Wheatmore’s Sumners, Eastern Randolph’s Lambright had similar goals as champs met in wrestling final

Wheatmore’s Ayden Sumners prepares to take the top position against Eastern Randolph’s David Lambright in the third period of the Class 3A state final at 126 pounds. (Jann Ortiz / For Randolph Record)

GREENSBORO — Wheatmore’s Ayden Sumners and Eastern Randolph’s David Lambright had been in wrestling finals of the state tournament a year earlier.

But there was nothing quite like what they experienced when they went to the mats for a title bout this February. Both were reigning state champions, but only one of them would repeat.

“He’s actually one of my friends, so it was definitely hard going in there,” Sumners said. “But on the mat, everybody is a stranger. It doesn’t matter who it is.”

So when introductions were made for the final at 126 pounds at First Horizon Coliseum, the Sumners/Lambright bout brought certain attention.

They were in the same weight division in 2025, with Sumners claiming the Class 2A title and Lambright earning the Class 1A crown. Realignment and the growth to an eight-classification system for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association means that Eastern Randolph and Wheatmore now are in the same class.

Sumners captured last month’s championship with a 1-0 decision, marking his third victory of the season against Lambright.

“Definitely a lot closer than I wanted it to be,” Sumners said. “He definitely watched me wrestle and learned from whenever we wrestled in the past. We’ve always had close matches.”

Eastern Randolph coach Josh Coble said the strategy was to avoid giving Sumners space.

“We wanted to wrestle him more physical,” Coble said.

Summers also won a regular-season encounter with Lambright last season. Wheatmore coach Kyle Spencer said a different approach from Lambright was expected with the state title on the line.

“You wrestle that many times, they’re going to close that gap a little bit,” Spencer said. “David wrestled a great, smart match.”

Following a scoreless first period, Sumners scored the only point with a second-period escape.

Lambright began the third period in the down position, needing an escape to tie the match.

In the regional final a week earlier, Lambright earned an escape in a loss to Sumners. In that encounter, Sumners estimated it took Lambright less than 30 seconds to get to his feet.

With a one-point lead, the situation was different this time.

“It’s really just if I had the heart to keep him down,” Sumners said.

In the two-minute third period, Sumners didn’t budge. In the waning seconds, he began turning Lambright to his back before time expired.

“I was a little bit gassed that last period,” Lambright said.

For Sumners, it completed an undefeated junior season.

“It was more of like I protected what is mine,” he said before later in the evening being voted as the tournament’s Class 3A Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Lambright finished his high school career, with three of this season’s four defeats coming vs. Sumners.

“I’d say I’m pretty close,” Lambright said of falling short of a repeat. “Really close, actually.”

And after all, Sumners ended up with a takedown on the final night of the season. As part of his celebration, he tossed Spencer, who was neatly attired with a red tie, to the mat.

“I asked him before the match if I could and he let me,” Sumners said. “It was awesome. He’s a big guy.”

Spencer concurred that permission had been granted, though he was expecting a different maneuver from his wrestler.

Shortly after the title match, the two wrestlers crossed paths and spoke briefly. Lambright said it was a chat based on respect.

“I know how much work it takes to be as good as he and me are,” he said.