Trinity’s wrestling team poses for a photo after winning the Class 2-A dual team final. (Randolph Record)
Bulldogs blow past Seaforth for first dual team championship
GREENSBORO – Once Trinity got rolling, there was no stopping the Bulldogs in the Class 2-A dual team state finals.
Trinity racked up victories in seven consecutive bouts and came away with a 36-31 triumph against Seaforth on Saturday afternoon at the fieldhouse on the Greensboro Coliseum Complex grounds.
Lawson Coltrane clinched the victory and undefeated season for the Bulldogs with a second-period pin in the 170-pound match.
“The whole team did it,” Coltrane said. “We had no doubt.”
It’s the first dual team state championship for Trinity (38-0).
“Everything went as we had planned,” coach Brandon Coggins said. “We figured we could make a lot of hay in the middle (of our lineup).”
The Bulldogs fed off each bout and the points – and pins – kept adding up.
“We knew after each match each person was going to have to do their job,” 150-pounder Bear Schaefer said.
With a pre-meet drawing determining the competition would begin at heavyweight, Trinity’s Joseph Trahan wasted no time in sending the pro-Bulldogs crowd into a frenzy with a 41-second pin of Palmer Moad.
“I was very nervous,” said Trahan, a sophomore. “To know I have the opportunity if I pin to set the tone.”
But Seaforth (27-2) won the next three bouts for a 13-6 team lead. But here came Spencer May, the most accomplished wrestler in Trinity’s lineup. He had moved up to 126 pounds for the meet, finishing with a 6-3 decision against Layne Armstrong.
“Being able to use my energy,” said May, a senior who improved to 55-2 this season. “I knew e couldn’t look scared or upset (about previous matches), I had to keep their heads up.”
The Bulldogs had momentum and didn’t let it go.
Levi Dennis stopped Maddock Cody 8-4 at 132 pounds before 138-pounder Jaden Allred pinned Noah Lisk in 1:49 to put Trinity ahead 18-13. At 144, Barron Justice added to the margin by winning 7-0 against Caden Brewer.
Then it got interesting, if not more thrilling for the Bulldogs.
Schaefer used a reversal with 35 seconds left and held on for a 4-3 decision against William Bass.
For Schaefer, it was mission accomplished, particularly since he competed up a weight class from his natural spot.
“Just keeping the momentum,” he said. “Keep everyone’s excitement level.”
Next came Zane Schloemer’s 157-pound clash with Seaforth’s Pierson Moad, who led 11-4. Schloemer closed within 11-10 before Moad’s reversal. But the match ended with Moad’s disqualification for a fourth technical violation for locking hands with 28 seconds left.
So instead of Trinity holding a 24-16 lead if Moad had won by decision, the margin was 30-13.
Coltrane stepped onto the mats realizing he could clinch it all vs. Alex Hinchman.
“I knew I was coming here to pin him,” Coltrane said.
Indeed, he flattened Hinchman in 3:37.
“It felt when I went on top, I can actually do this,” Coltrane said. “The best moment of my life.”
It proved to be a thrill for the entire Trinity team.
“A walk-off pin to seal it, that’s big-time,” Coggins said.
That made the team score 36-13. Trinity forfeited the last three bouts.
Afterward, there was the oddity for Trahan having gone first in the lineup. He sat back and watched the rest.
“It kind of felt out of place,” he said.
But he and the rest of the Bulldogs were glad to hold the top place in the state.
