Davie County Tops Hough 38-33, Proving Top-Program Status Early

Mocksville, NC— Davie County defeated William Amos Hough 38-33 in one of North Carolina's most highly anticipated wrestling dual meets of the season. The War Eagles, now competing in 7A, avenged last year's NCHSAA 4A state duals quarterfinal loss to the 8A Huskies, who had ended their run despite Davie's 4A individual state tournament championship that same season. Under head coach Josh Stanley, Davie's lineup of top-ranked wrestlers squared off against Hough's elite talent in a back-and-forth battle that highlighted the depth and determination of both programs. The dual opened at 106 pounds, where No. 8 sophomore Dominic Ishuin gave Davie an early advantage with an 18-3 technical fall over Brian Reuben of Hough. No. 1 junior Michael Santoro of Hough won by forfeit at 113 pounds. The Huskies built momentum with No. 2 freshman Brandon Lefler pinning No. 5 junior Jack Bost at 120, followed by No. 2 sophomore Adrian Feliciano's 21-2 technical fall over Stephen Jacobs at 126. Davie trailed early but stayed composed, setting the stage for a strong middleweight push.

Davie flipped the script starting at 132 pounds, where No. 3 senior Tiaj Thao delivered a steady 8-3 decision over No. 2 senior Auggie Rahaim. The pivotal performance came at 138 pounds, where No. 2 ranked junior Aidan Szewczyk faced off in a high-stakes matchup against No. 2 ranked senior Cody Bui and secured a dominant 10-1 major decision. Szewczyk broke down his mindset afterward: "Going into the dual match, I knew that this team had a lot of good wrestlers but I didn’t let that get in my head. I was able to pick up the major because I just shut off all the rankings and went out and competed." He detailed the in-match adjustments: "In the match I was just trying to impose my will on him like any other match. I noticed that I wasn’t getting a lot of pressure back in neutral during the match so I started to wait for him to attack to get the edge. Reattacks were what got me a lot of points so I think I tactically adjusted well." Szewczyk looked ahead for the team: "I think tonight shows that we can compete with anybody in the state and that Davie County is a top program this season. It took a little bit of work to get here and we’re nowhere near state duals since it’s still December but I think we’re going in the right direction to align with our goals as a team."

The War Eagles' middleweight strength continued at 150 pounds, where No. 1 ranked senior Andrew Davis powered to an 18-3 technical fall over No. 6 senior Conor Herbert. Davis kept his approach straightforward: "I went in with the no face no name mindset and knew I just had to wrestle like I normally do and score as many points as possible, the outcome will control itself." He stayed focused amid the pressure: "I just stayed in my mindset knowing I had to pin the guy and get the most points for the team, but also I didn’t want that to affect the way I normally wrestle." Reflecting on the dual, Davis said, "That was a big win for us and we really came together as a family and a team to get the job done. Everyone wrestled great, there are things we need to work on still but we are coming together and it’s gonna be a great season."

At 157 pounds, No. 4 senior Elliott Gould battled No. 3 sophomore Vincent Grack, giving up the first takedown but rallying for an 8-6 decision by controlling the pace late. Gould explained his mental game plan: "In the match I was just trying to impose my will on him like any other match. I’d like to think that I have a good tank so I feel like I can always take matches deep if they’re close and maintain position and technique in faster pace matches, so going into the match I was prepared mentally for anything."

Davie's surge peaked at 165 pounds, where No. 1 ranked junior Carson Worrick earned a fall over Ethan Chrestler, delivering a crucial six points. Worrick addressed the revenge factor from last year's semifinal loss: "Our team has put in a lot of work since that match and it’s been on our minds ever since. It feels great bouncing back and beating Hough. It’s nothing we didn’t expect as a team, we are the hardest working team in the state." He detailed the team's preparation: "As a team we expected it to be a tough hard fought dual. We prepared for it throughout the week by positive mental talk and tough practices. Our coaches do an amazing job at getting us ready, there is no place I’d rather be. The coaches believe in the team more than we even do in ourselves and it pushes us to be the best. Staying composed comes easy, especially when we are in the room we’re in." Worrick also noted the hype: "It was definitely one of the most anticipated duals of the year, if not the most. I prepared for this dual the same as any other dual, positive mental talk and believing in myself. That’s something that the coaches here preach to us everyday, to believe in ourselves and our training."

