Granby wrestlers wear Eastern District crown

By Ray Nimmo

NORFOLK

Before his Eastern District championship match, Granby wrestler Codie Martin paced the mat liked a caged tiger.

The whistle blew and Martin, a 152-pounder, exploded into Norcom’s Anthony Hardy.

“My coach tells me ‘intensity’,” Martin said. “It’s one of my things. If I’m moving around, I’m not thinking about anything else.”

Four near-falls and three takedowns later, Martin earned an 18-2 technical fall victory that pulled Granby within six points of Norview. The Comets followed with three wins in the upper weight classes to beat the Pilots 227.5-215.5 on Saturday at Lake Taylor.

Rounding out the top five were Lake Taylor (147.5), Maury (129.5) and Norcom (104).

“I’m happy for the kids,” Granby coach David Pucino said. “We have a lot of seniors and a lot of guys who stepped up when we needed them.”

The Comets crowned five district champions: Martin, Chase Anderson (113 pounds), Spencer Matthews (170), Matthew Eagle (182) and Sherrod Ryland (220). Anderson is a first-year wrestler, but rolled through districts unbeaten.

“I can’t believe it,” Anderson said. “I put in a lot of hard work and I’m glad it paid off.” Norview, attempting to avenge a 39-35 regular-season loss to Granby, had its chances to pull away.

Hunter Wright (106), Daniel Munden (120) and Jon Redford (132) picked up wins – Norview’s only champions out of seven finalists – but all three were by decision or major decision; those results only yield three and four points, respectively. It’s the same dilemma that doomed Norview in the previous loss to Granby. The elusive pinfall victory garners six points.

“Crazy,” said Pucino describing this season. “It’s just been a wild ride. I’m very proud of them.”

Other champions included: Maury’s David Yobp (126); Lake Taylor’s Collin Saunders (138) and Demon Minor (145); Norcom’s Devon Smith (160) and Lamont Hinton (285); Booker T. Washington’s Anthony Purdie (195).