The Jacksonville boys\u2019 wrestling team made the statement it wanted to make Saturday — that being was that the Cardinals were still the top squad in Onslow County.<\/p>\n
Led by four individual champions and two runners-up, Jacksonville captured the Onslow County Cup championship for the third consecutive year during the annual tournament at Southwest.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals scored 182.5 points, followed by White Oak at 173, Swansboro\u2019s 128, Southwest\u2019s 118, Dixon\u2019s 109.5, Northside\u2019s 72.5 and Richlands\u2019 36.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes from the hard work in the room,\u201d 120-pound sophomore Garrett Moses said. \u201cWe push each other, we push the pace and we get better every day. We don\u2019t get stale with our performance, but we are consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aiden Allen, a 150-pound junior, agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work a lot in the room to keep things consistent,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to pass things down to the next generation so they can continue to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacksonville outscored second-place White Oak again, but it wasn\u2019t easy \u2013 unlike last year\u2019s 92-point victory.<\/p>\n
The Vikings featured four champions, three runners-ups, one third-place finisher and two in fourth. The Cardinals had two silver medals and four bronze medals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhite Oak was a thorn in our side that we had to get past,\u201d Jacksonville coach Mark Holbrook said. \u201cThe White Oak guys and Jacksonville guys all workout together, so they are friends. That made this that more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen said the Cardinals entered with confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wrestled White Oak earlier in the season, and it was kind of spotty,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we were confident. Everybody performed as best they could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophomore Tyler Gardner was Jacksonville\u2019s first champion as he pinned White Oak\u2019s Gianni Lawrence in 1:29 in the 113 final. Moses then defeated Swansboro\u2019s Levi Vetter 6-3 in the 120 final.<\/p>\n
Senior Maxwell Davis defeated White Oak\u2019s Chris Chambless 18-0 in the 138 final and senior Brock Smith won the 157 title via a pin in 4:53 over Lejeune\u2019s De\u2019Sean Godbolt in the final.<\/p>\n
Freshman Gabriel Robida was second at 126, Allen was second at 150, freshman Jake Geist was third at 106, junior Gavin Costillo was third at 132, junior Jonathan Berry was third at 215 and senior Hunter Saiebliski was third at 285.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe older guys have shown the younger guys how they should work and how the pace of the room needs to be,\u201d Moses said.<\/p>\n
Allen added that the Cardinals put in extra work to succeed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been easier to get extra mat time so that we come out here, we can outlast and outperform teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In other individual finals: Southwest sophomore Esteban Placencia topped Lejeune\u2019s Trebor Berkshire 18-4 at 106, White Oak senior Robert Alexander pinned Robida in 1:14 at 126, Swansboro sophomore Sheamus Mercer defeated White Oak\u2019s Colten Lewis 19-13 at 132, White Oak senior James Campos defeated Dixon\u2019s Dominic Avvisato 16-10 at 144, White Oak sophomore Hayden Smith pinned Allen in 1:38 at 150, White Oak junior Jacob Campos pinned Southwest\u2019s Trenstin Bolden in 1:58 at 165, Swansboro sophomore Gavin Hassek pinned Richlands\u2019 Joshua Wilson in 4:57 at 175, Northside senior Marcus Cherry won 19-4 over Southwest\u2019s Quandayvis Bacon at 190, Dixon senior Cooper Lanier won 17-1 over Southwest\u2019s Trenton Mungavin at 215 and Kayden Clark pinned Dixon\u2019s Tyler Goatcher in 1:28 at 285.<\/p>\n
Smith was named the boys\u2019 tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler.<\/p>\n