Multiple Milestones 

How unreal was it that you have not one, not two, but three landmark milestones reached in the same wrestling match?

Coach Jerry Winterton entered the day with 597 wins. He picked up No. 600 against Chapel Hill in the day's third match. Eloheim Palma, now ranked as the No. 1 heavyweight in the nation, entered the day with 197 wins, which allowed him to reach his landmark win against Chapel Hill as well. Gabe Brotzman, the No. 1 wrestler in the state at 152 pounds, entered the day with 198, but lost in the day's second match, so he too reached No. 200 against Chapel Hill.

Needless to say, it was a special day in the storied history of Cary wrestling.

Getting ahead of one's self 

Weirdly enough, the PA announcer at the event got some bad info and prematurely announced Palma's 200th win after a pin in :27 against J.H. Rose. Although he got a nice ovation, Palma actually got No. 200 in an anti-climatic forfeit against Chapel Hill.

N.C. history made

Never before in North Carolina wrestling history had two three-time state champions faced off against each other, and it's easy to understand why. A) it has to be two guys in different classifications, B) it's awfully hard to win three straight years C) it requires two guys who have won state championships in their freshman years, and D) a combination of all of the above doesn't happen often, period. 

But at the Bob Mauldin Classic at East Wake High School, the day's first match pitted three-time 4-A champion at 135 Corey Mock of Chapel Hill and three-time 3-A champ Jacob Creed of Jamestown Ragsdale.

According to some in the crowd, the two have had a rivalry over the years with Mock having the upper hand, and this was the first time they had faced each other this season.

The rest of the teams looked on at the only match as Mock defeated Creed 9-5. Creed was obviously frustrated with having lost to Mock again and jilted Mock's attempt to embrace after the match — not a smart or classy move when literally everybody is watching you.

After the match, all other teams began their duals matches. 

In Friday's showdown between the Panther Creek and Athens Drive boys' basketball teams, a lot of things went on that won't make it into the game story anywhere. This is my way of sharing these items with you. I call it "Sights & Sounds." Enjoy.

Don't jump! Don't jump! Nooooooooo.... 

I would estimate Quentin Edmundson is just under six feet tall. Marques Oliver is right around 6-5. So why did Edmundson jump with Oliver when the latter was streaking down the court for a breakaway dunk? We may never know. But what we do know is Oliver, who had quite the head start on Edmundson, made the the shorter Edmundson, who picked up a foul on the play, pay with a posterizing slam. It was enough to make me jump out of my seat and go "ohhhhhhhhh! ohhhhhhh!" like those guys on the "And-1" series.

Hold on, you said what again?? 

 There are several ways to trash-talk these days. Almost none of them are original, and I get that. Those that are original are usually too vulgar to say very loudly, then again, if they're vulgar then they're not all that original anyway, but I digress.

So when the Panther Creek crowd started chanting "PAN-THER CRE-EK," after taking the lead in the third quarter, I wasn't surprised. And it wasn't shocking when the Athens Drive student section started chanting back "WE-CAN'T-HEAR-YOU." And I could've told you Panther Creek was going to answer with the "SCORE-BOARD, SCORE-BOARD" comeback.

But I could've never guessed what those Athens Drive students were going to say next. They had the temerity to start a "ATH-ENS FOOT-BALL" cheer.

Athens FOOTBALL? Really? Original, yes. Logical, no. I know I saw at least three football players on the frontline of the student section, but c'mon guys. Maybe you beat PC in football.

Whup-ti-do. In case you forgot, you went 4-8. It's not something I'd try to remind people of. Next time, chant "ATH-ENS GOL-F," O.K.? They're the ones who will be remembered 20 years from now when the banner is hanging in the gym.

Just like the lottery, you really don't have a chance

At halftime, several contestants got their shot at $500 (and only had to put in $2 to enter) if they could just hit two free throws, two lay-ups, a 3-pointer and a half-court shot.

Hard? Yes, but not impossible.

That is, until I saw how much time they give you — 21 seconds. Needless to say, only one contestant even got as far as to attempt a 3-pointer.

Maybe next time at Athens I'll enter that contest. But I'll make sure to shoot the 3-pointer first, and move closer in. If I can even get to the point where I can get off a half-court shot, I'll call it a success.