David Culbreth still can hear his father’s cheering words on that snowy February 28, 1987, evening in Winston-Salem as the 17-year-old senior at Seventy-First High School had taken down his opponent and was within the final seconds of a state title and unbeaten season.
He can feel, too, his old principal in the gymnasium bleachers holding his breath.
“It’s humbling,” says Culbreth, 56, who will be enshrined Tuesday as the 114th inductee into the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the multipurpose room of the Tony Rand Student Center on the Fayetteville Technical Community College campus. “I’ve been to the Crown Coliseum and seen those Hall of Fame plaques. When they put your name in that company, it’s just humbling. For someone to say something about what you did, it’s special.”
Others to be inducted are Angela Hill, a former E.E. Smith High School basketball and multi-sport athlete; Buddy Martin, the local drag racing icon and co-founder of the Sox and Martin racing team; Bernie Poole, who coached the Seventy-First High School boys and girls basketball teams to more than 400 victories; and the late Jim “Sarge” Semple, who served as youth director at the local YMCA of the Sandhills in the 1960s.
“I think we’re going to have one of the biggest crowds we’ve had in a while,” Greg Parks, the sports club president, said of the 24th annual ceremony. “And everybody says, ‘I’m glad you picked David Culbreth among this year’s inductees.’”
The sports club was founded in 1978.
‘Hold Him! Hold Him!’
David Culbreth remembers vividly his final high school wrestling match at Parkland High School against Eddie Gist in Culbreth’s championship season.
He can feel the angst.
He feels the emotion.
He can feel the moment like it was yesterday.
“I was in the 135-pound weight class, and Eddie Gist was from Parkland High School,” he said. “Eddie Gist had a mohawk like you wouldn’t believe. Everybody gave him a standing ovation when he came out. He was a specimen for sure … strong. As ecstatic as they were for Eddie, they booed Mr. Culbreth. Mr. Culbreth was not a fan favorite that night.”
But a state title was on the line, and that perfect season.
“Gerald Patterson drove through the snow to see me in that championship,” Culbreth said about his principal. “Gerald Patterson set a precedent that night, and as nervous as I was walking to the mat, the last thought I had was, ‘I can’t believe Mr. Patterson came all this way, and I can’t let this guy beat me.’”
A takedown in the final seconds, and the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A championship almost was a reality.
“My father was filming me that night with his camcorder,” Culbreth said about his 5-4 victory over the crowd favorite with the mohawk. “I can still hear him yelling, ‘Hold him! Hold him!’”
Those nervous seconds elapsed, and David Culbreth had his state title and perfect season.
“I just felt relieved,” said Culbreth, who later watched boyhood friend and teammate Willie Mouzon earn the 148-pound title and a 28-0 season. “It was one of those goals you set.”
Culbreth headed to N.C. State, where he would wrestle for three years under Coach Bob Guzzo.
“I learned there were a lot of good wrestlers when I got to N.C. State,” Culbreth said. “But I learned a lot about wrestling. Coach Guzzo taught me so much. I was studying for a business degree, but I decided I wanted to coach. I transferred to UNC-Pembroke and wrestled one year for P.J. Smith.”
Back to His Alma Mater
Culbreth graduated from UNC-Pembroke in 1992 with bachelor’s degrees in Business Management and Health and Physical Education.
Eventually, he found himself as a teacher and head wrestling coach at his high school alma mater, where Culbreth would coach his teams to unbeaten Mid-South 4-A Conference championships from 1996-2000, including the 1999 season when five Seventy-First wrestlers—Taj Parham, Scotty Acfalle, Carlos Garcia, David Crooke and Mike Valldeperas—brought home state titles and the state dual team crown.
“I had eight kids in the 1999 finals,” Culbreth said, “and five won.”
Culbreth left high school coaching in 2000 with a second state duel team title before teaching and coaching for eight years at Grays Creek Middle School, and eventually working as athletic director at South View High School (2009-2013), principal at Pine Forest High School (2013-2021), and student activities director for Cumberland County Schools (2021-2024), where he was over athletics, the Health and Physical Education curriculum and the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Today, Culbreth is interim assistant principal and athletic director at Jack Britt High School.
Epilogue
David Culbreth takes his place Tuesday evening among a “Who’s Who” of Cumberland County sports legends to include Ray Floyd (2003), Calvin Koonce (2003), Jerry Richardson (2004), Young W. Howard (2004), Bob Paroli (2004), Chip Beck (2005), Jimmy Raye (2005), Harry Sydney (2006), John Daskal (2006), Lloyd Foster (2006), Junior Edge (2007), Dr. Franklin “Rusty” Clark (2007), Vann Williford (2007), Chris Cammack (2007), Charles Baggett (2008), Terry Luck (2008), Shea Ralph (2008), Tom Austin (2009), Elmer Arnette (2010), Don Clayton (2010), Bobby Poss (2010), Ike Walker (2010), Earl “Moose” Butler (2011), Steve Connelly (2012), Earl Vaughan Jr. (2012), (Ben Martin (2013), Jeff Capel (2015), Leonard Black (2015), Gene Clayton (2015), Robert Brickey (2016), Howard Ward (2016), James McLamb (2017), Jim Farthing (2018), Buck Melton (2018), William “Nub” Smith (2019), Dr. Joe Quigg (2019), Bob Spicer (2020), Jack McGinley (2021), Gary Weller (2023), Marsha Kouba (2023), Bishop Harris (2025) and Glenn Riddle (2025).
“It might say David Culbreth on the plaque, but there are a bunch of people who will receive it with me,” Culbreth said. “Athletes and coaches and mentors.
“And my father and mother.
“My parents,” David Culbreth will tell you, “… they are my heroes.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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