Suffolk’s public schools faced off on the wrestling mat Wednesday at Nansemond River High School. The Warriors dominated the evening, and Lakeland got its first team win of the season.

Neither King’s Fork nor Lakeland was in a position to compete against Nansemond River for a team win due to lack of wrestlers. The Bulldogs were forced to forfeit eight weight classes at six points per class, and the Cavaliers had to forfeit seven classes. The Warriors beat KF 77-3 and topped Lakeland 60-21.

But when King’s Fork and Lakeland went head-to-head, things got a bit more exciting, and the Cavaliers came away with their first win by the score of 35-18.

The meets went mostly as expected for NR head coach Tripp Seed. He highlighted one of the most competitive matches of the night between Warriors’ sophomore Leon Lynch and Cavaliers’ senior Corey Hubbard at the 170-pound level. Hubbard won on a decision, 7-4.

“Not that (Lynch) didn’t think he could win — he didn’t wrestle to his potential until the third period,” Seed said. “He went down 5-0 (at the beginning, and then) he loses 7-4 — it’s a close match.”

“At first, I was kind of nervous, because I heard he was a really good wrestler, and he’s two grades higher than me,” Lynch said. “It was a good, even match, and I’m going see him back at the districts.”

Seed was sorry 152-pounder Saquan Branch did not get a chance to compete on what was a special night for him.

“It was his senior night, and they moved their kid away from him, so that disappointed me a little bit,” Seed said.

Branch relayed similar feelings.

“I was disappointed, but as long as I was there with my family and friends supporting me for senior night, that’s the thing that really counts,” he said.

He now directs his focus to preparing for the district championships.

“My main goal is to have the district title in my hand,” he said.

Lakeland head coach Jamaal Jones reflected on the meet against Nansemond River, focusing on what was accomplished with the wrestlers he had on hand.

“I think we competed tonight, and I’m happy with our performance,” he said.

Jones gave an example of the Cavaliers’ situation as a result of low numbers.

“Even if every last one of my guys had won tonight with a pin, we still would not have beat Nansemond River, because of the number of forfeits that we have,” he said.

Devin Harden at 132 pounds and Travis Jones at 220 were standouts for Lakeland, pinning their opponents in 1:42 and 2:54, respectively.

“The match against King’s Fork was two teams that don’t have a full lineup, both of us have had injuries, and so we happened to come out on top, which was good for us,” Jones said.

Highlights for King’s Fork were few and far between, but 160-pounder Aaron Hommell was a bright spot. He won both of his matches on the night, one by a 12-5 decision against Nansemond River and one by forfeit against Lakeland.

“Right now Aaron is our go-to guy for a win,” KF head coach Brett Heberling wrote in an e-mail.

“He is able to point out his mistakes to us after his matches and understand what he needs to do to fix it,” Heberling stated. “It is almost like he has turned his wrestling into a complex puzzle, and he is finding those pieces everyone else searches for and can’t find. When he does that, it makes coaching easier and very rewarding in my eyes.”

All three teams had injuries that sidelined important wrestlers, but the Warriors had a large enough roster to fill most of the holes in their lineup.

Nansemond River will host five different non-district schools in its next event on Jan. 26.

For Lakeland’s next meet, the team will travel to Sussex Central High School in Sussex on Tuesday.

King’s Fork visits John Randolph Tucker High School in Henrico County on Saturday for the Tiger Invitational.

 

Results for Tuesday’s meet at Nansemond River are as follows:

 

Nansemond River 77, King’s Fork 3

106 – Boone (NR) over KF by forfeit; 113 – Craig (NR) over Hall (KF) pin 3:01; 120 – J. Clark (NR) over KF by forfeit; 126 – Hill (NR) over King (KF) tech. Fall 18-3; 132 – Adams (NR) over Scruggs (KF) pin 0:36; 138 – D. Ortiz (NR) over N. Ortiz (KF) pin 0:22; 145 – Branch (NR) over KF by forfeit; 152 – Smith (NR) over Parsons (KF) pin 1:35; 160 – Hommell (KF) over D. Clark (NR) dec. 12-5; 170 – Lynch (NR) over KF by forfeit; 182 – Lambert (NR) over KF by forfeit; 195 – Carlin (NR) over KF by forfeit; 220 – Coleman (NR) over KF by forfeit; 285 – Repko (NR) over KF by forfeit.

Lakeland 35,

King’s Fork 18

106 – Double forfeit; 113 – Hall (KF) over L by forfeit; 120 – double forfeit; 126 – Odom (L) over King (KF) tech. Fall 18-4; 132 – Harden (L) over Scruggs (KF) pin 0:21; 138 – King (L) over Ortiz (KF) pin 3:18; 145 – double forfeit; 152 – Parsons (KF) over Wynne (L) pin 5:47; 160 – Hommell (KF) over L by forfeit; 170 – Hubbard (L) over KF by forfeit; 182 – double forfeit; 195 – double forfeit; 220 – Jones (L) over KF by forfeit; 285 – Hopkins (L) over KF by forfeit.

 

Nansemond River 60, Lakeland 21

106 – Boone (NR) over L by forfeit; 113 – Craig (NR) over L by forfeit; 120 – J. Clark (NR) over L by forfeit; 126 – Hill (NR) over Odom (L) pin 1:20; 132 – Harden (L) over Adams (NR) pin 1:42; 138 – Ortiz (NR) over King (L) pin 1:17; 145 – Branch (NR) over L by forfeit; 152 – Wynne (L) over NR by forfeit; 160 – D. Clark (NR) over L by forfeit; 170 – Hubbard (L) over Lynch (NR) dec. 7-4; 182 – Lambert (NR) over L by forfeit; 195 – Carlin (NR) over L by forfeit; 220 – Jones (L) over Coleman (NR) pin 2:54; 285 – Repko (NR) over Hopkins (L) pin 1:20.