Cary High School Wrestling

Our 103 and 285 bookend champs, Lightning and Thunder, have been recognized by 63 North Carolina wrestling coaches and sports writers as North Carolina Wrestlers of the Year.  Congratulations to Eloheim Palma for earning Overall Wrestler of the Year and Senior of the Year, and to Ben Creed for earning the runner-up spot for Sophomore of the Year…Way to represent…

2008-09 Wrestlers of the Year

• Overall Wrestler of the Year:
  1. Eloheim Palma, Cary
  2. Corey Mock, Chapel Hill
  3. Jacob Creed, Ragsdale
   
• Senior of the Year:
  1. Eloheim Palma, Cary
  2. Corey Mock, Chapel Hill
  3. Jacob Creed, Ragsdale
   
• Junior of the Year:
  1. Dominic Parisi, JM Robinson
  2. Kyle Narburgh, Jack Britt
  3. Tyrone Eatmon, Riverside
   
• Sophomore of the Year:
  1. Ray Farnsworth, St Stephens
  2. Ben Creed, Cary
  3. Harrison Honeycutt, Lake Norman
   
• Freshman of the Year:
  1. Garrison White, JM Robinson
  2. Matt Williams, Cardinal Gibbons
  3. CJ Jablonski, Currituck

  As voted on by 63 coaches & media. Voting was open to coaches and media only, and each vote was required to list 3 wrestlers in each of the 5 categories. Scoring was 5-3-1.

More well-deserved national recognition for the big guy…

 Along with being named on Wrestling USA’s Dream Team in it’s latest issue, Eloheim Palma may have cemented his claim to the most ever accolades of any NC wrestler by being named the heavyweight for ASICS 1st Team All-American Team…SEE BELOW:

The short list of Eloheim’s recent awards and accomplishments:

Ranked #1 by all publications

Winner of the Dapper Dan

Winner of Senior Nationals, has defeated or finished ahead of 4 top ranked heavy’s including asics #2, #4,#6, #8.

Named Nations Junior Schalles award winner by Win Magazine

Named to Asics All-American team 1st Team

Named to Wrestling USA Magazine’s “Dream Team” (1st Team)

“Faces of the Crowd” in Sports Illustrated, May 11th issue

http://themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=20392

First Team
103 - Nick Brascetta, So, Graham HS, St. Paris, OH
112 - Devin Carter, Jr, Christiansburg HS, Christiansburg, VA
119 - Jamie Clark, Jr, St. Edward HS, Lakewood, OH
125 - Logan Stieber*, Jr, Monroeville HS, Monroeville, OH
130 - Chris Villalonga, Jr, Blair Academy, Blairstown Township, NJ
135 - David Taylor*, Sr, Graham HS, St. Paris, OH
140 - Andrew Alton, Jr, Central Mountain HS, Mill Hall, PA
145 - Dylan Alton, Jr, Central Mountain HS, Mill Hall, PA
152 - Marshall Peppelman, Jr, Central Dauphin HS, Harrisburg, PA
160 - Jake Kemerer, Sr, Hempfield HS, Greensburg, PA
171 - Edward Ruth, Sr, Blair Academy, Blairstown Township, NJ
189 - Chris Perry, Sr, Stillwater HS, Stillwater, OK
215 - Tony Nelson, Sr, Cambridge-Isanti HS, Cambridge, MN
285 - Eloheim Palma, Sr Cary HS, Cary, NC

20 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS!  Have you ever wanted to say thank you to your wrestling coaches at Cary High - either because they helped you develop wrestling skills or advised you when facing difficult situations?  Because the skills, discipline and character you gained from being on this team have helped you become a better person?  

My name is Debbie Rosenbaum and I’m the Cary High School Wrestling Team Mom.  With the assistance of several team parents we work to make the events and season go a little smoother for the coaches and kids by supporting the Cary Wrestling program in various ways.   One of our tasks is to provide gifts for the coaches.    Coach Winterton and his assistants asked that we not buy the coaches gift cards, gifts, etc.   The parents talked about this and decided to instead establish a fund on behalf of the coaches.    