Senior Jamarius Pelote capped the middle-to-upperweight dominance at 175 pounds with a first-period pin over Aidos Amanzholov, wrestling aggressively despite missing two days of practice due to illness. "I knew I had to start the match with a high pace after missing two days of practice due to being sick. I knew I had to make it up to my coach and get the pin. So I set up my shot to a cradle to get the quick pin to set up my team with 6 points," Pelote said. He shared his observations and execution: "When I was watching the early bouts I kinda noticed that Hough kids didn’t adjust to the level changes so I knew if I set the pace and took a shot fast it wouldn’t be down blocked, my coach just told me to wrestle my match and not let anything get to me from the first whistle to the last. The key moments of the match was when I tried to set up my slide by but he quickly faced me and so I took the shot and took him down when I was on top I locked up a cradle to pin him." Pelote stayed locked in mentally: "My mental approach to this match was getting a good sweat and warm up in. I knew the dual would be tough with the kids that Hough has and how good they are but I knew I couldn’t let the sounds and crowd get to me. I stayed aggressive by wrestling at my pace of the match and not letting my opponent dictate how I was gonna wrestle."

Looking forward, he added, "This win sets up with a great rest of the season and we took 2 hard losses at the beginning of the season everyone thought we fell off but I could see after our second loss the practice room became even more better and everyone pushing everyone to be better and when you have that you have a team to succeed as you seen tonight. The improvements I want to work on the rest of this season and in the practice room is 1 my attitude and not letting the crowd refs or anyone else get in my head while I’m on the mat but I want to work on my cardio a lot more."

Hough mounted a strong rally in the upperweights, including a 18-3 technical fall by Tyton Kostoff over Carter Hoots at 144, a 19-3 technical fall by No. 8 senior Amiri Mingo over Isaac O'Toole at 190, and No. 2 senior Joey Ricci pinning Luis Salas Barreto at 215. Davie responded at heavyweight, where senior Ajius Patterson accepted a forfeit to clinch the 38-33 victory.

106 lbs

Dominic Ishuin (Davie) def. Brian Reuben (William Amos Hough) by Tech Fall, 18-3 (0:00)

113 lbs

Michael Santoro (William Amos Hough) def. Unknown (For.)

120 lbs

Brandon Lefler (William Amos Hough) def. Jack Bost (Davie) by Fall (0:00)

126 lbs

Adrian Feliciano (William Amos Hough) def. Stephen Jacobs (Davie) by Tech Fall, 21-2 (0:00)

132 lbs

Tiaj Thao (Davie) def. Auggie Rahaim (William Amos Hough) by Decision, 8-3

138 lbs

Aidan Szewczyk (Davie) def. Cody Bui (William Amos Hough) by Major Decision, 10-1

144 lbs

Tyton Kostoff (William Amos Hough) def. Carter Hoots (Davie) by Tech Fall, 18-3 (0:00)

150 lbs

Andrew Davis (Davie) def. Conor Herbert (William Amos Hough) by Tech Fall, 18-3 (0:00)

157 lbs

Elliott Gould (Davie) def. Vincent Grack (William Amos Hough) by Decision, 8-6

165 lbs

Carson Worrick (Davie) def. Ethan Chrestler (William Amos Hough) by Fall (0:00)

175 lbs

Jamarius Pelote (Davie) def. Aidos Amanzholov (William Amos Hough) by Fall (0:00)

190 lbs

Amiri Mingo (William Amos Hough) def. Isaac O'Toole (Davie) by Tech Fall, 19-3 (0:00)

215 lbs

Joey Ricci (William Amos Hough) def. Luis Salas Barreto (Davie) by Fall (0:00)

285 lbs

Ajius Patterson (Davie) def. Unknown (For.) by Forfeit

Team scores: Davie 38, William Amos Hough 33