UCA hosts special wrestling event

Courier-Tribune - 1/11/2019

Jan. 11--ASHEBORO -- There will be hundreds of matches between more than a hundred wrestlers at Uwharrie Charter Academy over the next two days with individuals and teams earning championships. But all that takes a back seat to what the two-day tournament is all about.

The Eagles will be hosting the Pin Down Autism Super Duals Friday and Saturday with portions of the proceeds going toward UCA's Exceptional Children's Department.

The tournament is the brainchild of UCA wrestling coach Chris Waddell, whose 14-year-old son, Maddox, has autism. Waddell said he has wanted to do a tournament for this cause for a long time.

"This is something that is very important to me," Waddell said. "We just got a new facility and we will be using two gyms and have a two-day event. We are hoping it grows every year."

There are nine teams attending the tournament -- North Stanly, West Montgomery, West Brunswick, East Davidson, North Davidson, Oak Grove, South Stanly, North Moore and UCA. Waddell said he hopes to have as many as 14 teams next year. This will be a round-robin dual meet format, meaning each team will wrestle eight matches over the two-day period.

Each starting member of the tournament championship team will receive a custom-made singlet.

"I was trying to think of something neat that promotes autism," Waddell said. "We buy our singlets through the company MyHOUSE Sports Gear and they were nice enough to donate the singlets to us."

The top three teams in the tournament will also receive trophies.

Wrestling starts Friday at 4:30 p.m., with Saturday's action beginning at about 9 a.m.

At noon Saturday, the tournament will take a break and honor all members of the Exceptional Childrens Program in attendance.

"We want to do something special for them," Waddell said.

Admission is $7 for one day or $12 for both days.

There will also be an opportunity to donate to an organization that deals with autism.

There will also be T-shirts available to purchase.

"We are hoping to make this even bigger next year," Waddell said.

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