LUMBERTON — The technicality that the Laney wrestling team used on and off the mat on Tuesday in the first round of the NCHSAA 4A state dual team championship was what put the Bucs over the top, according to Lumberton coach Jamie Bell.
“They are a deep team, a smart team with good coaches. I think more than anything we got out-placed with what we had,” he said. “They were smart. They were deep so they had people they could put in at certain spots.”
Laney earned a comeback victory, 37-33, over the Pirates in the first round and then clinched a berth to the 4A East Regional semifinals with a 43-33 win over South View in the second round later on Tuesday night at Lumberton High School. Laney will take on Jack Britt in the third round.
“We could play that match 10 different ways and get 10 different outcomes,” Bell said. “I saw a lot of heart from our guys and some stuff I liked, along with stuff we need to work on going into regionals.”
Lumberton (25-7) took a 33-18 lead midway through the match after going through the heart of its lineup in the bigger weight classes, and didn’t have enough to slow down Laney (18-1) over the final four bouts.
“They outmaneuvered us up top with their hammers in the smaller weight classes,” Bell said. “I thought we looked good, but they were just smarter with their lineup.”
After the Bucs claimed a forfeit at 106 pounds, Lumberton 113-pounder Justin Kelly fell in a major decision to Mark Samuel to bring Laney within 33-24. Samuel, the Bucs’ highly-ranked wrestler at 106 pounds, was moved up to help earn bonus points late.
In the 120-pound match, Lumberton’s Curran Beddell fought tight with Evan Kite for the first two periods before Kite earned two nearfalls in the third to claim the 8-4 decision. The points from that match helped the Bucs avoid being out of reach for the final bout that Seth Thomas claimed easily at 126 pounds with a third-period pin to seal the victory.
To go along with the lighter weight classes, Lumberton also hit roadblocks in the middleweights as Laney kept the score close before Lumberton’s final three weights took over.
Back-to-back losses by fall at 170 and 185 pounds put Laney up 18-15 after seven bouts. Dre Addison controlled the match at 170 pounds for the first 2 1/2 periods before Laney’s Carveon Harris picked up a third-period fall.
“That kind of set them over the edge winning both of those matches,” Bell said. “That was a close match at 170.”
From 195 to 285 pounds, the Pirates swept the matches with pins from seniors Ed Brock, Alex Hammonds and Tray Regan to build up the 15-point advantage. Lumberton also picked up a win by fall from Davieyon King-McAllister, and wins by decision from Yakemiean Johnson, Kenson Sinclair and Tony Hammonds.
In the other first-round match, South View (14-6) defeated Green Hope (18-4) 44-24 to meet up with Laney in the second round.
Lumberton will be back in action next Saturday for the 4A East Regional individual championships.
