Viking Grapplers Spend Holiday Season with Pair of Tournaments

It was a working holiday for the Avery Vikings wrestling team this past week as the team traveled to the greater Hickory area for a pair of wrestling tournaments.

On Saturday, December 20 the squad took part in the Fred T. Foard Tiger Classic.
In the pigtail round (a play-in round prior to opening round action), Bryan Moody competed at 140 pounds, while Lucas Lecka entered in a 189 pounds. Both wrestlers met stiff competition, falling in first round falls.

A total of four grapplers began tournament play for the Big Red. Brock Yackey competed at 112 pounds, with Jacob McKinney at 119 pounds, Forrest Sickler at 135 pounds, and Anthony Varacalli at 145 pounds.

Both Yackey and Sickler were victorious in their first round bouts, Yackey by technical fall 17-1 over Foard’s Caleb Griffin, and Sickler by pin at 3:29 over Wilkes Central’s Tyler Ward.
McKinney fell by 12-3 major decision to Freedom’s Luiz Lopez, while Varacalli was defeated by an 8-3 decision to West Caldwell’s J.D. Stiles. Both wrestlers dropped to the consolation bracket, where they advanced in opening round action. McKinney won in a third period pin over Draughn’s Miles Maunery, while Varacalli earned a first period pinfall win over East Lincoln’s Kurtis Snyder.

In the championship semifinals, Yackey advanced to the finals with a pinfall at 2:31 over Hickory’s Dylan Harnish. Sickler met up with a tough competitor in West Caldwell’s Treigh Triplett, losing by technical fall 17-1 to drop to the consolation semifinal bracket.

In semifinal consolation bouts, McKinney was defeated in a 7-2 decision by Scotty Royal of Wilkes Central. Sickler squared off against Burns wrestler Dalton Elmore. Elmore emerged victorious with a pin with only four seconds remaining in the opening period to capture the win. The losses eliminated the Avery wrestlers from the tournament.

In his consolation semifinal bout, Varacalli won by decision over Burns wrestler Shawn Stanton to make the consolation finals, but lost by an 8-5 decision to Hickory’s Dalton Obeerle to capture fourth place at the 145 pound class.

“Anthony came away with a couple of good wins, and also had a couple of matches where he didn’t wrestle as well. I feel like he wasn’t exactly up in to the level he had been,” Avery head wrestling coach Stacey Clark said after the event. “It was really good for him to overcome a couple of tough matches and be able to place at the tournament.”

In the championship finals at 112 pounds, Brock Yackey came away as the Vikings’ lone champion on the day, winning by pin at 5:17 over Sam Melton of East Lincoln.

“Brock was our Avery Wrestler of the Week and had a terrific tournament. He wrestled solid all day long. He faced a tough kid in the finals and came out with an edge in the second and third period to get the win,” Coach Clark added. “Brock is showing both himself and us as coaches that he has a great opportunity for success at the 112 pound class.”

On Tuesday, December 23rd the Vikings journeyed to Newton-Conover High School to compete in the annual Red Devil Duals Tournament. During the day the Vikings faced stiff competition in separate dual meets with McDowell, Enka, R-S Central, and Newton-Conover High Schools. The Vikings were unable to come away victorious in team scores in the meets, but the duals provided the group of six wrestlers who made the trip with top-notch opposition and experience heading into conference and regional action in the coming months.

“We took a little short of a full team as we’ve had wrestlers either out of town for the holidays or unable to go because of missing practice. We took the kids who have been working hard and getting better,” Coach Clark said as the meet concluded last Tuesday.

Four wrestlers earned multiple wins during the day. Brock Yackey earned four wins and lost in a tough fifth match by a 3-1 final score to Newton-Conover’s Eric Holbrook. Anthony Varacalli earned three wins on the day and narrowly missed a fourth win with a narrow 6-5 loss against Randy Ortega from Newton-Conover. Two other wrestlers, Forrest Sickler and Lucas Lecka, earned a pair of victories at Tuesday’s event.

