon, Blake Baker, Ivan Vergel, Salvador Gilvaja, Justin Beltran, and Dawson Lail.

Jovanny Urzua won a major decision with a commanding 11-2 win. Eddie Brannock majored with a 10-0 win.

Jordan Bolling had the most contested win of the evening. He grabbed the first takedown in his match and never looked back. Funny how that seems to work out. He finished the match off with a dominate 8-3 win. Great effort from the first whistle.

The Tribe is now 29-4 with a 4-0 conference record. The next test is this Friday at South Caldwell at 6:00 pm. South Caldwell defeated West Caldwell already this season so our match with them will be highly contested.

Saint had two conference matches and one non-conference match tonight. Saint won all three matches.

Our first match was with conference opponent Watauga. Saint won 78-0. Watauga had six wrestlers.

Our next match was a non-conference match with Atkins HS. The Tribe won 75-6. Atkins is a new high school in the Winston Salem. To their credit, they had all but three weight classes covered. They are currently 3-0 in the Western Piedmont Conference.

Our last match was a conference match with Hickory. Saint won 57-15. Hickory had seven wrestlers.

West Caldwell was also competing at this event, but our match up will be next Tuesday 1-9-2018. West Caldwell is always a hard opponent to compete against. It should be a very contested match up Tuesday. Please bring your family out to support the Saint Wrestlers.

Saint moves to 25-4 overall and 1-0 in conference action with a 36-28 win over Alexander Central tonight. It was a night where our underclassmen held off Alexander's big scoring and gave our upperclassmen a chance to surge back with the lead.

Thanks to all the loyal Saint Fans that came out to support the team for this critical conference match. Fan support truly motivates our wrestlers.

Freshman Dalen Milligan set the mark for the team tonight as he faced off with Alexander's senior 106 ranked wrestler. Dalen fought off the senior and would not give up a pin. Dalen held the scoring to a major decision which gave Alexander a 0-4 lead. A GREAT EFFORT.

Freshman Coy Reid took on another Alexander hammer at 113. Coy, a 106 minus 10, was bumped in for us to obtain the match objective. Coy lost by pin in the second period, but fought hard against the senior opponent. Score 0-10.

Junior Graham "Dump Truck" Ormand bumped up from his normal weight class to 120. He scored Saint's first points of the night with a 9-2 decision. Score 3-10.

Sophomore Jovanny Urzua bumped up a weight class. Though significantly undersized to his opponent, Jovanny fought off numerous pinning situations and kept moving. His 2-11 loss was in fact a win for the Tribe. They only gained 4 points from the major decision. A job well done by Jovanny for the Tribe. Score 3-14.

Dalen, Coy, Graham, and Jovanny wrestled to the results that the Tribe needed at this point of the match. The Tribe was still close and only down 11 points. Now was the time for the Tribe to strike back.

Junior Blake "Door Knocker" Baker pinned his opponent at 3:37. No repair to the facility was required. Score 9-14.

Sophomore Garrett Bolling, yes, "Snake River" Bolling, had the match of his life. He slithered his long arms and legs into positions that would make an emergency responder gag and radio for backup. Garret won 6-4 and pushed the Tribe closer to Alexander. Score 12-14.

Alexander was now short of ammo in this fight. Eddie Brannock and De'Untae Henry were awarded forfeits. Score 24-14

Junior Ivan Vergel bumped up to 160 to take on Alexander's hammer who finished 2nd in 4A State last year. Ivan got caught in a nearfall 3 in the first period, but otherwise wrestled a 4-4 match against their big guy. Final score was 4-7. Huge win for the Tribe. Match score now 24-17

Junior Jordan Bolling, yes, "Big Snake" Bolling, (big brother to Snake River), battled to a 6-4 win. (a coincidence, I think not). A little excitement after the conclusion of the match caused Alexander to be awarded a team point deduction. Score 27-16

Junior Dakota "Red Flare" Metcalf wasted little time in his match with a first period pin. Dakota obtained two takedowns and a nearfall 3 before the pin. Score 33-16

Junior Salvador "Hit Man" Gilvaja scored a 3-2 win in a tightly contested match. Salvador scored the only takedown of the match in the third period to take the lead. A little out of bounds shoving scuffle erupted in the last period. Not uncommon between two highly competitive wrestlers. But the our crowd got protective of their mafia "Hit Man". They erupted with objections that have not been heard since the hubcap scene in the "Christmas Story". Alexander's bench launched back at our crowd, our gal's in the crowd raised their hands, displayed their digital thermometers, and were headed down the bleachers with their canes raised like the storming of the Frankenstein Castle. Luckily, the Alexander Coach calmed the situation. Our coaches would have intervened, but we were laughing so hard at the eruption that it was impossible to get out of our chairs. It was just another fine family outing. Score 36-16.