We have three ways to support CHS wrestling with the addition of this new account:

#1- The Cary Imp Club-Wrestling

                The Cary Imp Club supports all of Cary High School sports. Each sport is allocated funds. Wrestling supports the Cary Imp Club through concession stand sales, spirit wear proceeds, tournament proceeds and other fundraisers.  This fund is for all different types of expenses such as purchase of equipment, mat cleaner, end of year banquet and awards and other miscellaneous items.

#2- The Cary Imp Club- The Mark Adams Fund

      This is in honor of Mark Adams, a 1999 CHS grad and wrestler who was killed in action in Iraq.   Every year Cary high School hosts a two day tournament in December with over 20 teams competing. This fund is used strictly for camps and clinics for the wrestlers.

#3-  The CHS  Wrestling Coaches Scholarship Fund is established as a nonprofit organization (pursuant to Section 55-A of the NC Nonprofit Corporation Act) for supporting an annual scholarship to one or more CHS Varsity or JV wrestling team members to be used toward his or her secondary educational costs.  The current Board of Directors consists of me, Thomas Ferguson, Bruce Brotzman and Kathryn Colvard.  We are currently seeking 2-3 additional volunteers for the BOD.

Coach Winterton, Coach Barry, Coach Ivkovich, Coach Dunbar, Coach LeClair, Coach Farnsworth not only raise champions on and off the mat, but also develop impressive young men and women of character to represent CHS beyond high school. We would like to honor them by providing them with one more opportunity to make a difference for these athletes beyond high school.  Now we need to build this scholarship fund so that we can award future graduating Cary HS wrestler(s) nominated by the coaches to further their academic pursuits beyond CHS.  Here’s how:

1.     COACHES GIFT: We are asking for donations from current parents in lieu of a donation for a coaches gift. Please donate whatever you would typically donate for an end of season gift—maybe even a little more, after all we did win the state championship!  AGAIN. I am sure that was an unforgettable experience for all of us who were part of the journey! Please send your donations to me as soon as possible!!  I will also be at the meeting Monday May 11 and the sports banquet, May 20.

2.     CORPORATE SPONSORS:  we are also seeking corporate sponsors. All corporate sponsors will be acknowledged with a certificate and a letter for tax purposes will be provided on request.  Both David and I, through our individual businesses, are corporate sponsors.  Please ask where you work if they will be a sponsor. Do you have matching funds? Let us know and we will help you with the paper work!  All wrestlers, parents and alumni should actively seek corporate sponsorship from businesses that you frequent.

3.     FUND RAISERS:  parents and wrestlers will participate in fundraisers in the off season to increase the Fund.  The first of these will be selling ButterBraid pastries—a quick and easy and delicious fundraiser.  And we don’t have to worry about cutting weight (yet).  We are considering a car wash as our next fundraiser.

Please note that these fundraisers are separate from CHS functions or Cary Imp Club functions. We expect that both wrestlers and parents will participate.

 Please send your contributions to:

Jerry Winterton                     or            Debbie Rosenbaum  (Board of Directors, CHS Wrestling Coaches Scholarship Fund)

Cary High School                                                 201 Livingstone Drive

638 Walnut St.                                        Cary, NC 27513

Cary, NC  27511

Please feel free to call me at any time should you have questions or comments at 919-380-1523.

For a tax deductible contribution to the Scholarship fund, please make check payable to “CHS Wrestling Coaches Scholarship Fund”. For the Cary imp Club donations, make checks payable to The Cary Imp Club and make a notation of “wrestling” in the memo section. For the Mark Adams Fund, make checks payable to The Cary Imp Club-The Mark Adams Fund.  

Thank you on behalf of the Coaches, Parents and STATE CHAMPION Cary Wrestlers….

