Contributed

Pinecrest High School handled Union Pines 50-24 in Wednesday night’s mat action at Union Pines.

For the Patriots, it was the third win in two days, the icing on the cake of a 3-0 start to the season following a 56-18 win over Terry Sanford and a 69-12 ride over Overhills on Tuesday.

Pinecrest piled on 22 team points in the first four matches, and never looked back in the race for the county crown and this year’s bragging rights. Union Pines is now 5-5 for the season.

Patriot sophomore Sam Ransdell (103) lit the fuse for Pinecrest, pinning James Smearman with time to spare in the first period.

Kevin Brown played catch and release with the Vikings’ Tony Fernandez, scoring seven takedowns on the way to a 20-6 major decision at 112.

The Vikes gambled and lost on the next series when they bumped 119-pounder Billy Tally to 125 and conceded the forfeit to Pinecrest senior Tommy Ransdell. The shift set Tally against Patriot varsity newcomer William Poston, who got a quick six with a headlock that left Tally flat on the mat in 1:06.

Pinecrest got the gravy through the middle weights, starting with a 9-0 major decision by Travis Capp (135) over Doug Roach and building with pins by Sean O’Connell (152) over Joey Beck and Zack Martin (160) over Zack Moore. Austin Moss earned six for the Patriots on a Viking forfeit at 171.

Viking headliner Mike Gigas held true to form, pinning Patriot 130-pounder Kevin Bounds for the first points of the evening for Union Pines.

David Boyle (140) kept the Vikings in the chase, edging Brad McKeever in a 5-3 decision. Jacob Brown (145) added three points for Union Pines with a 7-3 decision over Trevor Capp.

It was all mathematical when the heavyweight matches rolled around, with Pinecrest holding an insurmountable 44-12 lead. Glen Holmes added a Patriot exclamation point with the quickest pin of the match in a 25-second fall against Darrell Pate.

Union Pines won the final pair with Joe Wood (215) and Danny King (275) winning by pin against Mike Cummings and Andrew Pugsley, respectively.

Pinecrest coach Matt Boyce was pleased with the depth his team was able to put on the mat.

“We know what we’ve got at a lot of spots” he said. “I was glad to see good matches from some of our guys who haven’t seen that much action. O’Connell and Poston were big for us tonight. They haven’t had a lot of mat time, but they’re off to a good start.”

For Viking coach Matt Ragsdale it was a tough loss tempered by the fact that it was the largest crowd ever for a home dual match.

“Our guys worked hard, but we just didn’t match up well from the start,” he said. “Still, it was a great match and a great atmosphere.”

Although Pinecrest and Union Pines compete in different classifications (Pinecrest is a 4-A school, while Union Pines is a 3-A school), the match stands as a testament to the growing popularity of wrestling in Moore County and the contribution of youth sports programs. An interesting sidebar is the fact that 10 of the fourteen individual match winners in Wednesday’s match have been Sandhills Sandcat wrestlers prior to their high school participation.

Turkey Duals

In a prelude to Wednesday’s match, Pinecrest rolled over two non-conference opponents in the Turkey Duals quad meet at Terry Sanford High School on Tuesday.

The Patriots handed Terry Sanford, a perennial contender in the Two Rivers 4-A conference, a 56-18 loss, then walloped 3-A newcomer Overhills High 69-12.

Kevin Brown, William Poston, Brad McKeever, Trevor Capp, Glen Holmes, Cyle McNulty and Mike Cummings all posted pins against Terry Sanford. Wrestling cousins Sam and Tommy Ransdell scored major decisions against the Bulldogs. Travis Capp and Zack Martin recorded wins by decision for the Pats.

The Patriots overwhelmed Overhills with 10 pins in the second match. Sam Ransdell, Brown, Tommy Ransdell, Poston, Travis Capp, McKeever, Sean O’Connell, Martin, Cummings and Pugsley collected six points each.

Trevor Capp earned six points on a forfeit and Holmes won by decision to round out the 69-12 final.

The next date for the Patriots is Dec. 3, when they travel to West Stokes High for the West Stokes Duals. Conference action heats up on Dec. 7, when the Pats travel to Scotland for their conference opener.

Pinecrest 50, Union Pines 24

103 — Sam Ransdell (P) pinned James Smearman, 1:41; 112 — Kevin Brown (P) major dec. Tony Fernandez, 20-6; 119 — Tommy Ransdell (P) won by forfeit; 125 — William Poston (P) pinned Billy Tally, 1:06; 130 — Mike Gigas (UP) pinned Kevin Bounds, 0:34; 135 — Travis Capp (P) major dec. Doug Roach, 9-0; 140 — David Boyle (UP) dec. Brad McKeever, 5-3; 145 — Jacob Brown (UP) dec. Trevor Capp, 7-3; 152 — Sean O’Connell (P) pinned Joey Beck, 2:26; 160 — Zack Martin (P) pinned Zack Moore, 1:00; 171 — Austin Moss (P) won by forfeit; 189 — Glen Holmes (P) pinned Darrell Pate, 0:25; 215 — Joe Wood (UP) pinned Mike Cummings, 4:49; 275 — Danny King (UP) pinned Andrew Pugsley, 3:10.

Pinecrest 56, Terry Sanford 18

103 — Sam Ransdell (P) major dec. Max Carpenter, 15-3; 112 — Kevin Brown (P) pinned Thomas Dickey, 1:13; 119 — Tommy Ransdell (P) major dec. David Milbern, 14-6; 125 — William Poston (P) pinned Stephen Arrendendo, 3:47; 130 — Josh Free (TS) won by forfeit; 135 — Travis Capp (P) decision Andrew Argentieri, 7-2; 140 — Bradley McKeever (P) pinned Michael Morales, 3:32; 145 — Trevor Capp (P) pinned Henry Atkinson, 5:17; 152 — Zack Martin (P) decision Brad Boose, 4-0; 160 — Thomas Knie (TS) pinned Mike Evans, 0:29; 171 — Glen Holmes (P) pinned Chance Bennett, 1:57; 189 — Cyle McNulty (P) pinned Justin Lopes, 3:36; 215 — Mike Cummings (P) pinned Alex Gordon, 1:51; 275 — Steven Joyner (TS) pinned Andrew Pugsley, 1:03.

Pinecrest 69, Overhills 12