WENDELL - Heading into the final weight class of Wednesday's conference wrestling match against Clayton, the Warriors trailed 31-30.

With two minutes left in the final match between Warrior Mitchell Morgan and Comet Russell Thrasher, Thrasher led 8-7. By the time the clock hit zero, Thrasher had managed two more points for a 10-7 decision and for Clayton's 34-30 win.

That wasn't the only close call of the night. Scott Staples' 14-10 decision win over Jordan Uhl could've gone the other way, especially with Staples injuring his shoulder mid-match and with a disputed reversal call never being made as time expired in the second round of the 119-pound match.

"I should've had a reversal, but they never called it - they said I ran out of time," Staples said while icing his shoulder.

Warrior coach Brian Staples said his young group, which fell out of second place in the conference after the loss to the Comets, still has much experience to gain.

"The Clayton match was big as we needed to win to remain in second place in the conference," Staples said. "But with such a young team, we can still finish strong and possibly finish in the top three of the conference."

The loss to the Comets left East Wake at 5-9 overall, 3-2 in the Greater Neuse.

Staples said his team will likely struggle in the conference tournament, set to be held next weekend, but he is looking for strong performances from Charlie Manarino, Connor Porter, Mitchell Morgan, Cullen Casper, Scott Staples and Kyander Moore.

"We have had many wrestlers miss matches due to injuries and illness," the first-year Warrior coach said. "The main reason for the struggles is the youth on the team. Tonight, there was only one senior starter and only four returning starters from last year's team in the lineup."

Still, the team gave Clayton a scare in a match that came down to the wire.

Clayton 34, East Wake 30

103 - Brennan, Dustin (Clayton) won by forfeit; 112 - Moody, Derrion (EW) won by decision 7-4 over Leslie, Jacob; 119 - Staples, Scott (EW) won by decision 14-10 over Uhl, Jordan; 125 - Orr, Jarel (Clayton) won by decision 4-1 over Dhamra, Azzam; 130 - Manarino, Charlie (EW) won by decision 10-4 over Johnson, Tyler; 135 - Venero, Anthony (Clayton) won by fall in 2:19 over Killette, Daniel; 140 - Etheridge, Jacquan (C) won by fall in 1:31 over Beck, Brandon; 145 - Estes, Cory (EW) won by fall in 3:37 over Leslie, Josh; 152 - Johnson, Shane (Clayton) won by major decision 14-2 over Porter, Connor; 160 - Thrasher, Russell (Clayton) won by decision 10-7 over Morgan, Mitchell; 171 - Casper, Cullen (EW) won by fall in 3:59 over Novak, Christian; 189 - Moore, Kyander (EW) won by decision 10-6 over Waddell, Dalton; 215 - Smith, Austin (EW) won by forfeit; 285 - Powell, Cody (Clayton) won by fall in 1:45 over Shuler, Patrick.