Daniel Tellez and Ryan Campbell took on Alexander's fully loaded 220 and 285. While courageous in effort, both were pinned, but the match was already won. Score 36-28.

Congratulations to Jordan Bolling
Jordan reached his 50th career win milestone against Alexander Central's conference dual match.
Jordan won it with a 6-4 decision against Christian Romero.

Saint is now 25-4 overall and 1-0 in conference action. We travel to Hickory on Friday to take on Hickory and Watauga in conference matchups. We will also wrestle a non conference match with Atkins.

Saint managed all but one team at the Big Horn Duals going 8-1. Overall it was a great two day outing by the Tribe. Results can be seen on our Current Record web page.

Please come out and support the Tribe this evening. This is the first conference match of the year and is a significant match to determine the conference championship. Top ranked wrestlers for each side in this event promises to be a great night of competitive wrestling.

Congratulations to Graham Ormand
Graham reached his 100th career win milestone against Ravenscroft in the quarter-finals at Cary.
Graham won it with a 0:49 pin against Sam Tabet.

Congratulations to De'Untae Henry
De'Untae reached his 50th career win milestone against North Side Jacksonville at the Havelock Big Horn Duals.
His 50th win was a forfiet but he went on to win 4 more matches at Big Horn Duals

Congratulations to Daniel Tellez
Daniel reached his 50th career win milestone against Cleveland at the Havelock Big Horn Duals.
Daniel won it with a 0:28 pin against Ethan Hildreth.

Saint placed 4th in team points but finished with 4 champions, 2 runner ups, and 1 fourth place finish.

Winning Championships in their weight classes were:
Blake Baker @ 132
Ivan Vergel @ 160
Jordan Bolling @ 170
Salvador Gilvaja @ 195

Saint won against the short handed Draughn 84-0. The second match of the night was against Bunker Hill which Saint won 51-16.

Pinning for the Tribe was Isaac Leon @ 3:38, Blake Baker @ 2:22, Eddie Brannock @ 2:55, De'Untae Henry @ 2:56, Ivan Vergel @ 3:06, and Salvador Gilvaja @1:08.

Saint defeated Crest 57-12, Pisgah 43-29 , and Ashbrook71-6 tonight,
but dropped a match against 5A Rock Hill, SC 26-36.
The Tribe now has a season record of 14-3.

Congratulations to Blake Baker
Blake reached his 125th career win milestone against Ashbrook.
Blake won it with a 3:52 pin against Dennis Taylor

Congratulations to Salvabor Gilvaja
Salvador reached his 100th career win milestone against Ashbrook.
Salvador's 99th win came against Pisgah when he pinned Gary James in 1:44.
His 100th win came as a forfeit in the following Ashbrook match.

Congratulations to Dakota Metcalf
Dakota reached his 50th career win milestone against Ashbrook.
Dakota had a 0:52 pin against Elijah Batts of Ashbrook.

The Tribe could not hold the line against #1 2a Rank Fred T. Foard and lost 24-40. Foard's senior heavy line up over powered our underclassmen with pins to gain the advantage in the match.

Winning tonight for the Tribe was Graham Ormand with a 2:48 pin, Blake Baker with a 1:29 pin, Ivan Vergel with a 7-5 decision, Dakota Metcalf with a 0:27 pin, and Salvador Gilvaja with a 7-5 decision.

Congratulations to Ivan Vergel
Ivan reached his 75th career win milestone at the Fred T. Foard match tonight.
Ivan won a 7-5 Decision over 2A #1 Ranked Allen Pyatte

The Tribe handed Newton Conover their first lost of the season with a strong 42-30 showing tonight. Saints Dual Record goes to 11-1. Two weight classes were special tonight as two of our Sophomores got their chance to be in the starting lineup.

The night started slowly for the Tribe with only Graham Ormand scoring a 2:58 pin through the first four weight classes, 6-18. Blake Baker started the come back for the Tribe with a 0:46 pin which brought the score to 12-18.

