It was a back-and-forth battle, but in the end the Pinecrest wrestling team came up just short in the finals of the Wildcat Dual Tournament held Saturday at Lake Norman High School.

In a 10-team field that featured schools from as far away as Virginia and South Carolina, the Patriots fell 39-33 to the host school, Lake Norman, in a match that came down to the final bout before being decided.

Pinecrest arrived at the tournament with seven of the wrestlers in its 14-bout lineup ranked in the top 10 in the state 4-A standings, including Irvin Enriquez (106 pounds), Dallas Roemer (132), Garrett Bateman (138), Sawyer Bateman (145), Dustin Roemer (152), Rider Excell (160) and Luke Fetla (220). Those seven and their teammates acquitted themselves well in the multi-team format.

After defeating four other teams, the Patriots found themselves in the finals against Lake Norman, another state 4-A squad.

Pinecrest fell behind quickly against Lake Norman, trailing 6-0 after Cody Fitzgerald dropped a 2-0 decision at 120 pounds and Dakota Nelson dropped an 11-7 decision at 126 pounds.

But the Patriots roared back in a big way, with Dallas Roemer (132) and Garrett Bateman (138) putting a quick 12 points on the board by winning by pins.

Then Lake Norman tied the score when Patrick Devlin, the state’s third-ranked individual at 145 pounds, earned a pin over Sawyer Bateman.

But, boom, the Patriots re-established a 24-12 lead when Dustin Roemer (152) and Rider Excell (160) earned six points each with pins.

Then it was Lake Norman’s turn to go boom, as Ryan McGuire (170) and John Major (182) suffered defeats by pins to knot the score at 24-all. Lake Norman wasn’t finished as it pushed its lead to 34-24 when Kellen Winingham (195) fell by major decision and the Patriots had to forfeit at 220 pounds.

Again, the Patriots refused to quit. This time Luke Fetla moved up a weight class to heavyweight, where he earned three points for a decision and and Enriquez pinned his opponent at 106 to bring the score to 34-33 in favor of Lake Norman.

In the final bout, at 113 pounds, Lake Norman’s Cody Karns, fourth-ranked in the state, produced a technical fall over the Patriots’ Zac Lupien to hand Pinecrest the 39-33 loss.

Leading up the finals, the Patriots defeated Virginia’s Magna Vista High School 61-17, South Carolina’s third-ranked 3-A Chapin High School 49-24, Olympic High School 54-28, and Concord High School 70-12.

Pinecrest returns to the mats tonight with a 6 p.m. dual match at home against Anson High School. Saturday, the Patriots continue their tournament endeavors when they travel to the Trinity Bulldog Invitational.