JAMESTOWN — Scotland High sophomore Michael Locklear punched his ticket to the 4A state wrestling tournament by finishing in fourth place in the 220-pound weight class at the 4A Midwest Regional over the weekend.
Locklear pinned Richmond’s Tyson Holloway in the first round of the championship bracket. He then lost a 6-3 decision to Noah Carnes of Porter Ridge in the quarterfinals.
Locklear responded with three straight victories in the consolation bracket. That led him to a rematch with Carnes in the third-place bout. Carnes won the bout 9-4.
Locklear previously won the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship in his weight class. He was the only Fighting Scot to earn a state tournament berth.
Despite not placing, several of Locklear’s teammates had strong showings at the regional. Dalton Locklear (106 pounds) advanced the third round of the consolation bracket; Marcel Martin (113) advanced to the second round of the consolation bracket; Brendon Smith (170) reached the consolation semifinals; Devaun Hailey (195) also reached the consolation semifinals; and Nate Harrington (285) battled his way to the second round of consolation action. Scotland’s Jason Blackenship (138) competed as well. He was eliminated early after losses to Zane Ducat of Northwest Guilford and Payton Monroe of Pinecrest.
In a field of 20 teams, Scotland finished in a tie for 10th place with East Forsyth. Both teams logged 42 points. Fellow SAC competitor Pinecrest won the team championship with 179 points, followed by Glenn (157) and Hickory Ridge (148).
Scotland had the second-best finish of the four SAC schools at the regional. Richmond finished in 13th place with 30 points, and Purnell Swett finished in 19th place with nine points.
The NCHSAA state individual wrestling tournament will take place at the Greensboro Coliseum on Feb. 20-22.
