St. Stephens High's run at a state 3A dual-team title was cut short last week by eventual state champion Winston-Salem Parkland, but the Indians will have a strong presence in the state individual championships.
St. Stephens had eight wrestlers qualify for the state championships that begin Friday and conclude Saturday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
"I am ecstatic and excited," said St. Stephens head coach Billy Baker. "We had five of the top seven teams in the state here and to get this many kids out with this quality of a field says a lot."
St. Stephens won the West 3A Regional title with 177 points, 32 points in front of second-place Mooresville (145) at St. Stephens on Saturday.
Enka was third with 137 points, followed by Northwest Cabarrus (120) and Lake Norman (106.5).
Fred T. Foard finished 18th with 27.5 points and Hickory placed 27th out of 27 teams with three points.
It's the second straight year the Indians have won the West 3A Regional title, and matches the number of wrestlers they sent to the state championships last year.
The Indians placed six in the championship finals and three won their respective weight classes.
"It was a tough weekend and these kids came through," Baker said. "These kids have stepped up and done a great job.
"The dual-team was a heartbreaker, but this is pretty sweet and a little comfort for last week."
St. Stephens' Ray Farnsworth, the top seed in the 105-weight class, advanced to the state championships for a second straight year by pinning North Iredell's Jacob Tutterrow at the 1:45 mark.
"I was nervous in the beginning of today's match, but was able to take control," said Farnsworth.
Farnsworth finished the regional 4-0 to improve to 52-0 this season.
Farnsworth is one of three Indians who will be the top seed for the West in Winston-Salem.
Farnsworth was 0-2 in the state championships last year, but feels he will be better prepared this year.
"The biggest change I need to make this year in the state championships is to keep my head on straight," Farnsworth said. "Last year, I took people lightly and it came back to bite me and I will change that this year."
Joining Farnsworth as top seeds out of the West are Kurt Stephens (121 pounds) and Logan Self (154). Kurt Stephens defeated East Rowan's Chase Thompson 7-5 to win his third straight West 3A Regional title. He is 54-1 this year.
Self rallied from a 4-1 deficit to defeat Lake Norman's Josh Smith 6-5 in overtime.
Also advancing by finishing in the top four were Cody Stephens (St. Stephens), Jeremy Griffin (Fred. T. Foard), Gunnar McDowell (St. Stephens), Brandon Lackey (St. Stephens), Steven Rink (St. Stephens) and Michael Ellis (St. Stephens).
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