After a brief hiatus, the Avery wrestling team returned to the mat on Thursday evening for the team’s first home match of the season, a dual meet with the visiting Ashe County Huskies. In a tightly contested match that boiled down to the final three matches, the Vikings emerged victorious in the meet by a final score of 42-36.Four exhibition matches took place before the dual meet began, with Jonathan Hunnicutt, Rodney Vance, and Shawn Watson each winning by pinfall and Forrest Sickler coming up short by fall in his exhibition match.
The dual meet itself was a back-and-forth affair with the teams trading the overall lead. Picking up victories in the early portion of the meet were Brock Yackey at 112 pounds (1st period pinfall), Lucas Carver in a hard fought 2-1 decision win at 125 pounds over Ashe’s Logan Orr, John Hensley at 130 pounds (1st period pinfall), Stephen Holland at 140 pounds (1st period pinfall), as well as Jordan English at 145 pounds (3rd period pinfall) and Anthony Varacalli at 152 pounds (1st period pinfall).
The dual meet itself was a back-and-forth affair with the teams trading the overall lead. Picking up victories in the early portion of the meet were Brock Yackey at 112 pounds (1st period pinfall), Lucas Carver in a hard fought 2-1 decision win at 125 pounds over Ashe’s Logan Orr, John Hensley at 130 pounds (1st period pinfall), Stephen Holland at 140 pounds (1st period pinfall), as well as Jordan English at 145 pounds (3rd period pinfall) and Anthony Varacalli at 152 pounds (1st period pinfall).
In a pair of additional key matches, Jose Munoz picked up a 6-3 decision victory at the 160 pound class, with Lucas Lecka earning an impressive first period pinfall victory in the 215 pound weight class which sealed the victory.
Vikings head coach Stacey Clark was pleased that his team emerged victorious in Thursday’s meet. “The wins by Anthony Varacalli was big, as he volunteered to wrestle a little heavy at 152 and did a great job for us, and the win by Lucas Lecka at 215 who also bumped up was huge as far as match scores went,” the coach said. “The middle weights did what we expected and what they had to do. Lucas came in a little banged up and he did a great job in finishing the match and getting a good win.”
This past Saturday the team traveled to Jefferson to participate in the Ashe County Duals Tournament. Avery wrestled dual meets against five schools over the course of the day-long event, winning two of the matches and losing three.
Avery’s first match was a dual meet against the Vikings of North Wilkes High School, coming up short by a final score of 27-44. The Vikings only managed one pinfall victory (Jordan English at 145 pounds) and three of decision victories in the dual (Yackey, Hensley, and Holland were victorious).
The Vikings righted the ship with an impressive 57-24 win over Grayson County (VA). Earning victories by pinfall or decision in the dual meet were Yackey, Hensley, Holland, English, and Watson. Forfeit victories were earned by Johnathan Hunnicutt, Jaren Gragg, Micah Loven, Lucas Lecka, and Ike Puckett.
Avery lost its next two dual meets of the day to North Iredell High School and West Caldwell by scores of 27-48 and 27-44, respectively. Winners in the North Iredell match include Yackey (forfeit), Hensley (pinfall), Holland (decision), English (decision), Daniel Plyler (pinfall), and Shawn Watson (decision). Wrestlers earning victories in the West Caldwell match were Yackey (pinfall), Hunnicutt (forfeit), Sickler (forfeit), Hensley (pinfall), Holland (pinfall), and English (decision).
In Avery’s final dual match of the day, the Vikings defeated Rural Retrreat (VA) High School by a 45-30 score. Wrestlers who ended the day on a high note with wins include Nick Malgedey (forfeit), Yackey (pinfall), Sickler (pinfall), Hensley (pinfall), Varacalli (forfeit), Holland (decision), English (pinfall), and Loven (pinfall).
Coach Clark was pleased with the effort of several of his athletes. “Brock Yackey had a big day, especially for a freshman to go undefeated. He’s been a strong wrestler all year, but it was impressive to see him go unbeaten,” the coach said. “Jordan English also had a big day for us on Saturday. We’re seeing some improvement in our heavier weights and they’re working hard. Some of our young guys are making improvements and showing the extra drive a little sooner than we expected.”
Avery will return to the mat for a pair of dual meets, a match on Tuesday at Watauga and the conference opener, a dual meet at home on Thursday against Owen. The matches will be a good test for the team as the season kicks into high gear.
