The South Carolina High School League team wrestling championships are over, but individual state title matches begin this weekend in the Upper State and Lower State championships, with a number of Aiken County Public School wrestlers looking to make history.
In just the second season of competitive wrestling for Aiken County Public Schools, Midland Valley High School Wrestling Coach Kevin Emily saw his Mustangs (17-14) upset No. 2 seed Westwood to become the first Aiken County school to win a state wrestling playoff matchup. After a terrific team season, Emily wants his wrestlers to continue that success in the individual state playoffs.
“There are always growing pains in starting a new program, and all of us in Aiken County have experienced those because you are working with students who have limited wrestling experience,” Emily said. “You have to limit the moves you show them and perfect those moves. It was a roller-coaster ride from the beginning of the season, but it ended on a high note. We had been close a lot, but had not pushed through. In the end they stepped up.”
“Now, it’s all about individual competition. Our motto all year has been about making our mark and they have done that. Now they understand what they can accomplish,” Emily added. “I am very proud of these young men because some of them have only wrestled for around five months and they have taken on the challenge of competing against others who have much more experience and that says something about their toughness and their character.”
Leading the Mustangs into the Upper State individual championships is 132-pounder Raekwon Jackson, ranked second in the state in his weight class. Other Midland Valley High competitors include Destin Freeman (106); Carter Higgins (113); Jamel Jackson (126); Meshaach James (145); Caleb Richardson (152); Dustin Yazzie (170); Thomas Burke (182); Lane Owneby (195); Blake Titus (220) and Jacob Cricillis (285).
The South Aiken High School Thoroughbreds (10-11) and head coach Joshua Hoover also had a successful team season, going undefeated in regular season matches against Aiken County competition and posting the team’s first shutout win in school history. The Thoroughbreds also finished second in the region for the second consecutive year.
“I would like to start a wrestling program at Kennedy Middle School and develop a three-day youth wrestling camp to spark some interest in wrestling in some of our younger kids,” Hoover stated. Talking to some of our other coaches here in the county, we are hoping to start a youth program in the area within the next five years to really build Aiken County into a powerhouse region within the state.”
South Aiken High competitors facing off this weekend include Cade Price (106); Cole Farmer (113); Camden Taylor (120); Nick Tallent (126); Dillon Wilhoit (132); Nequel Ryans (145); Region Champion James Turner (152); J.D. Codd (160); Region Champion Asa Matthews (182); Region Champion and Cardinal Newman Competition Champion Reid Bolen (195); Region Champion Cooper Ivey (220) and Ethan New (285).
The Aiken High School Hornets (10-13) and head coach John Virnich had a successful season despite of lack of numbers. Coach Virnich says he is still looking to fill a number of weight classes, which put the Hornets at a disadvantage this season in team matches.
“If you discount the 30 points we spotted everyone we were 17-6, which is unbelievable for a second-year program,” Virnich commented. “Eight of our nine wrestlers had winning records against some of the best teams in the state, and we qualified six wrestlers for the Upper State playoffs.”
Leading the way for the Hornets was 160-pounder Griffith James, who posted a season record of 33-1 in earning Co-Region MVP Honors.
Other Upper State qualifiers for Aiken High include Rashaad Johnson (106); Russell Richardson (120); Will Cathy (170); Talik Jones (195) and J'Shon Horn (220)
Meanwhile, North Augusta High School (6-13) and head coach Matt Franklin enjoyed a great start to the season in winning the annual Aiken County Wrestling Challenge, but experienced some unforeseen challenges down the stretch.
“We had a lot of setbacks due to injuries and illness, especially in the second half of the season,” Franklin explained.
Still, the Jackets placed 12 of the team’s 14 wrestlers into this weekend’s Class AAAA Upper State brackets. North Augusta High competitors include Randy Jones (113); Brett Logeais (120), Layton Nirk (126); Andre Johnson (132), DeAndre McKinnis (138); Region Champion David Lamar (145); Alex Miller (152); Richie Price (160); Brandyn Finley (170); Jordan Jones (182); Tory Quiller (195); and Bryant Edwards (285).
Franklin said he is looking forward to seeing what his wrestlers can accomplish after recovering from injury and sickness in recent weeks.
“It’s going to be intense, but I feel confident our guys can do well,” he commented. “This is when things get real, and anything can happen in tournaments like this.”
In the Class AA ranks, head coach Josh Hadden of Silver Bluff High School (5-22) says he saw plenty of positives moving forward in continuing his goal of building the Bulldogs into a contender.
“As a team, we won five matches and lost in the first round of the Class AA playoffs to Abbeville, but our top wrestler (Zyon El Khalifa) finished the season with a record of 11-8 and we placed three wrestlers on the All-Region team,” Hadden stated.
In addition to the 160-pound El Khalifa, additional All-Region selections for the Bulldogs were A.J. Cacho and Ruben Lopez.
In Class A wrestling, Wagener-Salley High School and Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle/High School look to continue to fill out their team rosters with an eye on competition in 2018-19.
LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2018 PR WRESTLING IND STATE PLAYOFFS