TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN: Fred T. Foard’s Landon Foor becomes program’s winningest wrestler; now looks to get 4th consecutive state title

NEWTON, N.C. — What does it take to climb to the top of the mountain in athletics?

For a good portion, it takes sheer determination, work-ethic and the will to destroy one’s competition.

Those traits exemplify recent Fred T. Foard graduate and wrestler Landon Foor.

Foor has made a name for himself ever since he entered his first season with the Tigers’ wrestling program.

During the 2017-18 campaign, like many, he had a couple of hiccups resulting in two losses – one early in the season via an 8-4 decision against Alexander Central’s Ethan Lewis on Nov. 16, 2017, and the other coming against Rock Hill’s Brandon Mills via an 8-2 decision on Dec. 28, 2017.

Nevertheless, he took those losses and countered with an impressive 45-2 record en route to his first North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A state individual title win at the expense of Wilkes Central’s Tyler Boles in a 3-2 decision in the 170 pound class.

Foor has been on a mission ever since and has yet to lose another bout in his career at Foard. During his sophomore campaign in 2018-19, he went an impressive 46-0 while also obtaining his second-straight 2A state title. 

Last season, he went all of the way once again, defeating Newton-Conover’s Cole Clark with a 6-3 decision in the 182 pound class, to become a 3-time 2A state individual champion while also finishing the season at a remarkable 63-0. 

This mark is the most wins in Foard wrestling history for a single season. He also obtained 44 pins in 2019-20 which is the most in a single season in program history.

Foor, continuing his dominance in the program’s record books, has the most unbeaten seasons in Foard history with two, and he will be looking for his third this year. Furthermore, he holds the program record for most consecutive wins with 152 and counting, as well as the best winning percentage during his tenure currently at 98 percent (173-2). 

To make things even more rare in Tigers’ history, Foor has also yet to be pinned in a match. Over his career, he has competed in the 170, 182 and even 195 pound classes. He also collected his 100th career pin earlier in the 2021 season.

Most recently, Foor etched his name into another spot in the record books as he became Foard’s winningest wrestler, collecting his 170th and 171st victory against Hibriten and East Burke on June 1. The program record was held by Nick Kauffman (Class of 2018) at 170 wins. 

“I knew I was going to break the record,” said Foor on if he was aware. “It was a great feeling and my teammates definitely hyped it up and made it pretty cool. Definitely a cool record to be able to attain especially with the shortened season.

“It’s pretty cool just like every record is pretty cool, but I’d be lying if I said anything other than state title #4 is on my mind.”

Longtime Foard head wrestling coach Mike Carey said that Foor has been a versatile piece in the lineup over the years. Also, in terms of him becoming the winningest wrestler in Foard history, Carey said that one has to have talent in order to win as much as he has. 

“He came in as a freshman, who was pretty good, and he was fortunate to have good people above him and below him to help challenge him daily,” said Carey. “He moves to the top of our wins list, but one day that will be broke too, because each season is a little different. Sometimes, we get a lot of matches, and some years, we don’t get very many, like this year. That is why I don’t put too much emphasis on being record holders, just be as good as you can be.

“We have used him at 182, 195, and even weighed him in heavy to bump him up to 220 if needed on a given night, so his versatility has been big in a dual environment. Now that the duals aren’t an emphasis, he can challenge our other good kids around his weight class, and hopefully, help them develop. He is the most talented kid that I have coached in 20 plus years.”

Heading into this season’s NCHSAA 2A state individual tournament, he currently holds a 15-0 record. What Foor has been able to do this season is quite impressive in its own right since he has battled injury in 2021.

He said that he had an arthroscopic hip replacement aka FAI (Femoral-Acetabular Impingement) surgery. He said he had a couple other injuries, as well, that he’s wrestled through this season that weren’t fully disclosed. 

As far as where he gets the drive to push through with the sport, Foor said he has competed on National dual teams practically his whole life, and he has had a desire to be a 4-time state champ ever since. 

“My whole life there was doubts if I could pull it off from everyone except my close support system, and I knew I wanted to do that so I worked it into reality,” he said. “So, here we are a…[couple of] weeks away from the opportunity to make it happen God willing.”

Furthermore, when speaking on his legacy at Foard, he said he wants to go down as one who helped maintain and preserve the mold of this shade of blue as ‘the blood, sweat and tears program.’

In terms of what he plans to do after he competes in the 2A Regionals beginning on Tuesday, June 15, at 9 a.m. at Pisgah High School, and perhaps the States beginning on June 26, Foor said that it is up in the air.

He had originally signed his National Letter of Intent in Nov. 2020 to wrestle at Appalachian State University, but he said he has since de-committed and is still deciding if he is going to continue to wrestle.