SOUTHERN PINES — An off night for Richmond Senior wrestling was pushed to the background for a few minutes when JoeE Nicholson faced Pinecrest’s Riley Merchant in the team’s Sandhills Athletic Conference opener on Wednesday.
For three full periods, Nicholson tussled with the battled-tested Merchant, who had lost to just one other wrestler prior to the meeting.
Richmond coach Earl Nicholson acknowledged how tough Merchant was at the 120-pounds division and anticipated his gameplan ahead of the showdown.
“Their plan was to burn JoeE out, but he (Merchant) was the one sucking wind at the end of the match,” said coach Nicholson.
At the conclusion of the back-and-forth action, the referee held up JoeE Nicholson’s hand to signify the win via 7-5 decision. Nicholson (16-0) would go on to pin Hoke’s Noah Allen in his final bout of the night to remain perfect on the young season.
The other Raiders didn’t experience as much success, however, as the group dropped both decisions to host Pinecrest and Hoke.
“I knew Pinecrest was going to be tough, but I’m disappointed in the matches we let get away,” said coach Nicholson after the event concluded.
JoeE Nicholson’s victory over Merchant was the Raiders’ lone win against the Patriots, as they fell 72-3. In the following match with Hoke, the team fared better but fell short of a late rally, losing 49-30.
Hector Castro picked up his eighth win of the year, using a pin to beat Hoke’s Evan Stephens-McIntosh and give the Raiders their only lead of the night.
Austin Gallop improved his record to 12-4 with a win by fall against the Bucks’ Jamal Williams. The victory closed the deficit to just one point, 13-12. But the Bucks would rattle off the next 30 points, then Richmond sophomore Andres Sanchez ended the spurt by pinning James Brown for his 11th victory of the season.
“The kids that are working their moves and practicing what we teach are doing fine,” said coach Nicholson.
He added that tempering early expectations will be key, especially with only eight returners from a year ago, two of which have been sidelined of late. It will also take patience trying to work in the addition of football players who just joined the team and need time to adjust their conditioning levels.
Richmond (11-3) is off this weekend and returns to the mat next Friday for the Elizabeth Barry Memorial Invitational, a two-day event held at Mallard Creek High School.
