Some of the first appearances of Onslow County wrestlers at the State Wrestling Tournament.
"Sandy" Shaw (J) 154lbs.
In 1963 Paul Wiggins (J) became the first Onslow County wrestler to appear in the NCHSAA Finals.
He later coached wrestlers at White Oak and Dixon.
After retiring as principal of White Oak, Mr. Wiggins now serves on the Onslow County Board of Education.
Fred Mitchell became Jacksonville's first NCHSAA champion in 1969 (The team placed 3rd). He also became Onslow County's first 2-time champion in 1970.
Jacksonville placed 2 in the finals in both 1969 and 1970.
In 1970 they took home 2 championships and finished second as a team by 5 points.
Click the Cardinal for more team history
In 1987 Anthony Endicott became the first finalist and the first NCHSAA Champion for Dixon. In 1988 he was a point away from becoming a repeat champion.
An interesting fact: From 1987-1991 Onslow County had a finalist in the 171lb. weight class. Anthony Endicott (Dix) in 87-88 , Josh Hooton (Rich Hooton's brother )(Lej) in 89 and Mitch Stegal (Dix) in 90-91.They claimed the title 4 out of 5 of those years.
Joby Armenta became Southwest Onslow's first finalist in 2011. He was also a finalist in 2012 before winning Southwest's first NCHSAA title in 2013. He became Southwest's first repeat champion in 2014. Joby is the only Onslow County wrestler to place in the finals all 4 years of competition.
Jacob Butler (138) became Swansboro first finalist in 2015. Dustin Childs (145) captured Swansboro's first NCHSAA title in 2017.