CHARLOTTE — Of the four varsity Raiders who participated in Charlotte Catholic’s Holy Angels Tournament last week, sophomore Steven Morales was the only one able to score points for the Richmond wrestling team.

Morales, a 120-pounder, won by pin fall — and grabbed the team’s only six points — over Woodmont’s Cooper Strange in the third round of the consolation bracket after falling to Uwharrie Charter’s Josh Poteat by major decision (14-4) in round two of the championship bracket. The sophomore wrestler would finish the tournament with a major decision loss (14-2) to Hickory Ridge’s Robbie Snyder.

Zachariah Hamilton, Austin Gallop and Alex Branch were the other three Raider wrestlers who competed at Charlotte Catholic. They all put forth solid efforts, but couldn’t quite get over the hump in their respective matches.

Hamilton, at 138, lost an 8-5 decision to Matthew Herbert (Ardrey Kell) in the championship’s first round, received a bye in the first round of the consolation bracket and then dropped an 8-3 decision to Michael Gilliam (South Mecklenburg).

Gallop was on the wrong side of a 7-6 decision when he faced off against Mooresville’s Luke Gooding in the 152-pound weight class in the first round. He would also lose a 6-2 decision to Union Pines’ Jon Ross in the consolation’s second round.

Branch, a 160-pounder, was pinned by Noah Rupp (Providence) in the first round, and then received a bye in the consolation bracket before being pinned by Anthony Fabian (Hough) in the second round of the consolation bracket.

In junior varsity action, Ethan Owens and Porter Gregory each secured a team-high four points with their performances in the quaterfinals. Owens pinned Concord’s Dax Furr-Trexler and Gregory won by fall over East Gaston’s Stewart Huckle.

They would both lose their respective semifinal and consolation semfinal matchups.

The JV Raiders also got a combined 15 points from Bryant Coles, Phillip Gillis, Adrian Khamchanh, Jabauri Parnell and Jeremy Ward — who each scored three points with their victories in round one of the consolation bracket.

Coles won by pin fall over Alex Jenkins (T.C. Roberson), Gillis pinned Jared Vazquez-Nunez (T.C. Roberson), Khamchanh won by forfeit over Anthony Johnson (Charlotte Catholic), Parnell defeated Mauro Pellot (Fairfax) and Ward handled Dan Robertson (East Mecklenburg).

Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. by phone at 910-817-2673 or by email at [email protected]. For stories, scores and updates, follow the Daily Journal’s sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.

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By Leon Hargrove Jr.

Sports Editor