Warriors wrap conference title
Published 11:00 pm Tuesday, February 10, 2015
![Nansemond River High School’s wrestling team, with coaches and assistants, poses for a photo on Saturday after claiming its second consecutive Ironclad Conference championship. The Warriors had seven individual winners and produced regional qualifiers in all 14 weight classes. (Photo submitted by John Bostwick)](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/02/IMG_0358.jpg)
Nansemond River High School’s wrestling team, with coaches and assistants, poses for a photo on Saturday after claiming its second consecutive Ironclad Conference championship. The Warriors had seven individual winners and produced regional qualifiers in all 14 weight classes. (Photo submitted by John Bostwick)
The Nansemond River High School wrestling team made the most of its last season in the Ironclad Conference before moving up to Group 5A next season.
The Warriors earned the team title of conference champion for the second straight year after seven Nansemond River wrestlers won their weight classes on Saturday at Phoebus High School.
“I think we did pretty well,” NR coach James “Tripp” Seed said. “Those weight classes were the ones I felt like we should have won. I felt like we probably should have won a couple of other ones, it just didn’t play out that way.”
The Warriors set a high standard for themselves last year when they won 10 of the 14 classes at the conference championships.
Eleven Warriors advanced to the finals on Saturday.
In the 113-pound weight class, Nansemond River junior Malcolm Dawson defeated Phoebus junior Salimun Pady by major decision, 17-5.
“Malcolm had a good tournament,” Seed said. “He wrestled well in his finals match.”
Senior 120-pounder James Boone topped Phantoms senior Mukhtar Pady by technical fall, 17-2. It was a strong contrast to the narrow 9-6 win by decision that Boone achieved the week before against Pady.
“He’s on a mission to win the state title,” Seed said. “I think he wanted to make a statement.”
Also showing notable improvement for Nansemond River was senior 132-pounder Hunter Hill. He defeated Lakeland High School senior Bruce Odom by an 8-7 decision the week before, but on Saturday, he won by pin.
Seed noted that coaches voted Denbigh High School senior Brady Harms to be the outstanding wrestler of the conference, but Harms did not have success on Saturday against the Warriors’ 152-pound junior Malik Neely.
“Malik pinned that kid in the finals,” Seed said.
Nansemond River senior 138-pounder Davon Adams, senior 145-pounder Jacob Clark and sophomore heavyweight Dia Gray also took first place. Gray had no opposition, winning both matches by forfeit.
All three Suffolk schools produced conference champions.
Lakeland sophomore 126-pounder Tut Harville defeated Warriors freshman Daniel Peacher by pin, five minutes and 52 seconds into the match. Cavaliers senior Travis Jones won the 220-pound weight class by a 12-5 decision against Phoebus junior Cameron Clark.
King’s Fork High School junior 182-pounder Notorious Brown won his weight class by a 5-3 decision against Lakeland freshman Reginald Anderson.
Wrestlers placing in the top four of their weight classes on Saturday advanced to compete this weekend in the Region 4A South tournament at Hanover High School. The event begins on Friday and concludes on Saturday.
Following are the team results from Saturday’s Ironclad Conference championships at Phoebus High School:
1) Nansemond River High School, 250.5
2) Phoebus High School, 158.5
3) Lakeland High School, 125
4) Heritage High School, 122
5) King’s Fork High School, 96
6) Denbigh High School, 90