Orange junior Braden Crawford captured his first Jim King/Orange Invitational on December 2nd. Crawford, a junior, pinned Tiaj Thao of Davie County in 1:02 in the championship match. Crawford entered the tournament as the #2 seed and opened with a pinfall victory over Jackie Crozier of East Chapel Hill in 3:16. In the semifinals, Crawford defeated Tremayne McNeely of Eastern Guilford 5-1. Following the championship at the Jim King, Crawford had a record of 7-0 with two pins. He went on to win three matches at the Cedar Ridge Quad at Cedar Ridge High School last week. Crawford pinned Nathan Vendura of Cedar Ridge. Crawford also won his match against Eastern Guilford via forfeit. Against Rosewood, Crawford defeated Brayden Holmes 6-1. Following a 2nd place finish at the Joe Via Memorial at South Stokes High School over the weekend in the 126 pound division, Crawford has a 12-1 record. Once again he faced McNeely, this time in the championship match. This time, McNeely captured the win in sudden victory 4-2. Crawford will continue his season against Person High School tonight in Roxboro in an important dual match. This is the youngest Orange wrestling team in years. Crawford, a junior, has found himself in a leadership role on a team that lost ten starters from last year.
Orange wrestler Braden Crawford discusses his 126 lb. championship at Jim King/Orange Invitational
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