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| Chris Ange battles NW Guilford’s Walt Cutts in the 130 state 4-A final. - Photo by Chris Mackie |
But Ange left Saturday night with mixed feelings. He lost 3-1 in overtime in the 130 final, and the senior was one official’s call from becoming Davie’s fourth state champion in four years and the ninth overall.
Ange and Northwest Guilford senior Walt Cutts were tied 1-1 in the third period when an out-of-bounds call prevented Ange from taking a commanding 3-1 lead.
“I thought (Ange) had a takedown in the third,” Davie coach Buddy Lowery said. “I thought (Cutts’) hands went down and touched the mat. But the ref didn’t call it. (Cutts) went out of bounds. He lived on the out-of-bounds line the whole third period. It could have (ultimately) been 3-1 or 3-2 (in Ange’s favor).”
Ange opened with an easy 7-1 win over Alexander Central senior Roberto Medina (39-16 record). He shaved Northern Durham junior Demario Leathers (45-4) by 8-6. Then in the semifinals, he whipped Myers Park senior Alex Adelman (40-13) by 5-0.
In the finals of the Midwest Regional the week before, Cutts held off Ange by two points. They got a rematch with everything on the line, and Cutts handed Ange an excruciating overtime decision, the winning points coming on a takedown. Cutts finished 52-2.
“It was my bread and butter from a few years ago, so I decided to go back to it,” Cutts told the Salisbury Post. “It was just a standard fireman’s carry, and it did the job. I’ve been working so hard for this, and to win such a tough final match just means everything.”
But if Ange gets awarded a takedown in the third, he joins Scott Beauchamp (1989), Jon Ward (1993), Scotty Spry (1993-95), Neil Cornatzer (1995-96), Patrick Lowery (2002), Ryan Boehm (2004), Timmy Allen (2005) and Garrett Parks (2006) in the sport’s stratosphere. Instead he was left with runner-up. Seven others know that bittersweet feeling: Scott Page (1989), Todd Smith (1989), Cornatzer (1994), Justin Jenne (1995), Adam Bailey (1999), Brad Pack (2000) and Aaron Hollifield (2005).
That Ange made it to the state finals shocked nobody. He had a terrific career. He went 45-3 as a senior and 135-21 for his career. Think about those numbers - fifth-place tie in career wins and fourth in winning percentage. The only winning percentages above Ange’s ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.