KERNERSVILLE — Surry Central sophomore Jeremiah Price might as well be King Midas, because everything he touches turns to gold.
Jeremiah captured the N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 2A 145-pound State Championship for a second time on June 26. By winning the state tournament, held this year at Glenn High School, he becomes the first two-time wrestling state champion in Surry Central history.
Jeremiah joins North Surry’s Justin Jones (2007, 2008), Mount Airy’s Cameron Pack (2015, 2016) and Jacob Hogue (2015, 2016, 2017) as the only multiple-time state wrestling champions in Surry County history.
“I thought Jeremiah was extremely dominant in his wrestling at the tournament,” said Surry Central coach Stephen Priddy. “I don’t think he will say it but, having won last year, I think he wanted to come back this year and not only win, but win convincingly. That’s exactly what he did.”
A dominant performance in the tournament put the bow on an already impressive season for Jeremiah. The sophomore won the Western Piedmont 2A Conference (WPAC) and 2A Midwest Regional Championships without losing a single match. He was also named WPAC Wrestler of the Year as Surry Central captured its third-straight Conference Regular Season and Tournament Titles.
Jeremiah came into the 2021 State Championship with a 16-0 record and was never too at risk of losing any match. He defeated Rutherfordton-Spindale junior Sam Wilson (19-4) via 18-1 technical fall in the opening round, and was close to earning a tech fall in his quarterfinal match against Morehead’s Cole Prichard (16-9) before pinning his opponent in the second period.
One of the most anticipated matches of the entire 2A tournament took place in the 145 semifinals. Jeremiah, now 18-0, ran into the 2A West Regional 145 Champion Jamie Richard of Fred T. Foard High School.
Richard, a senior, was 26-0 on the season before facing Jeremiah, though that quickly changed. The Golden Eagle defeated Richard via 16-0 technical fall to advance to the finals.
“We really didn’t know much about the Foard kid coming into the tournament, but we knew he didn’t wrestle a bunch of scrubs all year,” Priddy said. “That kid was good, but at least in that day Jeremiah was just hands down better than all his competition.”
The 2A 145 State Championship was a rematch of the 2A 145 Midwest Regional Championship, with Jeremiah taking on Salisbury senior Michael Lowry. Lowry started the season 14-0 before losing via 13-0 major decision in the regional final.
Lowry won the first three matches of the state tournament to meet Jeremiah again, but lost once again. Jeremiah led 10-0 in the match before pinning Lowry in the third period.
Jeremiah only gave up three points to opponents during the state tournament. All three were for escapes, which he allowed so he could take the opponent down to the mat once again.
A few Surry Central wrestlers came close to winning multiple state titles, but none got the deal done: Sampson Oakley won the 1A/2A 145 title in 1993 after taking second in the same class in 1992, Jed Martin finished second in the 1A/2A 171 tournament in both 2007 and 2008, and Wes Brown won the 2A 220 title in 2012, but finished second in 285 the next year.
Jeremiah also owns the Surry Central and Surry County records for wins in a season, going 56-1 as a freshman. The record was previously held by North Surry’s Logan Younger, who went 54-6 and finished second in the 2A 182 tournament in 2012.
“He really dedicates his life to wrestling and to school,” Priddy said. “His work ethic is just unmatched. He’s never satisfied, and I think that’s what makes him so good. He always finds things that he could have done better. Even after the state championship, he was doing that.”
Wrestling is a year-round sport for Jeremiah. The ultimate preparation for the NCHSAA State Tournament came in the April of 2021, when Jeremiah won the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Sophomore Nationals.
“He really trained hard and put in a lot of work for that,” Priddy said. “The last four matches in that were all ended in overtime or sudden-victory periods. Man, those were some battles.
“Right after that, he was ready to put in just as much work to win a state championship. It’s been fun just to be a part of his journey.”
Jeremiah has been wrestling forever, and he hopes to continue competing after high school. He has been in contact with numerous universities in the ACC, Big 12, Ivy League and more.
Jeremiah was joined at the state championship meet by teammates Jacob Price and Karson Crouse.
Crouse, a junior, qualified for his second state championship in 2021. Last season, he competed in the 160 bracket and finished one match short of a medal.
Crouse won the 170 WPAC Championship and finished fourth at the 2A Midwest Regional. He came into the state tournament with a 16-3 record.
Crouse had to face a tall task in the form of Foard’s Zane Birtchet in the opening round. Birtchet, who won a silver medal in the 132 bracket in 2020, entered the tournament with a 25-1 record and the 170 West Regional Championship.
Crouse led 4-3 with 10 seconds left in the third period. The pair were near the edge of the ring when Birtchet was awarded two points for a take down with almost no time on the clock. Birtchet advanced with the 5-4 win.
“I hated it for Karson because he came out and wrestled so hard that day,” Priddy said. “He’d stopped all the shots the guy took in the period, but the guy just got him really close to the edge. I was extremely proud of his effort, especially considering he was wrestling hurt after injuring his knee at regionals.”
The 2021 State Championships took on a different format than tournaments of the past. Wrestlers usually have to lose twice to be eliminated. The 2A Tournament also usually gives medals to the top-six finishers instead of just the top four. This year, only wrestlers that lose in the semifinals could compete in consolation matches.
“He could’ve easily, in a normal year, come back and placed. I don’t have any doubts about that,” Priddy said.
Birtchet went on to finish third in the 170 bracket.
Jacob Price was Central’s remaining competitor. The freshman qualified for the State Championship Meet by finishing third in the 152 bracket of the Midwest Regional. Jacob also won the WPAC 152 Title this season.
Jacob came into the state tournament with an 18-2 record. His first loss of the season came to the 1A 145 State Champion, Riley Pruitt of Alleghany, via injury default. The two were tied at 4-4 when Jacob was unable to continue.
His second loss of the season was in the Midwest Regional Semifinal. After winning his first two matches at the regional championship, Jacob was defeated by West Stanly’s Aidan Hiatt.
Hiatt went on to win the Regional title with a 17-0 record, and took third in the state championship to finish 21-1 on the year.
Jacob faced Currituck County’s Ethan Binckley in the opening round and lost via fall in the second period.
“Jacob came into states with a bad back,” Priddy said. “He went to a tournament and had a lot of trouble with his back after it. He got in a situation against Binckley where he needed to be able to use his back, and his back wouldn’t let him.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him, only losing three matches as a freshman and having the season we had with COVID stuff. He wrestled strong all season. Next year, he will come back healthy and probably wrestle for a state title.”
All three of Surry Central’s 2021 state qualifiers will return for the 2021-22 season.
One Golden Eagle that had a fighting chance at finishing on the podium in 2021 was senior Steven Campbell.
As a junior, Campbell finished the year 51-5 and finished third in the 2A 182 bracket. He came back as a senior and won the WPAC 220 Championship with a perfect 16-0 record.
Due to wrestling season being held much later in the year than usual, Campbell elected to forgo the regional and state tournaments in order to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
Be First to Comment