LUMBERTON — The Lumberton wrestling program has been consistently strong in recent years, including back-to-back team state championships for the Pirates girls and a second-place team finish at states this year for the boys.

The proof of success comes not just in the high-school results, but also in collegiate opportunities.

Three Pirate seniors signed Thursday to compete at the collegiate level, with Jackson Buck signing to UNC Pembroke, Wyntergale Oxendine to Indian Hills Community College and Janya Rolland to Allen University.

“In the past, we’d have one maybe every year, we’d have somebody that ends up at a college program,” Lumberton coach Being able to have three here today to sign with a college program, it’s just kind of the capstone of the season that we’ve had and the success that we’ve had over these last couple of years. … I think it’s special for our younger wrestlers and students to see that and see that it is possible, see the people that they’ve been around for two or three years that are going to go on and do great things, and that they can also be in this seat in a couple of years.”

Jackson Buck

Buck’s high school success — including a 190-pound 4A state championship this year — comes after a lifetime of wrestling. He’ll now continue in the sport while staying close to home at UNCP.

“I’ve been training for this my whole life,” Buck said. “I started wrestling at 6 years old; I’ve been training two days a week when I was 6 to five, six, seven days a week now. I’ve prepared for this for a long time, and all the hard work has finally paid off.”

Buck finished his high-school career as a three-time state championship placer, including a third-place finish in 2022 and a second-place finish in 2023, and a four-time state qualifier. He was 53-0 in the 2023-24 season, posting a school record 174 wins over his four years with the Pirates.

He also earned All-American status at NHSCA Nationals last month.

Buck chose a UNCP program that he’s been around for several years, through camps and his proximity to campus.

“They’re getting a kid that they’re familiar with; he’s been around the program for years now,” Bell said. “He’s got a lifetime worth of wrestling experience. I think he’s going to be able to acclimate and get into college wrestling just fine, since he’s already been wrestling some of these opens and things like that.”

Among Buck’s other offers were NCAA Division-I schools Appalachian State, Ohio, and Campbell, Division II’s Mount Olive, King and Newberry and Division III’s Roanoke. But staying close to home with the Braves ultimately showed itself to be the right fit.

“I just like the team, the community they have,” Buck said. “All those guys are really close. Coach O.T. (Johnson) is awesome. So really just that, the home feeling. … (The familiarity) was driving me away at one point, just because it was so close to home, but after going on my visit and talking to the guys and Coach O.T., I knew it was the right place for me.”

Wyntergale Oxendine

Like Buck, Wyntergale Oxendine was an undefeated state champion in her senior season. Unlike Buck, Oxendine’s college journey will require a trip halfway across the country.

Oxendine will compete at the junior-college level at Indian Hills Community College, located in Ottumwa in southeastern Iowa.

“I’m not really that much worried about (the distance); there’s always a plane ticket to fly back home,” Oxendine said.

Oxendine was 38-0 through the 2023-24 season; all 31 of her contested matches resulted in pins. She won the 235-pound title at the NCHSAA’s first officially-sanctioned girls state championship.

“(She’s) a kid that still hasn’t really reached their top potential,” Bell said. “In the past year, her mentality when it comes to working has completely (changed) — she understands what it means to put in the time and effort to get better. We’ve seen it here in the offseason; she’s been wrestling all offseason, and officiating to kind of learn the sport better, because she’s going into freestyle (wrestling) now, instead of just folkstyle.”

Oxendine had an offer from Mount Olive and “a few others,” but felt Indian Hills was the best opportunity.

“(It was) just the coaches and the facility,” Oxendine said. “A two-year college is an easier commitment than a four-year college. … Younger me, I would’ve never thought I was going to — I didn’t even think I’d have the chance to go to college. It means a lot to me; wrestling’s done a lot for me to be able to actually go to college and have that opportunity.”

After being such a key part of Lumberton’s titles in the last NCHSAA Women’s Invitational and the first official girls state championship, Oxendine now enters a collegiate women’s wrestling scene that’s similarly beginning to grow after not being offered by many schools in previous years.

“I just hope to keep on helping the sport grow,” Oxendine said. “I want to keep the sport trending, keep it going, and show people that this is a great sport, it’s a good sport to get involved with.”

Janya Rolland

When Janya Rolland began her senior year, she’d never even competed in wrestling before. After one strong season with the Pirates, she’ll wrestle collegiately.

Rolland signed with Allen University, an NCAA Division-II program in Columbia, South Carolina which competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

“I planned to commit to a school with track and field, but then when I did the sport of wrestling I just fell in love with it, so I plan to do wrestling in college,” Rolland said. “I’m just excited, I can’t even explain it. I’m just beyond proud of myself.”

Rolland’s first season of wrestling resulted in a 38-11 record and a third-place finish in the 185-pound classification at the state championship.

“She’s a kid that just started wrestling and came onto the scene strong,” Bell said. “Just her as an athlete, she was so focused and determined in getting better, and that’s what led to her getting third place (at states) with just a couple of months of wrestling. She’s a hard worker; I can tell she has a great work ethic just by seeing her these couple of months in the wrestling room, and they’re going to get a very hard, determined worker, very smart; I think she’ll be a very good college student and even a better college athlete.”

Rolland had no other offers, though some other schools showed interest, but also formed relationships within the Allen program that led to her signing.

“The coaches stayed in contact with me,” Rolland said. “When I went to the school, it was a nice campus, everybody was nice. … I feel a little nervous, and I do feel that I’m going to have to compete at the next level, but I’m very excited.”