LAURINBURG — Nate Harrington never thought he’d be competing for a state championship.
Harrington and Jeremiah McRimmon have a chance to do that this week as they represent Scotland High’s wrestling team at the NCHSAA state meet.
“I’m just ready to go in there and do what I do best,” Harrington said.
The tournaments begin on Thursday at Greensboro Coliseum, and they run until Saturday. Both wrestlers said they’ve been working on limiting mistakes and fine-tuning their skills this week.
“I’m making sure I’m getting off the mat and standing,” said McRimmon, who competes in the 170-pound weight class. “Once I go down, I’m making sure I’m popping right back up.”
Harrington, a competitor in the 285-pound class, qualified for state by finishing third in his bracket at the NCHSAA 4A Midwest Regional last weekend. McRimmon logged a fourth-place finish in his division.
Harrington, a sophomore, has an overall record of 14-3 this season. McRimmon is 11-5 in his senior year.
That’s a combined record of 25-8. The duo has been focusing on those eight losses, trying to figure out what went wrong and how they can fix those errors in the future.
“Every mess-up I’ve done, I want to make sure I get that right so I don’t mess up again,” Harrington said.
For Harrington, that means managing his stamina and controlling the tempo of each match.
McRimmon is focused on building resiliency.
“I’ve got to stay confident and not let my head get too big,” McRimmon said. “Stay in my own lane, and make sure I stay committed to what I’ve got to do. Making sure I’m taking my shots correctly, not just going out and going halfway in the last minutes.”
The two athletes are Scotland’s first state qualifiers since Willis Beniot and Zitemus Henderson in 2016.
They are the first wrestlers to qualify under the tutelage of head coach Thomas Havener, who took the reigns of the program after the 2016-17 season.
“They know who they are as wrestlers,” Havener said while speaking about the duo’s greatest strengths.
Havener said McRimmon’s “attention to detail” has helped him improve on the mat. He said that attribute is key for a 170-pound wrestler.
Havener has gotten familiar with Harrington because he wrestles with him every day in practice.
“He grinds everything out,” Havener said before mentioning Harrington’s exceptional strength, which helps him throw opponents around the mat.
In his first-round matchup, McRimmon will face Dilyn Roudesbush of Mooresville High. Harrington will wrestle George Ayino of South Central.
Both wrestlers know how important it is to have strong starts in the first round.
“I can’t go out and get a big head and get myself into something I can’t get out of,” McRimmon said.
