North's Tysinger wins at 170

Fri. December 23, 2011 at 11:18 p.m. | By Kelly Snow

North Davidson’s Cody Tysinger tries to get the advantage on Scotland County’s Adrian Soto-Perez during their 170-pound championship match at the King of the Mat on Friday at North Davidson. (Photo by Kelly Snow/The Dispatch)

WELCOME | North Davidson’s Cody Tysinger entered the King of Mat tournament as the top-ranked 170-pound 4-A wrestler in the state.
But that was just an opinion on a website.
Tysinger made that opinion look spot on with a championship-winning effort against a brutally tough field in a two-day tournament that concluded yesterday in Welcome.
The Knights’ senior defeated the No. 2 and 3 ranked 170-pound 4-A wrestlers according to retrorankings.com and the fifth-ranked 4-A wrestler in South Carolina to earn the crown.
“He’s a hard worker,” North Davidson coach Danny Crotts said. “His hatred of losing is greater than a lot of people’s will to win. Right now he’s just at a different zone when it comes to match preparation and everything else.”
The senior was the lone Davidson County wrestler to win a weight class and was the first Knight to claim a championship in several years.
Tysinger’s crowning moment occurred when he knocked off Scotland County’s Adrian Soto-Perez 8-2 in the championship finals. Tysinger held a slim 2-1 advantage against the second-ranked 170-pounder in 4-A heading into the third period before getting a takedown and extending his lead. These two wrestlers could easily see each other later in the season with another title up for grabs.
“It was long and it was hard, but this means everything. After this, it makes me think I have a real good shot at state,” Tysinger said.
The Knights finished 12th in the 36-team field, their best team result since the tournament expanded. Central Davidson was the only other county squad to compete and finished tied for 18th. Jake Smith (220) and Jake Comer (285) each finished in third place.
Winston-Salem Parkland, the reigning 4-A state champion, won the team competition with a score of 172, just five points ahead of Upper Perkiomen (Pa.). Jay M. Robinson was third with 137.5, followed by T.C. Roberson and West Wilkes.
This year’s field featured traditionally strong programs from across the state as well as teams from South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Crotts believes the diversity of wrestlers and styles makes for an interesting event.
“The great thing about this tournament is that we bring teams from all over the state,” Crotts said. “I’m biased obviously, but I don’t think there’s another tournament outside of the Super 32 in the preseason that can touch what we do here, because no one else brings in the out of state teams or the top-ranked teams we bring in. It makes everybody better because you’re not just wrestling the same old kids.”
Note: Individual results from the King of the Mat were not available at press time.