Undefeated Mallard Creek wrestler Cameron Stinson is Observer’s boys athlete of the year
The Charlotte Observer’s 2023 High School Sports Awards
Girls Athlete of the Year: Ardrey Kell's Taylor Suarez makes dream come true’
Boys Scholar-Athlete of the year: West Lincoln's Mason Avery
Girls Scholar-Athlete of the year: Independence High's Lily Todd
Comeback athlete of the year: Charlotte Christian's John Lash
Girls Coach of the year: North Iredell volleyball's Dave Markland
Team of the year: Ardrey Kell girls soccer Athletic Director of the year: Olympic's Stephanie Wilkerson
Three down … one to go.
There was an anxious moment or two along the way, but Mallard Creek High’s Cameron Stinson finished the 2022-23 high school wrestling season the same way he finished the previous two — undefeated.
So there’s no surprise from Stinson when you ask him about his goal for the 2023-24 campaign.
“Stay undefeated,” Stinson said. “Get the fourth title.”
With three years of high school wrestling behind him, Stinson, a rising senior, has a 145-0 record and three state wrestling championships.
And he is this year’s Charlotte Observer boys athlete of the year.
His junior season produced a 66-0 record and a state title in the 120-pound weight class. It also included a commitment to attend (and wrestle for) the University of North Carolina.
Stinson said the most memorable moment was how the unbeaten streak almost ended.
“That match in the Holy Angels tournament was something I won’t forget,” he said.
Wrestling at the big multi-state tournament in late December in Greensboro, Stinson found himself wrestling against Owen Rawls of Nansemond River High in Virginia. The two had faced each other several years ago on the junior wrestling circuit.
Rawls jumped to a 4-0 lead in the match, and Stinson said he recalls thinking to himself, “Is this where it ends?”
But Stinson rallied, tied the match 6-6 in regulation, then won 8-6 in overtime.
“Being down 4-0 and coming back to win – yeah, I won’t forget that,” he said.
Mallard Creek High wrestling coach Ben Barry said Stinson has elevated the school’s wrestling program.
“He’s one of the first to come through here who had wrestled at an earlier age,” Barry said. “The national exposure, the college recruitment … those are things our other guys hadn’t experienced. It helped our program develop.”
Stinson, who carries a 3.7 grade point average and whose academic schedule includes Advanced Placement classes, said the whole unbeaten thing hasn’t become an emotional load because he enjoys the sport so much.
“I try to keep the sport fun,” he said. “As long as I can keep it fun, I’ll keep going.”
And, he said, “I try to keep giving myself new goals.”
Stinson said he is spending part of the summer preparing for college wrestling. He is competing this month in a national freestyle tournament in Fargo, North Dakota.
“That (freestyle) is something I’ll be doing in college,” he said.
And he recently competed in a Greco Roman tournament, where he suffered a dislocated elbow.
“I’m doing a lot better,” he said of his recovery. “I’ll wrestle some tournaments and try to keep myself sharp this summer – and then, hopefully, I can keep it going next year.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