One significant fact that you hope for in a young wrestler is the ability to hold the opponent to a decision and not give up major bonus points. Sean Guy did that tonight in one of his first varsity appearances. Sean lost in a 1-6 decision, but it was a great effort to slow the Newton Conover scoring. 12-21.

Eddie Brannock pinned his opponent @ 3:18 of his match and then De'Untae Henry scored a major decision to push the Tribe ahead, 22-21.

Ivan Vergel and Dakota Metcalf pinned as the Tribe took two of the next three weight classes making the score 34-24.

With just 3 weight classes to go, the Tribe needed another win to put the match out of reach of Newton Conover. Enter Justin Beltran. His an upcoming Sophomore with growing talent and hard work. Justin scored two big take downs and an escape to win his match 5-3 and gave the Tribe a 13 point lead with only two matches to go. Seal the Deal Beltran.

Salvador Gilvaja closed out the scoring for the Tribe with a forceful second period pin. The final score of the dual match ended at 42-30.

Congratulations to senior Eddie Brannock who set a new career near fall points record this weekend at the Indian Classic. Eddie's four year career of dedication to putting people on their back paid off at the Indian Classic where he gained 27 back points. This drove his total to 609 back points. This broke the current record set my Ian Martin in 2012 at 590 back points.

Eleven teams entered the tournament, including a first ever out of state team Pigeon Forge, TN. The Tribe had an outstanding day of competition as all twelve of our entries placed in the top four of their weight class.

Blake Baker was voted the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. His stunning pin in the 2nd Period over CJ Dyer of Pigeon Forge (regional 3rd place in TN). His two other first period pins on his way to the finals impressed the voting of the tournament coaches.

The Tribe won 197 team points with 5 first place, 3 second place, 1 3rd place, and 3 4th place finishers. West Lincoln came in second with 159.5 points and Bunker Hill with 125 points. Details can be seen on the Indian Classic web page of our website.

Tournament Champions for St. Stephens
Graham Ormand @ 113
Blake Baker @ 132
Eddie Brannock @ 145
Ivan Vergel @ 160
Salvador Gilvaja @ 195

The Tribe came away with two team wins tonight by defeating Maiden 64-15 and East Burke 70-9. It was a testy night for our upcoming young wrestlers as they had to fill in weight classes for afflicted starters. As the cold and flu season comes upon us, several team members has contracted the highly contagious Food in Mouth Disease. They are expected to recover with no ill or lingering effects. However, it gave our younger wrestlers a chance to test their skills in a varsity match.

Stepping up to night was Sophomore Garrett Bolling, son of English Professor Bolling, as he thrilled the traveling, rambling, menagerie of Saint Supporters. Garrett defeat both of his opponent by 9-1 and 16-4.

Freshman Dalen Milligan continues to hold the line for the Tribe at 106 with two wins tonight. One was a pin against Maiden @ 1:44.

Justin Beltran, Ryan Campbell, Omar Orozco stepped in tonight to claim 18 points for the Tribe.

Pinning for the Tribe tonight against Maiden were Dalen Milligan, Graham Ormand, Eddie Bannock, Ivan Vergel, Jordan Bolling (another Professor Bolling's son), and Dakota Metcalf.

Pinning for the Tribe against East Burke were Graham Ormand, Blake Baker, Eddie Bannock, Ivan Vergel, Dakota Metcalf, and Salvador Gilvaja.

Davie County 78 Hickory 6
Davie County72 South Rowan 6
Davie County 72 Patton
Davie County 40 St. Stephens 31
Davie County 46 North Iredell 24

St. Stephens 66 Patton 12
St. Stephens 47 North Iredell 24
St. Stephens 61 South Rowan 18

North Iredell 60 South Rowan 24
North Iredell 66 Hickory 18
North Iredell 60 Patton 24

The Tribe made a great showing Tuesday night, but came away short against Davie County 40-31.
Highlights of the Night

Senior Luke Queen made his first appearance in the line up this year and contributed a pin and a decision in the nights competition.

Match of the night was Salvador Gilvaja's 11-9 overtime win against North Iredell. Like many on our team tonight, Salvador had to bump up a weight class to 220. Down 5-6 going into the third period, Salvador's relentless attach scored two take-downs to go ahead 9-8, but this opponent escaped one last time to tie the score 9-9 at the end of regulation. Salvador continued his attach in overtime and grabbed the winning take-down. Winner 11-9.

