The South Stokes wrestling team grabbed two wins on the road last week in meets against East Wilkes and Elkin. The Sauras beat the Cardinals 39-30 and beat the Elks 39-32. The team also took a 39-33 loss last week in a meet against Avery County.

All the matchups were close, but the Sauras inched by for the team win to go 2-1 last week.

Head Coach Tim Lawson said that the team is still “inexperienced” and makes minor mistakes on the mat.

“We still have room for improvement,” he said. “[We] should have beat all three of these teams.”

Lawson said that Keegan Ross, John Kevin Fischer, T.J. Whaley and Matt Poss all had a good week, and went 3-0 in their individual matches in the past week.

Tuesday, Dec. 11, the Sauras started out slow in their matchup against the Cards. Ben Tuttle (285) wrestled through three periods, but then lost two by decision. Things began to turn around when Fischer (120) won by decision over Ryne Lentz. The Sauras also picked up an extra 12 points in forfeits in the early matches.

Saura Keegan Ross (145) won by decision over Spencer Douglas and tied the match up 18-18.

The Sauras grabbed several pins in the final matches with Cards, which allowed the team to inch ahead for the win. Whaley (160), Christian Artis (182) and Corbin Tackett (195) all grabbed a pin in the final moments of the meet, which allowed the Sauras to end the meet with a 39-30 win.

When the Sauras faced off against Avery County the same day, they weren’t as successful.

The team picked up several losses in the early part of the meet. The Sauras picked up several wins by decision. Fischer, Morgan Bagley (132) and Ross added three points to the board in their matchups, but the the team still trailed 33-15.

The Sauras grabbed several pins in the final matches of the day. Matt Poss (152), Whaley and Artis pinned their opponents, grabbing an extra 18 points for the Sauras, but it wasn’t enough to allow the team to jump ahead for the win. South Stokes was handed a 39-33 loss for the day.

“We still make young, inexperienced wrestling mistakes that cost us individual matches and team matches,” Coach Lawson said. “Mat time and continued hard work will help us with these problems.”

The team had better luck on Wednesday, Dec. 12 when the Sauras grabbed a 39-32 win over the Elks. Out of the gate, Bagley won the first match of the day against Elkin’s Jeremy Pierce.

Ross and Whaley grabbed a pin in their weight divisions, which brought the score to 24-5.

Evan Scott (220) and Fischer both grabbed a pin in the first period of their matchups, which added an extra 12 points to the board and allowed the Sauras to coast away with a 39-32 win.

West Stokes vs. North Stokes

The Wildcats beat the Vikings 57-24 in a matchup last Friday. The Vikings had five forfeits for the day, which added up to an easy 30 points for the the Wildcats. West Stokes is now 2-0 in conference and 7-10 overall.

“I’m not feeling bad about where we’re at,” Wildcats Coach Kris Kahila said. “There’s a big light at the end of the tunnel.”