Lumberton wrestling earns dual-team state playoff bid

The Robesonian, Lumberton, N.C.
·1 min read

Jan. 26—LUMBERTON — The Lumberton boys wrestling team learned its first-round playoff opponent Thursday when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released brackets for the dual team state playoffs.

Lumberton earned a No. 6 seed in the 4A East Region and will wrestle against No. 11 Hoke County in Saturday's first round. The match will be held at 9 a.m. at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines.

The Lumberton-Hoke County winner will wrestle later Saturday against the winner of No. 3 Pinecrest and No. 14 Cleveland.

The third round and regional finals will be held on Wednesday at the highest remaining seed. The state championship will be held Feb. 4 in Greensboro.

Lumberton won the United-8 Conference regular-season championship after a 7-0 dual-meet record in the conference. The Pirates finished second in the team standings at last week's United-8 Conference Tournament, with four boys wrestlers earning individual titles — Makya Kerns, Matthew Foil, Tristan Rodriguez and Jackson Buck.

Lumberton was the only United-8 team to earn a dual-team state playoff berth. Robeson County's other two wrestling programs, Purnell Swett in 4A and St. Pauls in 2A, did not qualify.

Individual regionals will be held Feb. 10-11 and states will be Feb. 16-18. The NCHSAA Women's Invitational will be held Feb. 4.