Debbie Rosenbaum

Cary Wrestling Team Mom

Another great honor for Coach Winterton, Imp fans!  Article below:

2009 NWCA National Scholastic Award Recipients May  8, 2009By Tammy Tedesco Manheim, Pa. – The National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholastic Board of Directors is proud to announce the 2009 Scholastic Awards.  The four award categories are:  National Coach of the Year, National Assistant Coach of the Year, National Wrestler of the Year, and National Prep Coach of the Year. This year’s nominees for National Coach, National Prep Coach and National Assistant Coach of the year bring a combined total of 101 years of coaching experience to the mat. They have coached numerous state champions and hold impressive records in their respective states.  Jerry Winterton of Cary, NC has been selected as the NWCA National Coach of the Year. Winterton is an accomplished coach with 36 years of coaching experience, and a career record of 608 wins and multiple state titles along with 48 individual state champions. He is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame North Carolina Chapter, Class of 2004. Cary High School has won the last five State Individual Championships which brings their total to twenty. Winterton has coached for the last nineteen individual championships.“I have been blessed to have this happen to me. I would like to thank the NWCA for recognizing me for this award, I greatly appreciate it. I am absolutely thrilled,” said Winterton.“I am also very fortunate to have the support of my family, my assistant coaches, my principal Mr. Doug Thilman and Kurt Glendenning my Athletic Director as I know Cary High School is the best place to coach or be a student/athlete.   I’m also thankful for all the great wrestlers who have come through our program over the years especially the stars we’ve had in the last 5-6 years who have gone on to do such great things in National competitions as well as continuing with their education and wrestling in college.”Winterton is also a Physical Education Teacher at Cary High School. “Coach Winterton is a great example of the type of person that the NWCA continues to recognize. Not only is he an educator, but he has devoted his years in this sport to molding the next generation in the sport of wrestling. His longevity and accomplishments as a high school coach are remarkable,” said Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive Director.

The mightiest Imp, Eloheim Palma, capped his Cary career in the most convincing fashion possible, winning 6 matches against nationally ranked opponents to take the National Championship at the 20th Annual NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, VA last Saturday.  While the details of each of these matches have been well reported and documented elsewhere, one particular tidbit escaped the attention of the national media.  Following his semi-final win over nationally ranked #2 McCovey of California, Eloheim approached the table worker to sign his bout sheet.  Upon seeing that Valta Creed, a pretty consistent source of brownies for the big guy throughout the past two seasons, was working the table,  his first words upon earning a place in the National Championship match were “Mrs. Creed, do you have any food?”  And the legend of the E-Train continues….

Eloheim was not the only Imp wrestler winning at Nationals.  On the strength of a 5-2 record, Matt Colvard earned All-American recognition and a 7th place finish in the 152 lb class of Junior Nationals.  Ben Creed posted a 4-2 record, bumping up a weight class to 112, coming a match away from All-American in Sophomore Nationals.  Cordale Risk posted a 3-2 record after bumping up himself, looking strong at the higher weight class.  Jacob Brotzman, Jason Rossi, and David Alecio also tested themselves against the best, gaining experience and confidence.  Congratulations to all of these guys for putting themselves out there in a quest for quality competition and mat time…Way to represent!

A week after taking the 4A MidEast Regional Championship, 7 of our intrepid Imps advanced on the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem to take on the best the state has to offer.  These few, these happy few, faced the daunting task of overcoming long odds in the team competition, as several 4A teams boasted more state qualifiers, with perennial rival Davie County leading the list with a strong group of 12.  Winning by decision wouldn’t be enough…

Rising to the challenge on day 1, Cary got the most from it’s happy few, advancing 5 to the semi-finals in a flurry of pins and tech falls, claiming the team point lead by the tournament mid-point, and placing 4 into the championship finals.  Only state qualifiers Ronnie Winterton and Kevin Puente were defeated, both in tough, close matches.  Kevin went on to contribute a win in the consolations, eliminating a Davie County opponent to boot, making it a “two-fer” of sorts.

The first Cary wrestler to nail down a placing was Cordale Risk, who wrestled his way to 4th through the semi’s in the tough 130# bracket, contributing a nice bunch of points to the team cause.

Then the Championship finals:  Returning state champ Ben Creed at 103 pinned his first three opponents and broke his nose in the semi’s, advancing to face previously undefeated Garrison White of Robinson in the championship match.  His smart, gritty performance against the very capable White resulted in a 7-2 win, with Creed cranking for a pin at the final whistle.  It was state championship #2 for the sophomore, and the clincher for state individual tournament team championship #20 for the Imps.

Team captain Gabe Brotzman soon took to the finals mat against Davie County foe Matt Cusack.  Gabe’s relentless attacks from his feet soon had him up to stay, and he pulled away for an 11-4 decision and a 152# State Championship as a capstone on his outstanding Imp wrestling career. 

