CARY - The final regular season match for Cary and Panther Creek pitted two undefeated teams against one another with the Tri-Nine Conference championship on the line.

More than 500 spectators — including a boisterous student section and a singlet-wearing Catamount mascot — packed the Panther Creek gym for a match between the No. 2 and No. 4 ranked 4-A schools in the state.

It appeared to be a stiff test for Cary, which hasn't lost since 2006 and hadn't lost a conference match since 1991. But the Imps prevailed with a 38-21 victory, clinching their 28th consecutive conference championship.

"I'm just real proud of my guys," Cary coach Jerry Winterton said. "They were fired up. My guys were and so were his guys. His guys did a heck of a job really all through their lineup too, it was just the way we matched up."

Cary (30-0, 8-0) was down 13-12 through seven matches, but rattled off four straight wins to clinch the match with three weight classes still to go.

According to Winterton, limiting the point totals of Panther CreekÂ’s top wrestlers is what allowed his team to come away with a win.

Panther Creek boasted ranked wrestlers in four of its first seven matches, but only one of those — 130-pound Joe Morrison — came away with something other than a minor decision, which is worth three team points. Morrison won 18-6 for a four-point major decision.

After the CatamountsÂ’ Dan Kavulich won just 10-6 over Jacob Brinkley at 140 pounds, Cary could breath easier as it still five ranked wrestlers to go.

“Cary’s just a really tough team. They’re a solid team from top to bottom,” Panther Creek coach Jon Armfield said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of coming from this match. We were hoping it’d be a little closer, but what can you do?”

Brinkley, who Winterton singled out as someone who impressed, was cut during the match and nearly ran out of injury time. He had just 18 seconds left after his final stoppage.

The ImpsÂ’ Roger Terry, ranked third in the state, scored a 20-5 tech fault at 145 pounds right as the final second was about to expire in his match. The energy carried over to 152-pounder David Alecio, who needed just 40 seconds to pin his opponent and expand CaryÂ’s lead to 23-13.

“I just had to get something good,” Alecio said. “Coach came up to me before the match and said, ‘You have to get this pin.’”

Up next for Cary was the defending state champion at 160 pounds, Matt Colvard. His pin at the 1:14 mark set up Josh Boozer at 171 pounds to score the match-clinching 7-1 decision.

“It meant a lot to me to win this one,” Winterton said.

Also winning for Cary were Justin Leroux (103 pounds) by a 5-1 score, Adam Elliman (112) by a 7-2 score, Juan Macias (heavyweight) by forfeit and Ben Creed (125) by pin.

Creed, a junior, has already won back-to-back state titles in his brief career — both at 103 pounds. His pin came at the 2:53 mark.

“Ben’s tricky,” Winterton said. “He’s just got so much experience, he’s gotten so many people on their back this year.”

MorrisonÂ’s major decision was followed up by a Patrick Santoro (135) 2-0 minor decision.

Panther CreekÂ’s Ben Elliott, ranked No. 5 in the state at 119 pounds, was only able to capture a 6-1 victory after Jacob Brotzman denied Elliott any additional points in the final period.

The Catamounts (24-1, 7-1) also got wins from Jamey Drennan (won 10-3) at 189 pounds and Sheridan Rucker (pin at 1:43) at 215.

The two teams both have automatic bids to next week's state dual-team playoffs, where Cary has won the last three, but will first compete in the Tri-Nine Conference tournament on Saturday.