Climbing from a 0-15 deficit after three matches, Landrum’s wrestlers scored a series of pins, with a couple of forfeit wins and a technical fall, to hammer visiting Pendleton, 51-27, in the first round of tri-meet wrestling competition at Landrum, on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Tonight, the Cardinals are at East Henderson (Flat Rock, N.C.), taking on EHHS and Tuscola. Results from Thursday’s region quad meet at Landrum, with Chesnee, Christ Church Episcopal and St. Joseph’s were not available at press time.

The Cardinals’ first points on Tuesday came in the 126-pound match, when Cody Fortenberry won by a 9-4 decision. That cut Pendleton’s early (and, as it turned out, shaky) lead to 18-3. Landrum next got a pin from J.T. Willingham at 132. At 138, the Cardinals’ Devon Keltner won by forfeit. Those two wins cut Pendleton’s lead to 18-15. When Landrum’s Wrenn Pierce, last year’s 2AA state runner-up, won by a first-period pin at 145 pounds, the Cardinals led, 21-18.

Wins by Chris Easler (pin at 152), Austin Hutchins (pin at 160), Jacob Ridings (forfeit at 170), Will Grace (forfeit at 180), Paul Zimmerman (19-2 technical fall at 195), gave Landrum an insurmountable 51-18 lead.

In their meet against Blue Ridge, the Cardinals were less fortunate, winding up with a 39-39 tie, which, through the use of a tiebreaker, went to the guests, 40-39, based on Blue Ridge scoring first in 10 of the 16 individual matches.

At 138 pounds, the Fighting Tigers’ Kyle out-pointed Pierce, 5-1. Pierce, able to manage just an escape, was unable to take down his opponent. Willingham’s second-period pin of his Blue Ridge opponent, cut the Tigers’ lead to 12-6. Easler won by forfeit at 152, as did Hutchins at 160, but after that, the Cardinals managed only wins by Paul Zimmerman (pin at 195) and Jon Zimmerman (forfeit win at 220). When Landrum lost by pin at 113, the score was 39-39, and the tiebreaker was employed.