The Super 32
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Special to NC Mat CHAPEL HILL People will always question a number of things in all-star matches. In this case, however, one can't question the quality of wrestling between some of the best wrestlers from North Carolina and Virginia. North Carolina won a 34-24 barnburner in an all-star dual match - which came down to the heavyweight division - Friday night in Carmichael Auditorium on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The match was part of Mat Jam, which featured three NCAA division I wrestling conferences on Saturday (ACC, CAA, Southern) and more than 1,000 showed up for the high school match. Each team was chosen by a group of coaches in each state. North Carolina's team was selected before the NCHSAA tournament, which led some to question the entire event. North Carolina held a 28-24 lead heading into the heavyweight match, and Chris Simpson of South Davidson preserved the lead with a first period pin over Floyd Wright, a 3A state champ in Virginia. Virginia reeled off three straight wins at 171, 189 and 215 that turned what was a blowout into a tight match. Josh Walker, a Class 3-A state champ from Stonewall Jackson, took a 15-4 major decision over Joe Runkle. Chad Malone, a 3-A state champ from Potomac, majored Chapel Hill's Adam Jagow 15-5 and pulled the score to 28-21. Brian McLain, another 3-A state champ from West Springfield, took a hard fought 12-9 win over Robert Leduc. McLain led 402 after the first, but Leduc pulled to 6-5 with a takedown with 15 seconds left in the second. Leduc tried a cradle in the last 10 seconds that backfired, and McLain scored a reversal just before the period ended that made the score 8-5. In the third, Leduc again pulled closer (8-7) but got too high attempting a cradle. McLain capitalized again with a reversal, and then both wrestlers scored reversals that made the final 12-9 in McLain's favor. North Carolina got on the board first at 103 pounds after Nick Mayhew of Cary earned a 25-7 technical fall over Joe Story. Mayhew wrestled for Jerry Winterton, one of three NC coaches in the event. Mayhew led 14-4 after the first period, thanks in part to four takedowns he scored on Story. From there it was all Mayhew in the second, until the final near fall points were tallied and the match ended in the second period. Virginia got on the board at 112 when Danni Vucci took an 8-4 decision over West Lincoln's Jonathan Cline, making the score 5-3. The match was tied 2-2 after one period, then 4-3 Vucci after the second. In the third, Vucci caught Cline out of position and scored a reversal that pushed the lead to 6-3 with 1:23 left. One of the best matches of the night featured Jack Britt's Mike Valldeperas and Lamont Watkins of Marshall High in Virginia. Valldeperas won 6-5 and gave Team NC an 8-3 lead. Valldeperas trailed 2-1 after the first period, but took a 3-2 lead with a crisp single leg early in the second. Watkins tied it at 3-3 with 1:15 left in the second, but Valldeperas hit a fireman's carry with 11 seconds remaining that made the score 5-3 before Watkins got an escape, making the score 5-4 after the second period. In the third, Watkins tied the score at 5-5 with 1:45 left, but Valldeperas got the decisive point with 52 seconds left on a stalling call. Valldeperas kept the pressure on and Watkins looked tired late in the match, and the referee probably could have called stalling earlier than he did. Curry Pickard, a two-time 3-A state champ from Morehead, mauled Chris Buckner of Chesapeake at 125 pounds. Pickard scored a 20-5 technical fall near the end of the third period that pushed the NC lead to 13-3. Pickard scored with two cradles in the first period and lead 9-1. In the third, Pickard scored a reversal and turned Buckner one last time to notch the final points of the match. David Johnson of Cary scored a 9-5 win over Tripp Seed, a 3-A state runner-up, at 130 pounds, giving NC a 16-3 lead. Andy Madison, a two-time state champ in the 2-A/1-A division in NC, looked impressive at 135 pounds. Madison defeated Robert January 8-2, pushing the NC lead to 19-3. Madison lead 4-0 after the second period, then added two takedowns in the third. Virginia took two straight at 140 and 145 closing the NC lead to 19-13. Chris Hardy took a 14-3 major decision over Ralph Hunter of Hoggard at 140, while Marc Lyons, a 3-A Virginia state champ, pinned Dusty Simpson at 145. Mount Tabor's OT Johnson got Team NC going in the right direction again with a 10-3 decision over Justin Babbard at 152 pounds. Johnson's win extended the NC lead to 22-13. The score was tied at 3-3 in the third period, but Babbard was hit with three stalling calls and Johnson added a takedown with 12 seconds left for the final margin. Jacques Shy scored a pin for NC at 160 pounds over Josh Walker, giving North Carolina a 28-13 lead. West Lincoln's Butch Ross and Mark Harris of Fuquay-Varina served as coaches for North Carolina, along with Winterton.
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