“Dual team tournaments are tough this time of year because we have so many people not with us, but it’s good for the kids we do take because they will see competition here that they won’t see again until they reach regional competition,” Coach Clark explained. “This tournament is a good eye-opener for our wrestlers and team, as it’s around the halfway point of the season. We get to see where we need to be and where the other kids are. Even if you come out with a couple of losses, it’s not a bad thing because you get to see the caliber of where you should be at this point.”

Avery did receive a forfeit win in the duals, as Providence School did not attend the tournament and Avery’s wrestlers each received forfeit victories for that match.

Individual Avery wrestler records following matches of December 23rd are as follows:
103 lbs. - Bennet Sweat - 13–8
112/119 lbs. - Jacob McKinney - 9–9
112/119/125 lbs.- Brock Yackey - 18-11
125/130 lbs. - Tyler Long 3–10
135/140 lbs. - Forrest Sickler - 15-16
130/135/140 lbs. - Bryan Moody- 3–22
145 lbs. - Anthony Varacalli - 16–6
152/160 lbs. - Jose Munoz - 9-4
171 lbs. - Leo Munoz - 2–4
171 lbs. - CJ Vance - 4–13
189 lbs. -Lucas Lecka - 8–11
215/285 lbs. - Nathaniel Buchanan - 3–26
285 lbs. -Justin Crowder - 3–10

The Vikings jump into conference action quickly following the New Year’s holiday, with dual meets at Hendersonville on Tuesday, January 6th and at home against Polk County on Friday, January 9th.

Avery Junior Varsity Basketball Roundup; Girls Defeat Patton, Boys Come Up Short

The Avery Lady Vikings junior varsity girls basketball team had a difficult time shaking away a tough Patton Lady Panthers team over the first two periods of play. A strong second half on both sides of the court turned a once close contest into a rout, however, as Avery won by a 54-31 final score.

The first quarter was nip and tuck, as the teams were tied 14-14 after one quarter of play. Avery went to the free throw line early and often, converting on 10 of 12 free throws in the first seven minutes. Mercedes Bentley scored six points in the quarter, with four points from Savannah Dellinger.

Both Patton and Avery worked to dictate tempo in the second period, but the game turned into a defensive struggle. The Lady Vikings scored seven points to Patton’s four in the quarter, giving the Big Red the narrow 21-18 halftime advantage.

A 18-2 run over a five minute span of the third quarter put the game away for the Big Red. Avery’s defense held Patton to only one field goal in the entire quarter, while Avery received points from six different players in the period, led by six from Monica Estep to stake the Vikings to a 39-24 lead after three quarters.

Throughout the second half the Lady Vikings used its pressure defense to turn the tide in their favor. Avery held Patton to a single field goal and five free throws for the fourth period. In the meantime, the Big Red tickled the twine for 15 fourth-quarter points for the convincing victory.

Mercedes Bentley led the Avery attack with 14 points, with ten points, including a perfect 8 of 8 free throws, from Savannah Dellinger. Both players also had three steals in the win. Estep’s six points were complemented by five points and five rebounds from Shayna Vance, to go with three points, ten rebounds, and five steals from Mary Chesnut Smith. Avery shot 23 of 29 from the free throw line as a team for the game.

“We shot well from the line and did a good job of getting to the line tonight,” Avery girls JV head coach Pat Daniels said following the win. “We didn’t execute as well with our fast-break offense, and aren’t looking up with the ball as well as we need to. We did a great job with taking care of the ball in the first half, and had 21 steals in the game to go with 43 rebounds. Our intensity was much better after halftime and we pretty much kept our eye on the prize in the second half.”

The Avery JV boys team showed marked improvement from its earlier loss at Patton. Avery led 12-6 after one quarter of action behind a pair of three-point baskets from Mark Polsgrove and two field goals by Alex Villanueva.

Patton went on a scoring run early in the second quarter, scoring the first five points of the period to quickly tie the contest at 12-12. A pair of three-pointers in the quarter helped the Panthers to take a narrow 21-18 lead at halftime.

Neither club found scoring easy in the third quarter of play, as Avery outscored the Panthers by a 6-4 margin to trail by a single point at 25-24 going into the fourth quarter.

Patton pulled away in the fourth quarter to take the victory by the final score of 46-39.

