(above photo) Glenn’s TJ Hines (r) battles Patrick Phillips (l) from Porter Ridge in semifinal action at the Midwest Regional on Saturday.  Hines won the match 5-2.

The Glenn Bobcats will be sending two wrestlers to the NCHSAA Individual State Tournament in Greensboro next week. Seniors TJ Hines and Charles Williard will be making their first trip to the state finals.

Hines finished second in the Midwest Regional on Saturday in the 220 lb. class, and Williard secured in spot in the finals with a fourth place finish in the 195 lb. class.

“People don’t understand how hard it is to finish in the top four in our region ( the top four go to the state final ), we have some of the toughest schools around and we were lucky enough to have two kids advance,” said Bobcat head wrestling coach Joe McCormick. “TJ and Charles will work real hard this week and push other and we’ll see how they do in Greensboro,” he added.

Hines says he plans to be ready for the challenge in Greensboro, “it will be tough in my weight class ( 220 lb. ), but I’ll work on a plan this week and we’ll see what happens.”

Coach McCormick also announced that Glenn will host next year’s Midwest Regional, by a vote of the coaches. “It takes a lot of hard work to put on this tournament and I want to thank everyone who helped, especially our wrestling parents for their dedication and effort to make this a successful two day event and we look forward to hosting it again in 2013,” said McCormick.

Overall the Bobcats finished 11th out of 22 teams at this year’s regional, with several wrestlers picking up multiple wins. Kegan Mahaffey, Nick Carson, and DeAnthony Lewis were just one match away from going to Greensboro. Lewis was in a great battle with Eddie Kelly from Sun Valley midway through the third period when he suffered an injury and could not continue the match.

Bobcat individual records in the regional:

106 lb. – Travis Allen (Freshman) 0-2

113 lb. – Nick Carson ( Senior ) 2-2

120 lb. – David Bernal Marin ( Freshman ) 0-2

126 lb. – Kegan Mahaffey ( Senior ) 2-2

132 lb. – Cary Shields ( Junior ) 1-2

138 lb. – Austin Tucker ( Freshman ) 0-2

195 lb. – Charles Williard ( Senior ) 4-1

220 lb. – TJ Hines ( Senior ) 3-1

285 lb. – DeAnthony Lewis ( Sophomore ) 3-2

Congratulations to all of the wrestlers and good luck to those moving on to Greensboro next Thursday.