Takedown Report

Jolly Roger well worth it: Fike, CBA get 2 champs each at Corinth Holders tournament

Fike senior Aaron Bancroft, bottom, goes for the takedown against Troy Weaver of D.H. Conley in their 170-pound championship match Saturday at the Jolly Roger Invitational at Corinth Holders. Bancroft won by fall to remain unbeaten and help the Golden Demons to a second-place overall finish in the 25-team tournament.

Posted Sunday, January 12, 2020 10:56 pmBy Jack Frederick jfrederick@wilsontimes.com | 252-265-7824 | Twitter: @_jackfrederick

WENDELL — A long weekend of wrestling at the Corinth Holders-hosted Jolly Roger Invitational was well worth it for C.B. Aycock and Fike by Saturday night. Out of 25 schools to participate in the proceedings, the two Wilson Times readership area teams finished near the top after some of the biggest performances of the night. Appearances by four Golden Demons in the title bout — and a pair of winning finishes by Kam McCullen at 145 pounds and Aaron Bancroft II at 170 — led the Golden Demons to a second-place finish in the team scores behind only Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons. “This weekend was long, tiring,” Bancroft said. “Ready to go home, but it was good. It was good team-wise as well. We had four people in the finals and two champions as of right now, so it was a very successful weekend.” The Golden Falcons finished not much further behind Fike in fourth, just six points behind the home-team Pirates, due in part by dominant performances by Tyler Hughes (152) and Christian Decatur (113) in the championship bouts of their respective weight classes. Rounding out the top 10, Central Davidson finished in fifth, Raleigh Athens Drive tied Southern Durham for sixth, while D.H. Conley finished eighth, South Central finished ninth and Hampstead Topsail took 10th.

NO LOSSES
By entering into what was a competitive tournament, Decatur, Hughes and Bancroft all put their undefeated records on the line. But the weekend saw no change to the loss column for any of the three as they ransacked through their own respective weight classes without much trouble and a medal around their neck. Of all the boys championship bouts, Bancroft was one of only three to win his first-place match by pin. Bancroft’s quick work of Greenville D.H. Conley’s Troy Weaver came after what was a slow start for the Fike senior wrestler. On the opening lunge of the match, Bancroft’s head met Weaver’s knee, producing a nasty stinger than ran from Bancroft’s neck down to his arm. The Fike wrestler said afterward that, for a brief time, all he could see was white. After a couple of minutes of injury stoppage time, though, Bancroft resumed play and dominated Weaver, pinning him by fall 1:33 seconds in. “I was happy. It’s my fourth year being here and my third time winning,” said Bancroft, who won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A championship at 160 pounds last season. “Even though I didn’t win it four times, three times is a very good accomplishment. At that moment in time when I had my hand raised, it just felt like it was needed, like I deserved it, basically. Working hard and everything.” After the tournament, Bancroft now sits at a perfect 33-0. … Rest of the story at http://wilsontimes.com/stories/jolly-roger-well-worth-it-fike-cba-get-2-champs-each-at-corinth-holders-tournament,198938?

January 15, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized