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Maroon Devil Saunooke earned his team there points in the dual against Robbinsville.
The NCHSAA 1A West Regional team duals on Wednesday, Feb. 1 saw the Avery County Vikings coming out on top with a 39-34 win over Robbinsville.
Robbinsville’s Black Knights, earlier in the night, beat the Maroon Devils 41-24. The Vikings beat Mt. Airy’s Granite Bears earlier in the night as well.
The win sent the Vikings to the finals in Greensboro Saturday, where they would be defeated by the Uwharrie Charter Eagles. The Uwharrie grapplers came away with the narrow 39-36 victory as Jaden Maness sealed the victory at 195 pounds, pinning Brandon Cabrera at the 3:20 mark of their bout to put the Eagles up 39-30 with one match remaining. Aldo Hernandez was selected as the 1A Most Valuable Wrestler for the 2023 Dual Team Championship, pinning Grant Reece in 132 lbs. in just 1:08.
The Swain County High gymnasium was packed wall to wall last Wednesday with spectators, and the shouts echoed off the walls, vibrant and charged. The wrestlers circled one another in the ring, sometimes lunging for one another, scuffling and sidestepping, pinning one another to the ground. Some of the more wiry wrestlers moved with lightning-like agility.
While the Maroon Devils lost the dual, they did have a few matches that went in their favor. Kohlton Neadeau bested Robbinsville’s Jacob Teesateskie, netting the Maroon Devils six points. Likewise, Owen Craig won his match against Devin Hall from Robbinsville and got the team six points, too. Swain County’s Gabriel Lillard and Darius Saunooke won the team three points each.
On Thursday morning, Swain head coach Adam Jaimez struck a tone of conciliatory good nature towards the team’s opponents.
“The guys showed up, and we did the best we could,” he said. “We get further every year. If we put all of it together, we’ll get better for the future.”
Jaimez said he was grateful the staff and student body had shown up to support, saying the high school had been “blessed” to host the fourth round of state duals.
Robbinsville coach David Haney was graceful about the win, too.
“I thought Swain wrestled good,” he said. “They gave us a run for our money. They’re a good team, well coached, well respected.”
Haney said the loss to Avery had come after a hard-fought dual.
“We won seven, they won seven—they just scored more points,” he said.
Asked what the plans are for the Maroon Devils, Jaimez said they will keep on going how they have been.
“I just feel like we’ll continue what we’re doing,” he said. “We’ll get tougher. Good things will happen. I operate with that mindset, there are no bad days, just hard days.”