Uwharrie Charter Academy will send 13 wrestlers to the state tournament after an impressive run through the Class 1A East Regional on Saturday at Rosewood in Goldsboro.
UCA’s regional champions were Ayven Virasone Chitavong (106 pounds), Brandon Jordan (144), Lorenzo Alston (157), Aiden Foster (165) and Michael Shropshire (215). The Eagles won another regional team crown.
Alston, a junior who had two earlier technical falls and received a forfeit, is undefeated and will be aiming for this third state championship.
Paxton Kearns (113), Andrew White (126), Rick Riccardella (138) and Caden Bond (175) were UCA’s runners-up.
Also going to the states from UCA will be Brennan Worrell (third at 132), Caden Thorne (third at 150), Caleb Saldana (fourth at 126) and Rylan Alvarez (fourth at 190).
UCA rolled up 288½ points to runner-up North East Carolina Prep’s 129.
Virasone Chitavong had a 46-second pin of Lennon Ogden of American Leadership Academy; Jordan pinned Pamlico County’s Landon Yeates in 46 seconds of the final; Alston notched a technical fall in 1:40 against Tarboro’s Landon Browning; Foster edged Rosewood’s Fabian Sabillon by 9-6; and Shropshire stuck Central Carolina Academy’s Charlie Wright in 1:44.
Eastern Randolph had a regional champion with Maddox Carson at 285. He won by 5-3 in the final against North East Carolina Prep’s Daniel Silver in the final following two first-period pins and a decision.
Eastern Randolph’s other state qualifiers are David Lambright (third at 126) and Lucas Kennedy (fourth at 120). Lambright defeated Saldana 13-5 in the third-place bout.
Class 1A matches in the state tournament are contested Friday and Saturday at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro.
Class 3-A
Asheboro had two state qualifiers coming from the Midwest Regional at North Davidson.
Oscar Zelaya took third at 120 and Berik Bigelow placed fourth at 126.
The state tournament begins Thursday for Class 3A teams.
Three girls qualify
Trinity will have two entrants in the girls’ portion of the state tournament based on results from regionals Feb. 8.
Bliss Joyce (33-0) was the 132-pound champion in the Midwest Regional at Kannapolis Brown. Briana Joyce (30-6) placed second at 235.
Sophomore Alaina Scherer (27-19) of Asheboro also advanced to states based on a fourth-place finish at 235 in the Mideast Regional at Panther Creek in Cary.