Junior Matt Colvard never let the mat cool down, immediately stepping in against #1 ranked Evan Baker of Scotland County, the same Evan Baker who earlier in the year had given Matt his lone defeat of the season.  Wrestling smart and agressive, Matt scored the only point he would need on an escape, riding out the Scotland County stud for a 1-0 win, the first State Championship for Matt, making the finalist Imps 3 for 3 on the evening.

The grand finale’, as usual, was provided by the E-Train, taking the mat against also undefeated East Burke heavyweight Tyler Shately.  Tyler showed some quickness and technique of his own with an early takedown, allowing Eloheim to respond with a display of technique and competitve fire worthy of his ranking as the top heavyweight in the US.  When the smoke cleared and the thunder receded, Eloheim had righted the world on its’ axis with a solid 11-4 decision, making him Cary’s first 3-time individual State Champion. 

Final 4A Team Standings:  Cary 126.5; Davie County 98; Robinson 78.5; South View 77

A couple of links to Pics, courtesy of our photographer friends Ted Brannoff and Thomas Ferguson:

http://tferg.smugmug.com/gallery/742307 … 9218_cTsqy

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/7410726_U3dib#477498545_6AM2q

Feb 6th - A tough Butler High School team showed up to wrestle, declaring their intentions early by winning the first two matches of what would prove to be an exciting evening for the packed house.  Cary dropped two close decisions early to fall behind 6-0 before 145# David Alecio put the Imps on the board with another close decision.  Senior captain Gabe Brotzman stepped in next.  Facing a particularly game Butler foe, Gabe hung on and took a close one with a reversal in the last 2 seconds of the match to even the team score at 6 each.  Matt Colvard then took the mat, still less than 100% healthy from the lingering effects of a mystery bug, pulled out a great major decision, after having a first period pin taken away when the second ref overruled, saying time had expired.  Butler’s tough 171 then stepped up for his team, scoring a decision but being denied bonus points by a never-say-die effort from Imp Josh Boozer.  Chris Hare then stepped in against one of the Butler team studs, wrestling tough, falling just short of a win, but also denying bonus points with his effort.  Down 12-10 going into 215#, the Imps were about to get traction.  Kevin Puente started the surge with a close decision which took back the team lead at 13-12, setting the stage for the thunder/lightning punch of Cary’s back-to-back state champs.  E-train Palma took the mat to a thunderous ovation, and extended the team points lead for good with yet another dominant pin at heavyweight.  The crowd never sat back down, as soph Ben Creed took the mat seeking his 100th high school win in the biggest arena possible, tearing into his Butler foe like a starving dog on a bone, his 47 second pin rocking the house, and sending the team score surging to 31-12. CJ Bean then stepped into the spotlight, attacking from the whistle, quick takedown, the crowd sensing a championship close.  CJ throws in legs and begins to crank.  The crowd’s noise rises and the bleaches shudder with the clatter of fans stamping their feet for the pin, and then the ref slaps the mat to a deafening roar from the crowd.  37-12 with three to go, championship #19 in the bag.  Still with plenty of fight left in them, Butler sent out their 119# stud, Tom Puckett, against gritty, determined Imp freshman Adam Elliman, who continued to seek the toughest opponents around.  While he found one in 08 state runner-up Puckett, he established himself as one to watch over the next three years. Harrison Rosenbaum then stepped in, determined to add icing of his own, and did so with a dominating performance, capped by a pin, after bumping up to 125#.  Up and comer Jacob Brotzman then stepped in to round out the night. adding a layer of icing himself with a first period pin at 130#.  Final score 49-18.  Imps are champs again!!