Blake Baker, Eddie Brannock, Dakota Metcalf, and Salvador Gilvaja all went 4-0 on the evening. Juniors Ivan Vergel and Graham Ormand went 3-1 on the night while having to wrestle up one weight class. Freshman Dalen Milligan went 3-1with 3 pins on the night.

Lincolnton has a young, but determined, group of young men. Their experience level was not enough to stop the Tribe tonight. Saint had 10 pins, 1 techfall, and received 3 forfeits.

The best outcomes of the night came from Beck Nestor and Issac Leon.

Freshman Beck Nestor got his first career win tonight. He was leading in the score 8-5 in the third period when he pinned @ 5:45 in his match.

Sophomore Issac Leon made his first appearance this year and pinned his opponent @ 1:16 of the first period.

Congratulations to Eddie Brannock
Eddie reached his 125th career win milestone at the Lincolnton match tonight.
After racking up a 14-0 lead in the first period, Eddie pinned Trevor McCarthy at 1:51 time of the match.

In the Preliminary Matches this evening, the Tribe also dominated their competition. Their hard work in the practice room shows that they are growing in skill and are preparing for their shot at competing for the Tribe in Varsity competition.

Jayden Jackson wrestled to matches and won both by pins.
Dorian Whitworth pinned his opponent @ 3:58.
Justin Beltran pinned @ 0:50.
Ryan Campbell pinned @ 3:34.

Saint won decisively in both matches tonight defeating Mt. Airy 66-9 and Wilkes Central 75-6.

Another freshmen wrestler entered the competition circle for Saint as Kenan Dillingham joined Dalen Milligan, Alan Orozco, and Beck Nestor in the Freshman class that is adding significant wins to our dual competition success.

Sophomore Justin Beltran got his first varsity start of the season at 220 and contributed a 2:52 pin for the Tribe against Wilkes Central.

The first match of the evening was against Mt. Airy. Kenan Dillingham, Ivan Vergel, and Salvador Gilvaja all pinned their opponents. Eddie Brannock tech-falled his opponent 15-0. Dakota Metcalf majored with a 12-4 win.

The next match with Wilkes Central saw Senior Dawson Lail, Freshman Dalen Milligan, and Junior Graham Ormand push the Saint lead to 30-0 before Wilkes Central was able to get on the scoreboard with 6 points. Now the score was 30-6.

The rest was all Saint as Blake Baker, Eddie Brannock, De'Untae Henry and Ivan Vergel all pinned their opponents. Jordan Bolling had a classic battle at 170 and secured the win with a late 3rd period take down to secure a 4-1 decision. Dakota Metcalf, Salvador Gilvaja, and Justin Beltran closed out the competition all with pins. Final 75-6

The Tribe traveled to Cherryville to compete against Bunker Hill and Cherryville in the team's season opener matches.

The first match of the night was a 48-24 win over Bunker Hill.

Salvador Gilvaja score the first points of the season with a 3-2 victory in a hard fought battle. Dawson Lail returned to compete for the Tribe and won his 285 match with a first period pin. Freshmen with their first wins of their career were Alan Orozco @ 103 and Dalen Milligan @ 113. After the first 7 matches the Tribe was down 15-21 to the Bears, but the Tribe gained 5 pins out of 6 match run. Pinning for the Tribe were Blake Baker, Eddie Brannock, De'Untae Henry, Ivan Vergel, and Dakota Metcalf.

Cherryville was the next opponent and the Tribe won 65-15.

The Tribe was down 0-6 when Freshman Alan Orozco pulled a third period pin out of nowhere. The score was 0-8 when Alan gained a reversal and pinned. It was a real Zinger Baby!!!! The Tribe then went on a role. Graham Ormand Tech Fall 18-2.
Blake Baker, Eddie Brannock, Ivan Vergel, Dakota Metcalf, Daniel Tellez, and Dawson Lail all pinned.

Saint Wrestling had two to place in the 2017 6th Annual Honey Badger on Oct. 7th, 2017.

Salvador Gilvaja won the Gold in the 195 Lbs Wt. Class match with a pin and a 5-1 decision.
He won the Gold medal match with a 9-3 decision.

Dakota Metcalf took the Bronze at 182 lb. with only one loss to the eventual 182 champion.
Dakota got to the Bronze with 4 pins.

Summer Wrestling Camp June 19-22, 2017. See the link above in GREEN to get the registration form.