APEX – Middle Creek had trimmed Apex’s lead to one point during Wednesday night’s wrestling meet before the host Cougars got a “slam dunk” of momentum.

Up 28-27 after the Mustangs’ Zachary Branas defeated the Cougars’ Alex Griffith in the 125-pound weight class, Apex earned four straight pins to distance itself from Middle Creek and earn a 52-27 win. Apex’s Daniel Mitchell (130-pound class), Nestor Avila (135), Raphael Pallers (140) and Jeremy Overton (152) pinned their respective opponents as the Cougars rolled to victory.

“It’s really big because it created a mental advantage. We also knew that part of our lineup is a big of a stronger lineup,” said Apex coach Russell Duncan. “It’s kind of like a slam dunk in basketball. It certainly was a turn in momentum.”

In the 152-pound class, the Cougars’ Josh Adkins started things off with a win to put Apex up 6-0. Middle Creek’s Kyle Brown then took the 160 class, before Apex’s Jonathan Moore won in 171 and the Mustangs’ Jeremy Sexton earned a pin at 189 to even things up at 12-12. Apex’s Reuben Jeffers (215) and Lewis McAlister (285) won consecutively as AHS jumped in front 22-12. Middle Creek’s Jake Loflin won the 103-pound class, then Apex won the 112-pound class as the Mustangs took a forfeit.

Middle Creek gained some momentum in the next two matches, as Nick LoVerde (119) and Branas won consecutive matches to cut Apex’s lead to 28-27. “We’ve got a lot of young kids, but we wrestled hard and we did a pretty good job,” said Mustangs coach Butch Stiles. “It’s still early in the season and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”