RONDA — Mount Airy wrestling Head Coach Steve Braune said the Bears won runner-up Saturday and received a trophy in the East Wilkes High School Cardinals Duals and called it a Virginia/North Carolina battle.

For all except one team point and a few match instances, the team held its ground, Braune said.

He said the team took first against four Virginia schools in the wrestling competition that East Wilkes hosted.

Mount Airy, Glenn, North Surry, Martinsville (Va.), Galax (Va.), Carroll County (Va.) and Grayson (Va.) all competed in the wrestling duals tournament.

Braune said the team started the day wrestling against Galax and won the match 78-6.

He said all Greyhounds pinned their opponents but one, and the Galax match was a great match to open the day.

The next match up for the Greyhounds was against Carroll County and they beat them 57-15.

Braune said, “We got pinned at 106 and then my kid pinned at 113 and Mount Airy won.”

At 120, 126 and 132 weight class, Colton McMillan, Jackson Blizzard and Kenyon Smith got forfeits, Braune said.

Then, at 138, Braune said Cameron Pack lost a minor decision by 12-11. At 145, Andrew Moore lost a minor 10-4, and Tristan Mabry at 152 won minor 6-3. Braune said, at 160 and 170, Dallas Smith and Landon Mumford pinned their opponents.

The weight classes 182, 195, and 220, all brought forfeits for Austin Branch, Kolte Poore and Mason Timmerman. At 285, Brian Bennett pinned his opponent.

Braune said, the next match was against Martinsville. Alex Howard got a forfeit, and Sechrist got pinned in the third period.

Braune said, at 120, 126 and 132, Mount Airy pinned all its opponents.

At 138, Braune said, Pack got pinned, and at 145, Andrew Moore pinned his opponent.

Braune said the real drama begin after Martinsville wrestler Colby Sarver illegally slammed Tristan Mabry. He said, Mabry then won on a disqualification and went to the hospital with a minor concussion and will be out until the doctor releases him to wrestle again.

Braune said that he called the family and checked on him and “he is fine,” Braune said. There are no muscular or skeletal injuries, the coach said.

Dallas Smith at 160 and Landon Mumford, 170, both won by pins, said Braune. However, at 182 and 195, the Greyhounds got pinned.

At 220, Braune said, Timmerman received a forfeit, and at 285, Bennett got pinned. The final was 54-30.

Braune added, against Grayson County, “We won 71-12 and our kids overall came ready to go today.”

The match against Grayson had a lot of forfeits, said Braune.

Braune said, at 106, the Bears won by 10, and at 113, 120, 126 and 142, the team also was victorious.

Pack pinned his kid in first period at 138, said Braune. Then, at 145, Braune said, the Bears got a forfeit and at 152, he said, ” We had to forfeit because of Tristan’s injury.”

Also at 160 and 170, Braune said, they got a second period pin; at 182, Mount Airy got a forfeit; at 195, Mount Airy pinned its opponent, he said. The 220 class was the only loss of the day and he got pinned, Braune said.

Bennett at 285 got a forfeit, Braune said.

He added, “Our 160-pounder took off straps on the mat, so they won 71-12 on a technicality. It was a big deal because of a team point, but we love him.” The coach then said, that is also part of learning lessons as the team goes along in wrestling.

“The last match was against a 4A Mount Tabor team, and we them beat 57-18,” Braune said.

Braune said, at 106, Alex Howard, and 113, Sechrist, each had two forfeits. Then, at 120, Colton McMillan lost a minor decision 11-8.

At 126, Jackson Blizzard pinned his opponent in 28 seconds, said Braune. Then, Smith at 132, Braune said, lost a minor decision by 14-11. Kenyon Smith was bumped from 132 to 138 and pinned his opponent in first period. The bump-ups were because of Mabry’s injury, said Braune.

Braune said, at 138 to 145 weight class, Pack won a minor by 9-5. Braune said, Moore was bumped up from 145 to 152 and pinned his kid in the third period.

“They fought today, came to win and ready to wrestle,” said Braune.

At 160, Smith, and Mumford, 170, won against both opponents.

At 182, Braune said the team gave up a technical disqualification because of Branch stalling too many times which can be due to number of a factors, Braune said.

The third period ended with three pins and 195 was the score for Poore, and 220 was Timmerman’s score.

At 285, Bennett won with a pin and the match ended with a Bears win and a score of 57-18, Braune said.

“We won today in a 5-0 classic between North Carolina and Virginia.”

The end was determined by the tie-breaker factor with Glenn scoring 321 and Mount Airy scoring 317 after losing by four points in a tiebreaker criteria.

Braune said, “When we can compete with 2A, 3A and 4A, and we not only compete but win, it says a lot about our program. It tells me it doesn’t matter our school size because our kids want to compete and win. It is all about heart, not giving up and never surrendering.”

Braune said, “We did not have one individual on our team with a losing record today. We fought for ourselves and fought for teammates.”

Overall the Bear record is 17-9. The next team event is the Rick Williams Duals and is hosted by South Stokes, said Braune.

“We have had a lot of support from family, friends and community.”