Vikings Finish Wrestling Duals, Trio Captures Conference Tourney Titles

The Avery (AHS) wrestling team wrapped up the regular season with two home conference dual meets, defeating Mountain Heritage and falling to Mitchell in meets held at Avery Middle School last Tuesday, Feb. 1. The team competed last Friday, Feb. 4, at Polk County in the Western Highlands Conference championships.

Three seniors, Brock Yackey, C.J. Vance and Lucas Lecka, emerged as conference champions, while two other grapplers, Devin Buchanan and Kyle Greene, finished as tournament runners-up.
AHS defeated Mountain Heritage 54-27 in the team’s first dual meet last week. Winners for the Big Red included Brennan Clark (103 pounds), Buchanan (130 pounds), Zac Freeman (135 pounds), Yackey (140 pounds), Josh Gragg (145 pounds), Vance (160 pounds), Nathaniel Buchanan (189 pounds), Lecka (215 pounds) and Greene (heavyweight).

The Vikings did not fare as well in its second match of the evening, falling to the Mitchell Mountaineers by a 51-24 final match score.

Victors for the Big Red included Lecka (215 pounds) with a first period pinfall, Greene by a 5-0 decision in the heavyweight class, Harley Rash by first period pinfall at 119 pounds, Devin Buchanan by second period pinfall at 130 pounds and Vance by a 6-5 decision at 160 pounds.

The conference wrestling tournament was a great evening for the three Viking seniors who have provided leadership for the team all season long, as the veteran wrestlers saw the fruits of their labor in the form of a tournament championship.

Yackey captured his title in the 135-pound weight class. He began the tournament with a 9-2 decision win over Madison’s Jarrett Ipox. In his second match, Yackey defeated Owen’s Joe Turman by 7-0 decision to reach the tournament final. In the championship, Yackey defeated Polk’s Silvestre Ramirez by disqualification in the finals to win the championship.

At the 160-pound class, Vance earned a first round bye and faced Polk’s Tyler Keller in the semifinal, winning the match by 12-1 major decision. In the championship round, Vance earned a 5-2 decision win over Madison’s Erik Norton to bring home the winning medal.

Lecka was victorious in the 215-pound weight class tournament. He began his evening with a win by pinfall in only 10 seconds against Owen’s Taylor Early. Lecka then defeated Polk’s Jairo Nevarez by first period pin to reach the tournament finals. In the championship match, Lecka defeated Madison’s Lucas Garrett by first period pinfall, completing a dominating performance.

Buchanan reached the finals in the 130-pound weight class after pinning his first two opponents. A defeat to Mitchell’s Sejiro Littleton forced Buchanan to settle for the silver medal finish.

Greene earned his runner-up finish after defeating Mountain Heritage’s Kyle Carlson in the semifinal. Polk wrestler Tyler Philpott was victorious over Greene in the final to win the championship in the heavyweight class.

Clark (103 pounds) and Rash (119 pounds) captured fourth place finishes to give the Vikings an impressive seven wrestlers with top-four finishes in the tournament.

AHS returns to the mat Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18 and 19, for the Western Regional tournament at Cherokee High School.