“When I was younger, I was a screamer,” he said. “I realized with age that they’re going to do what they’re going to do out there. I put a lot of energy into practice, because if they’re not doing right out there, it’s because I didn’t do right during the week.”

Virtually hidden along the side of the mat, Winterton sits with paper and pencil in hand and his glasses perched on his nose. While his opposing coaches yell words of advice and tactical moves from the sideline, Winterton just sits.

He watches. He analyzes. He takes notes. And then, once the matches are over, he pulls his wrestlers to the side, gives them words of advice for the future, then drills them on improving the next day in practice.

“I like his style,” senior Thomas Freeman said. “I’ve had coaches that yell, but after a while you just tune them out. When coach Winterton says something, you have to pay attention more to what he has to say.”

But Freeman is not the only one who has taken to Winterton’s style.

“I like the silent style because if he starts yelling stuff while you’re wrestling, he’s giving away what you’re going to do to the other guy,” senior Thomas Ferguson said. “I think his style definitely sets him apart from the other coaches.”

In his 19th season at Cary, Winterton has led the Imps to 14 state championships and has churned out a long list of wrestlers who went on to compete at the college level. After finishing second to Davie County High in the NCHSAA 4-A Dual Team Championship last season and earning a couple of individual champions, Winterton and the Imps are looking to uphold their tradition this year.

So far, so good.

At the Broughton High Duals Tournament in Raleigh on Saturday, the Imps extended their undefeated record to 11-0. The Imps, who also have two tournament titles to their credit, defeated host Broughton, 76-6; Cardinal Gibbons, 71-4; South Johnston High, 72-3; East Chapel Hill High, 81-0; and Northern Durham High, 63-9.

Cary defeated five teams in the area and allowed no more than nine points against each. This year’s team returns nine wrestlers who competed in the state tournament and gained Washington state qualifier Parker Risk, who wrestles at 145 pounds. Among the top returnees is Ferguson, who won the NCHSAA 4-A 145-pound championship last year.

Ferguson transferred after his freshman year at Enloe High, where he took up wrestling to improve his conditioning for football, to Cary and became immersed in wrestling. He has since won two national titles and an NCHSAA championship while at Cary.

After the Broughton duals, Ferguson, who a week earlier was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Jim King/Orange Invitational, admitted he found his toughest competition of the day early on — against William Booth of Northern Durham High.

“I think I just wrestled him,” Ferguson said. “There are a lot of good teams here, and the ones that aren’t as good have very good individual wrestlers. But you never know what that individual’s weight is going to be at.”

Although Ferguson wrestles at 152 this season, he moved up to the 160 pounds to face Booth. Ferguson defeated Booth 16-5 and went on to get four more wins with a couple pins and two forfeits, putting his record at 17-0 for the season.

Not only has Ferguson taken to Winterton’s coaching style, he’s taken advantage of having Winterton as his weight-lifting coach, too.

“It’s a blessing to have coach Winterton,” Ferguson said. “I work out twice with him every day, and everyday, I get stronger.”

In fact, Winterton has weight-training class with most of his wrestlers.

“It’s part of the sport,” he said. ‘You have to be physical to play this sport. To their credit, they try to make room for it in their schedule, so we don’t have to spend any practice time worrying about trying to get stronger.”

On Thursday, Winterton is taking his team up to Whitesboro, N.Y., for the Tri-Valley League tournament. As a native of New York, where he was first introduced to wrestling as a fifth-grader in Verona, N.Y, Winterton is eager to see how his team holds up against the talent in the tournament.

But even against new talent in a new location, he’ll probably be found on the side, sitting with paper and pencil in hand and glasses perched on his nose, giving his team the silent treatment.