NCHSAA state wrestling championships slated for Winston-Salem this weekend
February 17, 2009 North Carolina
WINSTON-SALEM -- The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be the site this weekend for one of the biggest single high school sporting events in the Southeast.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association's annual state wrestling championships are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, bringing together over 600 of the state's best prep grapplers for two full days of competition.
Over 1,100 individual matches will be contested over the course of the event en route to crowning 42 different individual champions. That means there is one winner in each of the NCHSAA's 14 weight divisions and three different classifications, including 1-A and 2-A together for wrestling, 3-A, and 4-A.
Wrestling will start at 9 a.m. on Friday and will run until Saturday evening with the consolation and championship finals starting at 6 p.m. This is the 22nd year that the wrestling championships have been "classified"; prior to 1987, all wrestlers, regardless of the size of the school, competed for a single title. This is the seventh year that Lawrence Joel Coliseum has hosted the event.
The NCHSAA, with a strong tradition in wrestling, has been offering a championship in the sport since the 1930's.
Cary has won the team tournament championship at the 4-A level four consecutive times and five of the last six years, while Winston-Salem Parkland is the two-time defending 3-A team champ. Orange won the 1-A/2-A team title a year ago.
Earlier this month, Cary (4-A), Winston-Salem Parkland (3-A), Orange (2-A) and Hampstead (1-A) won their respective classifications in the NCHSAA dual team championships and will obviously be very competitive in the tournament.
Wendy's is the presenting sponsor for the NCHSAA sports program, and the host city sponsor is Visit Winston-Salem. |
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