SMITHFIELD - West Johnston wrestling coach David Prendergast needed no one to remind him of what he and his team were about to face when they visited Smithfield-Selma last Wednesday night. The favored Wildcats, unbeaten in conference action and 18-2 overall on the season, were in a similar position three years ago when an underdog Spartan team pulled off the upset.

Although reminded of recent history and prepared for a battle, the Wildcats, featuring just two seniors on the night, ran into a buzz saw as Smithfield-Selma rallied around the emotions of its Senior Night. The Spartans' senior core created one more lasting memory: stunning West Johnston, handing them their first conference loss of the season, 37-35.

The Spartans leaned heavily on the experience of their squad as eight seniors earned all the points Smithfield-Selma would need to upend the Wildcats. To do so, SSS needed points in each of the final five matches to overcome a 35-15 deficit.

To start the comeback, four-year starter Creech Collins tied the all-time school record for career victories (116) with a second-period fall over Alec Shepard to bring the Spartans to within 35-21.

As was a common occurrence in the heated contest, Henry Johnson fell behind West's Nathan Baudoux but was able to get a crucial pin, also in the second period, to keep the senior-led rally alive.

"Experience prevailed," said SSS coach Kristian Stewart of his senior-laden group. "They were down but they didn't get discouraged. They just kept working for it and that allowed for things to happen.

"Fortunately for us, we got some pins in those matches that we were down and it looked like we were going to lose. It went from one extreme to the other."

Aaron Quinones then secured a major victory (14-4) at 152 over the Wildcats' Phillip Rawls while Eric Pimenthal scored a hard-fought victory over Keith Neal, who battled leg cramps to continue the match, falling short 12-8.

A determined Nick Tedder stepped onto the mat with a chance to complete the wild comeback as West hung on to a one-point lead heading into the final match -- 160 pounds. Tedder took an early 4-1 lead after the first period and never let up, earning a 9-3 decision over Taylor Logan to give the underdog Spartans a huge victory and just its fifth win on the year (third in conference).

"West Johnston has a tremendous team," added Stewart. "I was extremely happy with the outcome, of course, but also very surprised. I'm very proud of my kids. To be able to come out and compete with a team of their caliber, it gives us some confidence going into the conference tournament. We're excited."

The individual conference tournament is to be held at SSS this Saturday. First-round matches will begin in the morning, with the championship finals set for around 6 p.m.

West Johnston received strong performances in the loss. Richie Burford dominated at 119 to earn a technical fall (21-4) while Frankie Jimenez (112), Johnny Stover (135) and Storm Stevens (285) recorded pins for their side.

A spirited Kevin Rose set the tone for the night for the Spartans with a second-period fall over Andy Taylor while Mike Atkins followed up at 215 pounds with a 10-5 decision over Jacob Adams. In yet another pivotal match on the night, Oscar Chairez (125) recorded a pin after falling behind to West's Tyshawn Willis, 17-5.

"It's always like that when you come here," Prendergast said of the close match and electric atmosphere. "You throw out the statistics and you throw out the records and everything when you come to SSS to wrestle them. They were ready, they were pumped and they won the match."

West Johnston can still claim a regular-season conference title if they defeat Southeast Raleigh tonight (Wednesday) who also just has one conference loss.