The Red Devil Super Duals will be very beneficial to Davie’s wrestling team come January and February.

That coach Buddy Lowery’s War Eagles got to battle in playoff-type matches against Newton-Conover and Rock Hill (S.C.) – they split the matches – was a great bonus as well.

The War Eagles went 8-1 against the large field at Newton-Conover on Dec. 15-16. They’re pretty darn good with the current lineup. They will really be something if they ever get to full strength.

“There is no doubt we’re getting better,” Lowery said. “We’re a whole lot better than we were two weeks ago. I mean leaps and bounds. When you wrestle 12 times in three days, you ought to be getting better.”

Before traveling to Newton, Davie hosted a four-team meet on Dec. 14. It went as expected, with Davie blasting West Stokes (69-10), Wheatmore (48-18) and Page (66-9).

Josh Chaffin was terrific at 138, going 3-0 with three pins. Logan Williams (170), Matthew King (182), Joseph Myers (152) and Anthony Olmedo (220) also went 3-0.

Tyler Snyder pinned both of his opponents at 126. Cody Taylor (106), Josh Shore (113) and Peyton Sherrill (145) added 2-0 showings. Davie got 2-1 efforts from Nick Gillis (120), Hayes Sales (160), Bryson Hunter (195) and Andy Flores (285). Nathan Whitley was 1-0 at 113. Colby Shore and Matthew Downey  were 1-1 at 132.

When Olmedo collected career win No. 100, he joined special company, becoming the 12th War Eagle to reach the milestone as a junior. The others: Michael Waters, Russell Hilton, Aaron Hollifield, Hunter Smith, Timmy Allen, Ryan Smith, Patrick Lowery, Alex Gobble, Zack Vernon, Lake Billings and Adam McIlwain.

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At the Red Devil Super Duals, Davie won four matches on Friday, beating Alleghany (61-15), Newton-Conover (39-27), Ashbrook (69-9) and Lincolnton (74-3).

The next day, Davie remained unbeaten with lopsided wins over Crest (58-16), Shelby (78-6) and Pisgah (51-28), the latter putting the War Eagles at 20-0. That was their best start in eight years (the 2009-10 team started 30-0).

The run was stopped by an opponent from South Carolina. Rock Hill pulled out squeakers at 113, 160, 180 and heavyweight to stave off Davie 42-22. Davie responded with a 45-27 win over Hunter Huss.

“We wrestled hard (against Rock Hill),” Lowery said. “We got beat 4-2 at 113. We got beat 7-6 at 160. The score was 7-7 at 180 in the third period (before Davie lost a decision). We got beat 3-1 at heavyweight. Dang, if we win a couple of them … Rock Hill is good and we gave up two pins the whole match. It’s not like we got beat by a bunch of fish. They’re probably going to win the state in South Carolina.”

Gillis and Olmedo had monstrous performances, each going 9-0 over two days. Gillis racked up seven pins to go with two forfeits.

“Nick’s strong and in good condition,” Lowery said. “He’s pretty good on his feet. He moves. He’s strong for a 120-pounder. I mean he’s strong as a bull for that weight.”

Olmedo piled up eight pins in as many tries; his other win was a forfeit. He got off his back against Rock Hill and Hunter Huss and gutted out pin victories.

Davie got big contributions from J. Shore (7-1 at 113), Hunter (7-1 at 195), Myers (7-2 at 152), King (6-1 at 182), Chaffin (6-3 at 138), Adam Szewczyk (5-0 at 106) and Downey (4-0 at 126). Avery Taylor, a freshman at 195, got a pin in his Davie debut.

Lowery is dying to watch his 21-1 team at full strength. Jesus Olmedo has been sidelined all year, the heavyweight hoping to return sometime in January. At Newton-Conover, Davie was missing Bill Trader, who is 6-2 at 126 and Hunter Strickland, who is 9-2 at 170.

“I’m hoping (Trader and Strickland) can get back after Christmas,” he said. “We’re not going to be bad when we get some people back. (Being full strength) would make my life a whole lot easier.”

Taylor was the latest to suffer an injury (knee), but Lowery was glad to report that he was “walking fairly well (on Saturday).”

Notes: Lowery’s career record is a mind-boggling 866-130. … The top season records belong to Olmedo (24-2), Gillis (21-3), J. Shore (19-4), Hunter (18-6), Chaffin (18-7), Taylor (17-4), Myers (17-6), King (16-5), Flores (16-9), Sherrill (14-9), Sales (14-11), Colby Shore (11-10) and Williams (10-4). … Davie has three talented freshmen: Snyder (9-3), Szewczyk (7-2) and Downey (6-1).