On Saturday, January 11, NC Varsity Warriors wrestled off against five other schools in the region’s dual tournament held at NC. Coaches and athletes hoped for a different turnout this year as they did not make it to state the past two years. After a close match, NC lost in the third round to Marietta and unfortunately will not attend state this year. 

In the first round, NC wrestled against Kennesaw Mountain. NC started off strong as senior Jemal Kinchen won the match by a technical fall, putting NC in the lead. However, NC did not keep their lead for long as the next four wrestlers lost their matches. Towards the end of the round, NC picked up their pace and started to make a comeback as the Warriors tied up the score. NC needed to win the last match in order to win the round, however, the last wrestler did not come through, and Kennesaw Mountain won.

“I felt like I had let my team down when we lost the first round since I lost my match,” junior Tyler Dobbs said.

The team took a break in between the first and second rounds as they met in the wrestling room to receive a pep talk from their Head Coach Jeffrey Bettis. After the pep talk, they went back into the gym and watched the other schools wrestle to know what to expect.

As soon as the third round started against Marietta, the wins went back and forth making it neck and neck. This continued for three matches until NC started losing every match. Once the round ended, NC took an unfortunate loss, kicking them out of the tournament and finishing in sixth place. 

“I feel great about the next season because I feel like we’re going to do better as a whole. We’re going to take practice and the matches more seriously and give it our all,” junior Aiden Joyce said. 

Despite the loss, NC knew they put up a good fight and left the tournament with their heads held high. Next year, the wrestlers hope to end the losing streak and make it to state in the dual tournament.