North Pitt’s Raheem Jones
Raheem Jones is a senior wrestler at North Pitt High School who recently won the 182-pound 2A state title.
He finished the season with an undefeated record of 42-0, becoming just the second wrestler in program history to win a state title.
Jones spoke with The Daily Reflector prep sports writer Craig Moyer about his state title, the work that went into it and his plans for continuing the sport at the next level.
Q: What does winning a state title mean to you?
A: It means a lot to me. I overcame a lot of obstacles to get here. It was a big journey for me in my life, and for me to be able to be a state champion means a lot.
Q: What does it mean to you to be North Pitt’s second-ever champion?
A: I am one of the few that can say they became a state champion and to be the second one here feels great.
Q: What you were feeling in the final moments of the match?
A: It was a tough match because I have a torn bicep and the night before when I was wrestling my last match of the day, I yanked down on it and I messed it up more. I went into the final match hurting, so that match was just about defense, playing it safe and not getting in bad positions where I could mess up my arm.
Q: How did you change your wrestling style in the match due to your injury?
A: The biggest thing was working on moves and setups and trying to set him up to attack me so I could just sprawl and get behind. The guy was not big on shots, so that was kind of hard and I had to shift my mind while I was wrestling and worry about how I am going to score my two points first and then work on defense. I have been working on a move all year in practice. It’s the arm drag. I really didn’t think I was going to hit it in a season just because it’s a risky move. For me to be able to pull it off in a state championship match and the last match of my career was great. … rest of story at Greenville Daily Reflector local/prep-spotlight-north-pitts-raheem-jones/article
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After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
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