Orange County and Albemarle face a tough task in Conference 16’s wrestling tournament, but both schools put together solid performances with Orange County finishing fourth and Albemarle finished fifth Saturday.
Orange County’s Corey Champion and Dustin Shifflett both pulled off individual titles, with Champion winning at 138 with a pair of pins and an 11-4 victory in the final. Shifflett won at 195, picking up the championship on a third period pin in the final.
The Hornets also had a runnerup finish from Chance Bowers at 132. Four Orange wrestlers also finished in third place with Trent Carr at 113, Steven Tidman at 126, Dawson Parker at 145 and Kaleb Marshall at 182. Michael Jamerson and Bradley Hanner took fourth at 160 and 170 respectively.
Albemarle had a pair of runner-up finishes from Sean Ealy and Mark Delp. Ealy was the runner-up at 145 pounds while Delp was in second place at 152.
Four Patriots finished in third place, with Brock Shorten taking third at 160, Michael Carter third at 170, J.T. Shorten third at 195 and Jamonte Howze third at heavyweight
Nikolas Swoopes finished fourth at 182 for the Patriots.
Albemarle and Orange’s region qualifiers advance to the Region 5A North championships.
