The Pinecrest wrestling team opened its season Wednesday by entertaining four other teams in the Pinecrest Quad.

The Patriots, the defending state 4-A individual team champions, welcomed North Rowan, Ashley, Panther Creek and Cape Fear high schools

Because of injuries, Pinecrest head coach Travis Flinchum had to shuffle his starting lineup and fill in with some newer wrestlers but felt that it was “good for these guys to experience a higher level of competition this early in the season.”

The Patriots finished in second place, with North Rowan handing Pinecrest a 34-31 loss in the opening round of the day.

But Pinecrest bounced back to defeat Ashley 69-12 in the second round, Panther Creek 39-32 in the third round and Cape Fear 54-27 in the final round to solidify its second-place finish.

Junior captain Dallas Roemer paced the Patriots with four wins, all by pins, at 138 pounds. Senior Luke Fetla was also perfect for the day, recording three pins and one win by decision at 220 pounds. sophomore Irvin Enriquez was also perfect for the Patriots, ringing up three wins by pins and one win by decision at 113 pounds.

Senior Jonah Caliri also had a good day for Pinecrest, recording a win by pin, a win by major decision and a win by decision at 170 pounds. He also earned points for the Patriots by way of forfeit.

Sawyer Bateman, a senior who moved up to 160 pounds because of the Patriot injuries, provided two pins for wins and a win by decision. He lost one match by way of decision.

Also providing points during the day for Pinecrest were Bryson Thomas, Dakotah Nelson, Gavin Brunner, Mario Contreras, Greg Mello, Alex Ngyen and Johnny Hollar

In the opening-round loss, the Patriots had 31-28 lead but lost the heavyweight bout by pin to fall, 34-31.

Against Ashley, the score was tied at 6-all when the Patriots ripped off wins in the next 10 bouts, earning 57 team points by way of seven pins, two forfeits and one 5-4 decision.

The Panther Creek dual was a back-and-forth affair, with the Patriots trailing by five points before they surged past Panther Creek to claim the 39-32 win on the strength of pins by freshman Alex Ngyen at 106 pounds and Enriquez at 113 pounds.

In the win over Cape Fear, the Patriots raced out to a 36-9 lead and never looked back to record the 54-27 victory.

The Patriots will travel to Union Pines High School on Thursday for a dual match against the Vikings. The “Battle of the Pines” gets under way at 6 p.m.

It will be the only time this season that fans of the two schools, or just fans of wrestling, will be able to see the teams square off against each other in Moore County.