Takedown Report

Eastern N.C. High School — # 12

Wilmington area athletes will still get their night in the spotlight, with celebrity athletes helping
The show must go on, and the StarNews still plans to honor the best high school athletes in Southeastern North Carolina amid the coronavirus pandemic. The StarNews is, however, changing its annual Best of StarNewsVarsity Preps Awards Show from a physical event to a star-studded online awards show on June 18 that will be available at no charge. The festivities will begin at 6 p.m., and the show will feature more than 20 professional athletes as hosts and award announcers.
This show will provide the community with an on-demand broadcast to maintain the annual tradition of honoring hundreds of student-athletes for their hard work and dedication in their sport during the past school year. “This is such an incredible event each year for high school athletes,” said Pam Sander, Gannett Southeast Regional and StarNews Executive Editor. “We’d all like to be there in person — celebrating those who had their seasons and those who didn’t get the chance. We’re thrilled the StarNews could change gears and get these kids honored in a safe way.” The event will be hosted by television sports anchors Jesse Palmer and Sage Steele. Celebrities athletes will be participating in the awards presentation. Confirmed award presenters include New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, seven-time tennis major winner Venus Williams, and Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas and Misty May-Treanor. More celebrity athletes will be announced in the coming weeks. The awards show will be available to watch on any smart device through YouTube and the event website, bestofstarnewsvarsity.com, thanks to the continued support of area business leaders, like partners Carolina Sports Medicine, NHRMC Wilmington Marathon and Victory Awards and Trophies. The show will also feature opportunities to win autographed gifts and other prizes both before the debut and during the show. Students who register online by May 10 on the event website will receive updates and be included in any gift mailings. … rest of story and web site links at https://www.starnewsonline.com/sports/20200419/starnewsvarsity-banquet-moving-to-online-awards-show

All-Area Wrestling: Aragao, Samuel reach the mountaintop
Laney and North Brunswick standouts use perfect seasons to share all-area honors
Laney’s Mark Samuel and North Brunswick’s Bryan Aragao took different paths, but their respective wrestling journeys finished with similar results: an undefeated season and an individual state championship. “There’s honestly no way to describe it. All the hard work you put in, it’s for those five seconds after wining the state championship. It was just awesome,” Aragao said. The duo will share one more honor. Samuel and Aragao are the StarNews All-Area co-Wrestlers of the Year. Samuel started his wrestling career when he was still in elementary school, perfecting his craft with the Port City Pirates club team before arriving at Laney last year. He immediately dominated the local scene, but fell short of his ultimate goals with a fifth-place finish competing in the 106-pound weight class at the NCHSAA 4A State Championships. “It motivated me a lot to do better this year,” Samuel said. “I was pretty confident I had what it took to win it. Coming in, I had already beaten the top-eight guys, so I just had to stay consistent.” Samuel did just that at this year’s state finals, winning his first two matches with pins before a 6-0 victory in the semifinals. In the championship, the Laney sophomore got ahead early and finished off a 7-2 victory over Hough’s Brandt Fajerman to finish the season 55-0. “The nerves just went away, and I wrestled like I could,” Samuel said. “As soon as I won, it hit me, and it was really cool.” While Samuel can hardly remember a time in his life he wasn’t wrestling, Aragao didn’t get started in the sport till his freshman year. North Brunswick head coach Tom York had to recruit Aragao to join the team. …. rest of story and full line-up at https://www.starnewsonline.com/sports/20200326/all-area-wrestling-aragao-samuel-reach-mountaintop

PHOTOS: All-Area Wrestling
Portraits and Action photos of wrestlers in Southeastern North Carolina by Wilmington Star News at … https://www.starnewsonline.com/photogallery/NC/20200326/PHOTOGALLERY/326009997/PH/1

Three local wrestlers win state titles
Laney’s Mark Samuel and Marcus Mondragon, and North Brunswick’s Bryan Arago all won championships Saturday.
GREENSBORO — Three local wrestlers reached the mountaintop Saturday inside the Greensboro Coliseum. Laney’s Mark Samuel (4A 106), Laney’s Marcus Mondragon (4A 138) and North Brunswick’s Bryan Aragao (3A 182) all won individual state titles. They were the only three local wrestlers to reach the championship round. Mondragon was the first local wrestler to compete in the finals, and he came flying out of the gates with a pair of takedowns and led 6-1 after the first period. Mondragon wrestled smartly over the final four points, matching his opponent and finishing with a major decision victory of 10-4. Aragao was up next, and after a quiet first period, Aragao jumped ahead with four-straight points in the second period. With his opponent looking to make up the ground in the final period, Aragao got a reversal to seal the victory at 6-2 and the championship. Samuel was the final local wrestler in the final round, and he won his championship match 7-2. Samuel earned points in all three periods and didn’t give up anything more than one take down in a convincing win that gave Laney its second championship of the night. Three local wrestlers finished in third place Saturday. West Brunswick’s Christian Zickefoose (106 3A), Laney’s Conner Johnson (132 4A) and Laney’s Devon Bell (170 4A) all earned a bronze medal. … story at https://www.starnewsonline.com/sports/20200222/three-local-wrestlers-win-state-titles

2020 All-Coastal 8 1-A/2-A Conference winter list
The Coastal 8 1-A/2-A Conference recently released its all-conference winter list. All-conference and player and coach of the year awards are either voted by the league’s coaches or determined by the conference’s championship events.
WRESTLING
Wrestler of Year: Andrew Edens, Dixon, and Jacob Caldwell, Croatan
Coach of Year: Maury Vanderpool, Southwest
Croatan: Jacob Caldwell (106), Drake Egan (145), Ryan Lindsay (195)
Dixon: Logan Pugh (113), Dallas Senay (120), Keagan Bolman (126), Ethan Millis (138), Tyler Proffitt (170), Andrew Edens (182)
Trask: Rogan Heath (132)
Southwest: Ezekiel Jones (152), Jason Rodriguez (160)
Pender: Da’Jon Smith (220)
East Carteret: Ezekiel Jayne (285) …. story at https://www.jdnews.com/sports/20200325/2020-all-coastal-8-1-a2-a-conference-winter-list

2020 All-Coastal 3-A Conference winter list
The Coastal 3-A Conference recently released its all-conference winter list for the 2019-2020 season. All-conference and player and coach of the year awards are either voted by the league’s coaches or determined by the conference’s championship events.
WRESTLING
Wrestler of Year: River Carroll, Swansboro
Coach of Year: Kevin Smith, West Carteret
Havelock: Brooke Hermen (106), Cody Rutherford (120), Nate Lucio (132), Xavier McCullough (145), Jamie Duffy (152), Tate Cringan (195), Derek Waiau (220), Isaiah Verspoor (285)
White Oak: Michael Delacruz (106), Jacob Timberlake (120), DeJon Fifer (138), Marcellous Owens (152), Sam Ellison (182)
Swansboro: Isaac Gawronski (113), River Carroll (160)
West Carteret: Ariana Wolkerstorfer (113) Jacob Bennett (126), Christian Mezzaroba (132), Austin Thompson (138), Jaiden Rittenhouse (145), Clayton Wilson (160), Hiroki Cruz (170), Josh Henderson (182), Jake Reynolds (195)
Northside: Josh Myers (126)|
Jacksonville: Razel Rainey (170), Xavier Tabb (285) … story and lists at https://www.jdnews.com/sports/20200325/2020-all-coastal-3-a-conference-winter-list

April 22, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized