Twelve members of the Mitchell High School wrestling team have qualified for the 1A Western Regional Championships set for Friday, Feb. 8, and Saturday, Feb. 9, in Robbinsville.
Dylan Lowery (120 pounds), Ryan Richardson (182 pounds) and Hudson Boone (285 pounds) earned No. 1 seeds in the tournament. Israel Maltba (145 pounds) is a No. 3 seed, Xander Gardner (195 pounds) and Cameron Greene (152 pounds) are No. 8 seeds and Jason Smith (132 pounds) and Samuel Shook (220 pounds) are No. 11 seeds.
Elijah Smith (113 pounds) earned a No. 12 seed, and Noah Maltba (170 pounds) and Isaac Moody (106 pounds) are No. 16 seeds.
The top-four finishers in each weight class will advance to the state championships Friday, Feb. 15, and Saturday, Feb. 16, in Greensboro next weekend.
Mitchell’s three No. 1 seeds is tied with East Surry and Robbinsville for the most in the regional tournament. The Mountaineers 12 total qualifiers is second to Mt. Airy, which has 13.
Wrestling begins at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, and resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday at Robbinsville High School.