Britt wrestling team going for undefeated conference record
By Chris Koonce
Correspondent
Jack Britt's wrestling team has won eight of its last nine matches to improve to 25-5 for the year. The Buccaneers host Terry Sanford tonight in their final league match of the season as Britt looks to remain undefeated in the Mid-South Conference. The Buccaneers will be the league's No. 1 seed in the state playoffs and will battle the No. 2 seed from the Cap-7 Conference in the first round at a site to be determined.
Jack Britt has six wrestlers who have won at least 30 matches this season.
Senior Darius Delgado has won 36 of 41 matches, senior Allen Vines-Brown is 36-13, junior Calvin Hinton is 34-10, junior Tyler Manship is 31-16, senior Bryce Carter has a record of 30-10 and junior Jared Bartram is 30-4. Bartram has won 11 consecutive matches and is ranked third in the state 4-A rankings at 160 pounds.
South View (12-6, 4-1 Mid-South) would clinch the No. 2 seed for the playoffs if the Tigers can knock off Seventy-First tonight at South View.
The runner-up in the Mid-South Conference will face the No. 2 seed from the Greater Neuse Conference in a first-round state playoff match scheduled to take place Feb. 9. The Tigers' top individual marks have been recorded by seniors Timmy McCall and Kamal Leak. McCall has pinned 17 opponents and has a record of 30-1 in the 189-pound weight class. Leak has wrestled matches in both the 125 and 130-pound weight classes and is 32-7 with 16 pins.
Alex Fernandez, Zach Tobie, Steven Porter and Roman Gutierrez won their individual matches, but Gray's Creek (3-15-1, 0-4 Cape Fear Valley) lost to Western Harnett, 57-24. Gray's Creek has a busy week as the Bears travel to Westover tonight and host a tournament this weekend.
Boys' basketball
Jack Britt lost two of three games last week, then earned a measure of atonement by defeating Cape Fear on Monday night, 70-56. That victory was particularly satisfying since the Buccaneers suffered an upset loss to Cape Fear, 60-58, Friday night.
Devin Thompson led three Britt players in double figures, with 15 points and six rebounds.
Britt is now 10-9 overall and 5-2 in the Mid-South Conference, two games behind league leader Terry Sanford.
The Buccaneers opened last week with a 59-55 loss to Raleigh Millbrook in the MLK Basketball Jam at Union High School in Sampson County.
Britt returned to conference action and defeated Seventy-First as senior guard Raheem Jolliffe made six 3-point shots and scored a career-high 31 points in the 61-48 win.
The Buccaneers closed the week with the loss to Cape Fear. Thompson scored 18 points as the Buccaneers' comeback effort fell short.
South View (6-13, 0-7 Mid-South) lost three contests during the week as the Tigers' losing streak reached six games.
South View had five players score in double figures, but the Tigers lost at Union, 79-76.
Freshman Dominique Wiggins scored a season-high 24 points in an 87-65 loss at E.E. Smith.
South View lost to undefeated Terry Sanford, 70-45, despite a season-best 19 points from junior Chris Vinson.
Gray's Creek (1-18, 0-7 Cape Fear Valley) allowed more than 90 points in two games as the Bears lost conference road games to county opponents Westover and Douglas Byrd.
Girls' basketball
South View split a pair of conference games as the Tigers slipped to third place in the league standings with a 5-2 conference record.
South View fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit to take a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter but lost in overtime, 59-54 at E.E. Smith.
The Tigers closed the week with a 69-48 win against Terry Sanford as sophomores Ciara Morris and Rachel Temple combined to score 38 points.
South View has an overall record of 13-5.
Jack Britt (11-6, 3-3 Mid-South) split two games during the week as the Buccaneers lost at Seventy-First, 81-43 and defeated Cape Fear, 41-26. Britt is in fourth place in the conference standings and has been led in scoring by senior Caitlin Sandy, who averages 13.7 points per game.
Gray's Creek (1-18, 1-6 Cape Fear Valley) fell into sixth place in the league standings as the Bears lost to Westover, 74-30, and Douglas Byrd, 58-40. Sophomore Tayler Collins averages 9.6 points per game for Gray's Creek.
Upcoming schedule
Today
Wrestling
Terry Sanford at Jack Britt, Seventy First at South View, Gray's Creek at Westover
Friday
Basketball
Jack Britt at South View, Gray's Creek at Southern Lee
Saturday
Wrestling
Battle at the Bear's Den at Gray's Creek