Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM — Jordan 113-pounder Robbie Tomasic isn’t prepared to call himself a world thriller or giant killer.
But in just his second year of wrestling, the Falcons junior has compiled some impressive credentials, including knocking off a pair of North Carolina’s top-ranked wrestlers in back-to-back weeks.
His latest feat came Saturday at the inaugural Bull City Throwdown team dual tournament at Jordan, where he upended Winston-Salem Parkland’s Drew Turner 2-0. Turner is the state’s top-ranked 4-A wrestler and the 2011 state champion at 106.
Tomasic got a first-period takedown and that was the only scoring in the bout.
A week earlier, Tomasic defeated Jake Smith of Havelock 6-4 in the Tiger Invitational semifinals. Smith was North Carolina’s top-ranked 3-A wrestler.
“There’s still a lot of wrestling to be done, so it’s too early to get overconfident,” the soft-spoken Tomasic said after upsetting Turner. “I’m winning on my feet. I’m trying not to chase my opponent. I’m trying to hold center.”
The keys to his ongoing improvement are working out with the Cardiac Kids wrestling club in Hillsborough through the summer and continuing weight training during wrestling season, he said.
State powerhouse Parkland went 5-0 on the day to claim the team title. Jordan was runner-up at 4-1, losing in the tournament showcase 54-13.
“I thought it was a good match with Parkland,” Jordan coach Philip Davanzo III said. “Robbie (Tomasic) beating Turner was huge. We wanted that matchup. And (Jordan 120-pounder) Donovan Heath coming back and picking up a win against a ranked opponent was huge.”
Heath was losing to Ivan Gonzalez 1-0 in the third period when he was awarded a penalty point to tie, escaped to go ahead and got a takedown to lead 4-1. He was hit with a stalling point late in the period to make the final 4-2.
Other winners for Jordan were Grant Spurney at 138, who rolled up an 11-3 major decision over Chuckie Hedrick and 70-pounder Tyrece Jones, who defeated Dathan Bell 7-2.
In other duals, Jordan beat Cedar Ridge 58-25, Eastern Alamance 51-22, Graham 72-12 and Carrboro 64-11.
Second-year Cedar Ridge coach Josh Collins’ Red Wolves went 2-3 on the day.
“We did beat the two other 2-A teams here, one of them in our conference, and could have, should have been there with a 3-A team, but we had one of our big guns upset,” Collins said.
The other 2-A teams were Graham, which Cedar Ridge handled 60-21, and Carolina 10 conference foe Carrboro, which fell 48-30 to the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge also lost to Eastern Alamance, 45-36, and Parkland, 68-5. State-ranked Red Wolf Eli Schultz got decked in a big upset against Eastern Alamance at 170. Collins said that was probably a 12-point swing and could have handed the match to Cedar Ridge had things gone according to plan.
“We built our schedule knowing we were going to take some licks,” Collins said of wrestling with a young team. “Guys fight, and that’s all you can ask for.”