Avery’s Hunter Shields found the shooting touch in the fourth quarter with five points, including a three-point basket, but Patton held on for the win behind the strength of a perfect 9 of 9 effort from the free throw line in the final stanza.

Alex Villanueva led the Viking scoring charge with 14 points on a team-high seven field goals. Dustin Clark added eight points for the Big Red, with seven from Shields and six from Polsgrove.

Both Avery teams are idle during the holidays and will return to the court on January 6th for their second conference contest of the season against Hendersonville.

Vikings Split Varsity Rematches with Panthers

Prior to the holiday break, the Avery Vikings hosted the Patton Panthers in a rematch of contests played just one week earlier in Morganton. In Friday’s varsity contests, the Viking women pulled away for a 73-45 rout, while the Avery boys were unable to hang close with the Panther men in a 69-45 loss.

The Avery varsity girls snapped a two-game losing skid with a convincing 27-point win over Patton. In the opening period the Lady Vikings outscored the Lady Panthers 14-9 behind four points each from Katelynn Eudy and Allison Vance. Avery played the contest without the services of senior forward Katie Ellis, who was still experiencing effects from her collision with Vance in Wednesday’s loss at Watauga.

Avery’s transition game got rolling in the second quarter against the 2-3 zone defense of Patton. Lauren Avery was a spark in her second start at guard for the Vikings, as she scored nine points in the second quarter and 11 overall for the half. Vance also reached double figures scoring in the first two periods as she scored six points, including a three-point bucket, in the quarter for ten points by intermission.

Usual reserve standouts Sara Wiseman and Megan Tennant stepped up big in the absence of Ellis, as they combined for 15 points in the game. Tennant tallied all eight of her points in the first half to push the Big Red ahead 42-24 at halftime.

Avery’s defense stifled the Lady Panthers all evening, with 18 steals as a team and forcing close to 30 Patton turnovers for the contest. The Vikings doubled up the Panthers in the third quarter scoring 18 to 9, paced by five points in the quarter by Wiseman as part of a seven-point, four block performance. Avery led 60-33 going into the final period and closed out the final eight minutes to pick up the 28-point win.

Katelynn Eudy led the Vikings with 17 points on 8 for 10 shooting from the field. She also registered five rebounds and three steals in the game. Lauren Avery had a great all-around effort for the Big Red, as she scored 15 points, with seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals. Vance finished the win with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Elyse Perry scored eight off the bench in the Avery win. Avery moved its record back over the .500 mark at 4-3 overall.

The Avery varsity boys started strong in Friday’s contest with Patton, but were unable to overcome a first quarter run by the Panthers in a 69-45 loss.

Avery led by an early 8-4 margin, but a 16-6 run by Patton, paced by ten points from guard Nick Holland, closed out the first quarter put the Vikings in a double-digit deficit at 20-10 after eight minutes of play.
In the second period, the Vikings settled down and managed to outscore Patton 12-11, but Avery could not put together an offensive run against the aggressive Patton man-to-man defense as the Panthers led 31-22 at halftime.

Patton controlled the contest for good as the third period ensued. Patton shot 7 of 8 from the free throw line as part of a 22-point effort in the quarter, while the Avery pair of Joey Potter and Colton Blackburn provided but all but two of the Big Red’s 11 points in the quarter. The discrepancy left the Vikings trailing by a 53-33 score with only eight minutes remaining. The Panthers defense held Avery to only 12 points in the final quarter en route to a season sweep.

Patton’s defense constantly double-teamed Avery leading scorer Dustin Clarke all evening, as they held the sharpshooter to only four points in the game, all coming on two field goals in the first half.

Avery’s scoring attack was led by the duo of Potter and Blackburn, who scored 11 each. Blackburn added nine rebounds and three blocks, while Potter added five rebounds. Kody Hughes chipped in with nine points and six rebounds.

Five players scored double figures for Patton, led by Marius Harshaw’s 13 points off the bench.
Avery’s varsity girls and boys squads competed in the BB&T Holiday Classic at Cherryville High School the weekend following Christmas. A full report on the tournament will be found in next week’s paper and here on the Blog.