2008-09 Season
Imps Take State For Team Title #20!! Four Imps Earn Championships
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
Posted on 22nd February 2009
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Cary Wins!! Dual Team State Champs!!
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
Posted on 8th February 2009
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Imps To State Dual Finals!
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
Posted on 6th February 2009
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Imps Take Tri-8 Tourney. Kick Off State Duals With Solid Wins
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…
Posted on 4th February 2009
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Coach Wins Dual #600 While Gabe and Eloheim Notch 200 Each
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
Posted on 2nd February 2009
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Cary Storms Back To Take Jim King Orange Championship!
The Cary wrestling team pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in its’ storied history as they stormed through the wrestle-backs and championship rounds on Saturday to win the Jim King Orange Invitational Tournament at Orange High School. Imp wrestlers Ben Creed, Matt Colvard, Gabe Brotzman and Eloheim Palma all remained undefeated for the season, each winning their third tournament champion title this season with outstanding performances, capping a stirring come-from-behind team victory kicked off by the grit of their teammates in the consolation round.
Cary took the Team Championship with 243 points, followed by Orange with 217, Riverside with 188.5, and Cardinal Gibbons with 171. Imp Eloheim Palma, ranked third in the nation at heavyweight, had five pins in a row with a total time of three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. For this effort Eloheim received The Most Pins In The Least Amount Of Time trophy.
It was a roller coaster of events, sports fans. The ebb and flow of emotion and adrenaline exhausted even the most hearty among us (see pic of Coach Winterton above…)Additional pictures of our Imps in action at the Orange can be found by clicking on the following link:
Posted on 8th December 2008
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