Links to State Dual Team Finals pics, courtesy of your truly and Panther Creek dad Alex Branoff:

 http://creed777.smugmug.com/gallery/7301224_QrJ9o#469502696_aqwN2

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/7298986_mwGCf#469357335_ynRRb

Fri 2/6 0948:  This just in from Coach Winterton:  State Dual Final will be held at 6:00 tomorrow night on the home mat.  Opponent to be determined tonight, but the guys are rarin’ to wrestle whoever shows up… 

For the ninth straight year, our beloved Cary wrestlers are advancing to the State Dual Team Championship, which will be held on the home mat Saturday Feb 7th.  Cary’s opponent in the finals is still an unknown as of this posting due to weather delays in the western part of the state.  Cary faced off with Leesville Road in the third dual of the tourney, and despite a good showing by the Pride, the Imps prevailed 39-37. The win was clinched by Gabe Brotzman’s pin with 4 matches to go, and the remaining 4 matches were given over to forfeit to rest the guys for the Semi-final showdown against the winner of conference foe Panther Creek and perennial foe Riverside.  Riverside took it in a close one, setting the stage for yet another Cary-Riverside battle.

Kicking off to a strong 16-0 start with quick pins by Ben Creed at 103 and CJ Bean at 112, along with a big major decision by Harrison Rosenbaum at 119, the Imps never trailed.  The pins Riverside was counting on never materialized due to the gritty, step-up wrestling of Imps tasked with facing the Riverside studs, and Cary slowly pulled away.  Chris Hare, the gritty , step-up guy from the State Duals a year ago, stepped up in a big way this year as well, icing the win at 189 with a huge pin.  Stay tuned, Imp fans, for news from tomorrow night!!

Pics of the State Duals so far at the following link:  http://creed777.smugmug.com/gallery/7285406_PCpqt#P-1-24

Plus another pic link from last night courtesy of our friend Ted Branoff, Panther Creek dad.  Ted’s are a little higher quality than mine, folks, and well worth the look.  I suspect he actually knows how to edit… http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/7287417_3AzW9#468569522_DPRUK

Cary sent 10 wrestlers to the championship finals of the Tri-8 Conference tournament last Saturday, advancing 6 of them to the top step of the podium.  Ben Creed at 103, Harrison Rosenbaum at 119, Ronnie Winterton at 135, Gabe Brotzman at 152, Matt Colvard at 160, and Eloheim Palma all won top honors as conference champs.  CJ Bean at 112, Cordale Risk at 130, Chris Hare at 189, and Kevin Puente at 215 also advanced to the finals, with each taking second on the heels of very close finals matches.  A tough Panther Creek squad sent 8 of their own to the finals as well, making the race for team points an interesting one, with the Imps ultimately prevailing 247 to 223.  Also placing were David Alecio at 140 and Josh Boozer at 171.

Tri-8 pics courtesy of yours truly at : http://creed777.smugmug.com/gallery/7265485_Q7JBY#467056034_NBsCn

Our Panther Creek friend Alex Branoff also kindly provides a link to his Tri-8 pics as well.  His son, Alex scored a big finals win against state #1 ranked Joey Baird of Green Hope at 140.  Alex, thanks again…: http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/7245350_NaCPy#465594715_wkb55

State Duals kicked off for the Imps in Chapel Hill last night, with our guys advancing to Thursday with wins over Chapel Hill HS (51-9) and Green Hope (61-12).  Thursday finds the Imps facing off with Leesville Road HS, and if things go acording to plan, a state semi-final with the winner of the Riverside/Panther Creek Dual.  Thrills and Chills await, Imps fans.  Keep it right here for not necessarily the latest, but certainly the most sincere and least objective, coverage of our guys in action…

In the flurry of late season duals, one in particular stands out.  On Saturday January 24th, in the third dual of the Bob Mauldin Classic, Coach Jerry Winterton coached a winning dual for the 600th time.  It was only fitting that his two senior captains, Gabe Brotzman and Eloheim Palma, should find themselves in a position to contribute to Coach Winterton’s great milestone with milestones of their own.  It seemed destiny was afoot when both Gabe and Eloheim found themselves in a position to each notch their 200th individual wins at the same time, and in the same gym where Coach notched Dual win #1 of his storied career as the new coach of East Wake High School.  People who knew him then speak not only of how they could see great things ahead for him as a coach, but also how much hair he once had…

Links to a bunch of dual pics, including #600, a little celebration at the Brotzman’s afterward, and Senior Night 2009, celebrated with a win against Fuquay-Varina:

http://creed777.smugmug.com/gallery/7257908_trBpL#466493432_oGFam