And with the exception of one round, the same could be said of the Cary wrestling team.

Battaglia, a senior who had just suffered his first loss of the season in the previous weekend's tournament, came back to dominate the field's 120-pound class and was voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler by the coaches.

Cary (175 points) finished third in the 26-team tournament behind only champion Orange (258) and runner-up Sanderson (184).

"I wish we could've turned a couple of our fifth and sixth (finishes) into thirds and I wish we could've taken a few of our thirds and turned them into firsts and seconds," said Cary coach Taylor Cummings.

"What's been our downfall in the last three tournaments is one bad round that we've had... it was our semifinal round here."

The Imps did have two champions, as Bo Mulligan claimed the 160-pound crown with a 10-4 win in the final and 220-pounder Corey Daniels pinned Middle Creek's Dylan Krauss with 29 seconds left in the first period.

For Daniels, the win has special significance.

"I grew up coming to tournaments like this and seeing the older kids win and always seeing the Cary wrestlers getting their hands raised," Daniels said. "It feels great to be one of those guys."

Mulligan remains unbeaten this year at 24-0.

"Obviously I want to keep my record undefeated, but I don't want it to take over my mindset," said Mulligan, a senior.

The Imps also had 145-pounder Mark Mulligan and 195-pounder Travis Bach take fourth, while 152-pounder Adam Kugler took third, 132-pounder Alex Ynoquio and 138-pounder John Blackwell were fifth and 120-pounder Ryan Foran was sixth.

Battaglia, now 28-1, notched two pins on his way to being recognized as most outstanding wrestler.

He defeated Jordan Baker of Orange 14-7 in the final bout.

"I just try to keep my confidence up and keep looking forward and do whatever it takes to make it to the championship," Battaglia said. "I've been practicing all summer long - I have double practices some days at Arrichion (wrestling club)."

Apex's Chance Davis was fifth at 106-pounds, Joe Furtick took third at 113, Ben Wingo was fifth at 160, Nick Giamoni was fifth at 170 and Jake Castagnero was third at 182. The Cougars were seventh in the tournament.

Holly Springs, which was eighth, had two runners-up with Aaron Redus at 106 pounds and Javon Johnson at 132.

The Golden Hawks' Parker Ragsdale was fourth at 113 pounds and Daniel Richardson was sixth at 145.

Fuquay-Varina's Zach Tousignant was third in the 195-pound class, while Jamel Avery was fifth at 126. Middle Creek's third-placer was 195-pounder Jacob Baum (fifth).

The tournament is named after former Cary High wrestler and volunteer coach Mark Adams, who was a marine serving in Iraq when he was killed by a roadside bomb in 2005.