While the Imps did return two state champions in Ben Creed and Eloheim Palma, they also returned just two seniors and a lineup that was hit-or-miss after the top four wrestlers.

But as their lineup gelled and wrestlers improved, there was no team that was going to derail the Imps’ usual state championship warpath.

Instead, our TCN Team of the Year hoisted both the dual-team and tournament champion trophies — giving them seven of the last eight state titles since 2005.

“Last year, you could say we had a more solid lineup. But this year, guys just came through; we just found a way to do it,” senior Gabe Brotzman said. “I don’t know how to explain. It’s just that Cary legacy. It fuels all of us.”

The Imps went 36-0 on the year, won the 27th straight conference title and saw each of their top four wrestlers — Palma, Creed, Brotzman and Matt Colvard — all win individual titles.

In their ninth straight dual-team final, the Imps walloped Matthews Butler 43-18, bringing a near-perfect end to the near-perfect careers of seniors Palma and Brotzman.

The pair was 142-1 in dual-team meets for their careers.

In the state tournament final, the Imps finished with 126.5 team points, well ahead of runner-up Davie County (98) despite bringing just seven wrestlers.

The success of Cary wrestling can be taken for granted sometimes. It happens when a program has 20 state championships — 19 of them since 1987.

But this year didn’t come as easy. In the first round of the Jim King Invitational in early December, seven of his wrestlers lost in the first round of one of the biggest individual tournaments in the state.

“But they came back and pulled out thirds and fourths,” Winterton recalled. “They kept wrestling through it, pulled them out and we won. After that, every week we became more stable and met another challenge.”

Cary also faced a stiff challenge from Panther Creek, which it defeated 33-27 during the regular season. But for yet another year, Imps' wrestling reigned supreme.