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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

Josh Spontak is just a junior at West Forsyth, but he has already made his mark. 

Spontak won the championship at 150 pounds in the boys NCHSAA Class 4-A Midwest Wrestling Regional this past Saturday at Davie County High School in Mocksville.  

Spontak defeated Elliott Gould of Davie County by a 7-1 decision in the championship.

“(Friday) I feel like I wrestled pretty good,” Spontak said. “And then (Saturday), first-round jitters and I was a little iffy about it. But then my finals match, I felt pretty good.” 

Last Saturday’s meeting was the third this season between Spontak and Gould. Spontak is undefeated against Gould this season at 3-0.  

“I just know that from where I came from, I will always push the pace no matter how many times I wrestle a kid,” Spontak said. “Yes, he can watch me, but I’m just an open wrestler, so it’s hard to stop me because I always fluctuate styles.” 

Not only did Spontak win his regional and earn a chance to compete at the NCHSAA Class 4-A state at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, three more boys – Elias Marquez Flores at 106 pounds, Lucas Nolette at 165 pounds and Adrian McCloud at 285 pounds – made the podium by reaching the top four places last Saturday and will be competing in Greensboro. Last year, West Forsyth did not have any boys qualify for the state championship.

The West Forsyth girls wrestling team also fared well two weekends ago at the girls NCHSAA Class 4-A Midwest Regional at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis. Layla Abdenbi at 120 pounds and Jadyn Magallanes at 138 pounds also reached podium and will also compete this week in Greensboro at the NCHSAA girls wrestling championship. 

“I feel like it’s a good opportunity to have so many teammates up there to all support each other,” Spontak said. “It shows what we’re made of.” 

Despite all the success of the Titans’ wrestlers over the past two weekends Spontak soared higher than the other five. This past Friday, the regional started and Spontak opened by defeating senior Daniel Runion of Reynolds, also in the Central Piedmont 4-A, by fall at 1:29. Later, Spontak defeated sophomore Randall Bermudez-Bautista of Western Guilford after a fall at 3:12. 

“When the season first started, I didn’t really worry about (winning the championship),” Spontak said. “All I worried about was one match at a time. And then whenever (the) regionals and state hit I’ll worry about when it comes.”

This past Saturday, Spontak faced junior Jack Gibson of Northwest Guilford. Spontak won that match after a fall at 34 seconds. After that, it was preparing for Gould in the championship. 

“I just took it as a normal match,” Spontak said of facing Gould in Gould’s home gym. “I don’t really look at it like that. Our match on the mat is what I have to worry about, and I’m just going to go out there and get it done.” 

Spontak might’ve been the only winner of the four boys wrestlers who advanced to this week’s championship, but Marquez Flores won his third-place match this past Saturday by defeating sophomore Na’Ziere Ford of Western Guilford by a 15-12 decision at 106 pounds. 

It wasn’t easy for Marquez Flores to advance to this week’s state championship. He defeated freshman Jaden Whacha of East Forsyth by a 15-0 technical fall in Friday’s first round. However, Marquez Flores lost in the second round to Yusel Aguilar of Glenn with a fall at 1:18.  

“Just go out there and have fun and keep doing my thing,” Marquez Flores said of wrestling in the consolation. “For me, I don’t care if you’re a state champ, you’re the No. 1 ranked, I’m still looking to beat you.” 

That forced Marquez Flores to wrestle back in the consolations to try and reach the medal stand. He defeated sophomore Thomas Stout of Southwest Guilford with a fall at 1:09, and defeated freshman John Belcher of Northwest Guilford by a 12-4 major decision.

“I was pretty emotional after I won in the blood round,” Marquez Flores said.  

Marquez Flores went to the blood round and defeated sophomore Eli Sheets of Waxhaw Cuthbertson by an 8-1 decision.  

“I feel like I wrestled good. I wrestled smart and I wrestled hard,” Marquez Flores said.

Nolette and McCloud lost their third-place matches, but the top four qualify for this week’s NCHSAA Class 4-A state championship. Nolette, a senior, lost to sophomore Jacob Hall of Harrisburg Hickory Ridge by a fall at 4:15. And McCloud, a junior, forfeited his third-place to senior Ryan Strickland of Davie County. However, McCloud will still be able to wrestle this week in Greensboro. 

The state championship is scheduled for Saturday through Monday at the Greensboro Coliseum. It was originally scheduled to begin on Thursday, but the NCHSAA decided to push the start due to forecasted inclement weather.

“My other teammates (going to Greensboro), three of us are juniors and one of us is a senior,” Marquez Flores said. “I know it’s going to put a lot of pressure on my teammate that’s a senior because he could have his last-ever match (this) week.” 

As for the girls NCHSAA Midwest Regional held two weekends ago in Kannapolis, Magallanes finished runner-up at 138 pounds and Abdenbi finished fourth at 120 pounds. Both wrestlers will compete this week, weather permitting, in the girls state championship in Greensboro.  

Magallanes finished runner-up to junior Moriah Antis of Concord Robinson after a fall at 2:08. 

“I took shots. I definitely was nervous. So, it probably wasn’t my best wrestling, but I feel like I wrestled pretty good,” Magallanes said.

Despite losing, Magallanes saw a silver lining. 

“At first, it’s, ‘Well dang, I wish I could’ve won it,” Magallanes said. “But then you just start to think and you’re, ‘Well, you made it to states, so it doesn’t really matter at the same time.” 

Magallanes wrestled at 152 pounds last year and defeated Mallory Seymour of Mount Pleasant by fall at 1:18.  

“It was definitely an adjustment in the way I had to wrestle because going down, the girls were faster,” Magallanes said. “I definitely had to adjust to that. But I knew before the season started that I wanted to go to this weight class.” 

Abdenbi, a junior, qualified for the state championship in Greensboro, but she lost in the third-place match to freshman Ellen Valentine of Charlotte Catholic by fall at 2:46. 

“Knowing that there’s going to be boys going to state this year, we’re going to have more people going,” Magallanes said. “It’s just exciting and very heartwarming.”