Despite earning the No. 1 seed out of the east, Washington’s wrestling team will have to travel over four hours to Lexington Senior on Tuesday for the first round of the 2-A dual team playoffs.

The Pam Pack is taking the less-than-ideal circumstances in stride. Penhollow knew there’d be some kind of adversity as the team began its battle for a state championship.

“They’re a tough team,” Penhollow said of the 18-7 Salisbury team the Pam Pack will meet in the first match. Fourth-seeded Lexington Senior on the other side of Tuesday’s match is 26-10. “Not only did we get hosed on the drive, but we’ve got some tough teams in our pod of four.”

If Washington advances past the first round, it will take on whichever team advances from the pod consisting of Dixon, Croatan, St. Pauls and Mount Pleasant on Thursday. Dixon and Croatan have stymied the Pam Pack’s journey to a title match in the past, so having only one of those two advance is a positive. Penhollow also likes the way Farmville Central measures up against a stout Carrboro team.

The winner of that third-round match on Thursday will face the winner of the other end of the east bracket in the regional round, setting up Saturday’s state championship.

“I know everybody feels good about Carrboro, but I think (Farmville Central) matches up good, top to bottom,” Penhollow said. “They’re going to be a tough bout.

Washington took care of business on Saturday afternoon. The Pam Pack won the 2-A Eastern Plains Conference wrestling tournament for the third year in a row. Penhollow was named the league’s coach of the year, also.

“It’s been a great overall year,” Penhollow said. “We thought we were the team to beat, but before you actually do it, all it is is talk. I’m proud of the way the guys came out.”

Carson Asby (120 pounds), Simeon Pope (126), Jacob Smith (132), Austin Coward (138), Drew Ferguson (195) and Logan Nichols (220) all won individual conference titles.

As a team, Washington certainly has momentum heading into Tuesday’s first round of the state dual team playoffs. However, it isn’t without its specific concerns, though. D.K. Credle was upset by North Pitt’s Sincere King in the first-place matchup in the 145-pound weight class. He found himself down 5-0 quickly and King went on the defensive.

“I feel like D.K. could have wrestled better. He just beat that kid 14-0 Wednesday night at senior night,” Penhollow said. “He got caught early and put on his back. … That kid is smart. He knew he had a lead, so he went defensive. He ran from him a little bit, and we could never recover.”

Even so, the team was able to earn its title. Rising to the occasion, as a team, is what’s important come the dual team playoffs. It’s about being able to matchup with any team and overcome adversity.

Penhollow is confident that Credle has gotten this tough match out of his way and will recover nicely come Tuesday.

“I know he’s frustrated. I’m frustrated as a coach,” he said. “… Sometimes that will wake a kid up. Maybe in the next two weeks he’ll be a little more focused.”

From top to bottom, though, the Pam Pack feels confident heading into what will be a rapid-fire week.

“I really have a lot of confidence in our team,” Smith said. He’s one of four senior leaders on the team. “We’re kind of underdogs. No one thinks we’re going to do much. I think we’ve got something for the east and I think we do have a chance to go to the state finals.”