Then it all slipped away.
Colvard, taking advantage of Baker's somewhat defensive mindset, managed to take down his counterpart and edge ahead of him, at 2-1. Like he had over forty times before during the long season, albeit under less pressure packed circumstances, Baker started his escape. The reversal was there, and Baker was moments away from completing it and securing the championship. However, this escape attempt came too late, and time ran out on Baker's comeback and on his season.
Baker finished in second place, taking home a silver medal for the second consecutive year. But this was not how it was supposed to be. Even the opposing wrestler's coach knew as much.
"The coach from Cary tried to explain to Evan that it was one of those matches that kind of got stolen away," said SHS wrestling coach Joel McCanna.
"Stolen away, not given away. (The coach) told Evan he should have been the state champion."
Empty words to Baker, who entered the match the top rated wrestler in North Carolina.
The story was similar for Scotland's other wrestlers at the North Carolina State Individual Tournament, held this past weekend at Lawrence Joel Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Zak Watts (103 lbs.), a freshman wrestler with high hopes for his first state competition, did not even allow himself a shot at success, coming in a half pound over weight for the first day's weigh in.
Perhaps it was his youth and inexperience which bested him. Whatever the cause, be it an extra handful of almonds or half-bottle of water, the result was shear disappointment for both wrestler and coach.
"This is the first time in my coaching career I've had a wrestler not make weight on the first day of the tournament," said McCanna, attesting to the rarity of such a blunder.
Officially Watts finished his season with two losses at the state tournament. Oh-and-two, without even having set foot on the mat.
Fortunately for Watts, he is only a freshman. For him, a shot at redemption is only a year away.
For senior Kyle Bland (171 lbs.), there is no next year.
Bland maintained a winning streak which extended from the first match of the season to the final match in the East Regional tournament, and earned his first ever trip to the state individual tournament in the process.
According to McCanna, there is not much that can prepare you for your first time wrestling at the state tournament, and it showed as the highly rated Bland finished, like Watts, 0-2 for the tournament.
"It seems like it happens to everybody," said McCanna.
"There is so much going on at the tournament, and (first-timers) are like a deer in the headlights ... the intensity is magnified."
Bland, a number two seed in the tournament, took on a number three seed in his first match, and was defeated 9-0.
"He was outwrestled the whole time," said McCanna, who reported that Bland called his opponent "the strongest kid he wrestled all year long."
The second match, which saw Bland matched up against a four seed, started promisingly, but the result was the same.
After surging out to a 5-0 lead, Bland faltered, and after being taken down repeatedly by his opponent, gave up the lead, losing 13-11 and finishing winless.
For Scotland sophomore wrestler Bradley Stewart (119 lbs.), the experience was slightly better.
Stewart earned an upset victory in his first match, a 3-2 decision against a number two seeded wrestler (Stewart was a three seed).
Heading into his second match against a tournament number one seed, Stewart could not provide another upset, and lost 7-5.
"He was in the match the whole way, but the other kid won with a late reversal and takedown," commented McCanna.
Stewart's third match was even more competitive than the last, ending with a 3-2 defeat for Stewart, who wrestled well but "just spent too much time on the mat," according to his coach.
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