Newton-Conover leads at wrestling state finals

GREENSBORO--  Winston-Salem Parkland moved closer to its fifth consecutive state championship in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state wrestling championships on Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

                  Parkland, the defending 4-A champ after winning three state tournament titles at the 3-A level, has six wrestlers still alive in the championship brackets and has totaled 77 points, 18 ahead of second-place Lake Norman.

                  Davie County is third with 42, followed by Southern Alamance (34) and New Bern (27). A total of 69 4-A schools out of the 78 which sent qualifiers to the event scored points in Friday's action.

                  Fred T. Foard in Catawba County leads the way in the 3-A competition, as the Tigers scored 52 points to 49.5 for Orange. Foard has four of its five wrestlers still in championship contention while Orange, this year's 2-A dual team winner, has four in championship brackets and two in consolation action.

                  Cameron Union Pines, with seven grapplers still competing, has 41 points for third place while Hickory St. Stephens (40) is in fourth and defending tournament champ Concord Jay Robinson (33) is fifth. There were 74 3-A schools with wrestlers who qualified.

                  In 2-A action, Newport Croatan has opened up a 15-point lead over the field and has more wrestlers (five) remaining in championship competition than any other school. Croatan, the defending tourney champ and also winner of the dual team championship earlier in the month, has 63 points to 48 for second-place Newton-Conover. Newton-Conover has seven wrestlers still competing, including three in championship contention.

              Trinity is just back in third with 47 points, followed by Monroe Piedmont (45.5) and Hampstead Topsail (43) in the closest team race among the four classifications.

                  A total of 63 of the 75 2-A schools represented have tallied team points.

                  The 1-A classification, with only eight wrestlers qualifying per weight class, did not begin competition until Friday evening with the quarterfinals. West Wilkes, the defending tournament champs, had seven of its 10 qualifiers advance through the quarterfinals and leads the 1-A team standings with 22.5 points.

                  North Rowan is in second with 15, followed by Kernersville Bishop McGuinness (10.5) and then a tie for fourth between Rosewood and Pamlico with 9.5 each.

Action will resume Saturday morning at 8:30 am with consolation action in various classifications. The championship session in all classifications is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

This is the 24th year that the wrestling championships have been "classified"; prior to 1987, all wrestlers, regardless of the size of the school, competed for a single title. Wendy's is the presenting sponsor for the NCHSAA sports program. The host city sponsors for the wrestling championships include the Greensboro Sports Commission, the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Greensboro Sports Council.