Green Wave wrestlers shine

Individual Wrestling

IRMO — The Summerville Green Wave hit the AAAA individual wrestling tournament like a tidal wave, crowning two champions and landing nine wrestlers in the top three on Saturday at Irmo High School.

Freshman Aaron Hansen and senior Willie Thomas each came away with gold medals to cap a day in which three teammates finished second and four more won their consolation brackets.

"It was a heck of an effort by the whole team," Summerville coach Kenny Walker said. "And it put an exclamation point on who was the best team. That was our focus — to make sure there was no question. They keep team scoring at these events. It's not official, but people read into it.

"We wanted to win that. We were able to do it and I think we did it convincingly."

The Green Wave qualified 10 wrestlers for state, tied with Fort Dorchester for the largest contingent. Summerville, which won the dual title two weeks ago, amassed 139 points in the team scoring, well ahead of second place Fort Dorchester's 83. It was the sign of a team that was still getting better while other teams looked as if they had hit a plateau.

"At the beginning of the year, we started off horrible," Thomas said. "If you had looked at us then, you never would have thought we were a state championship team."

Among other Lowcountry wrestlers, Fort Dorchester senior Robert Quinn won his third straight title at 285 and teammate Seiji Borja won at 140. Beaufort's Travis Wynn pinned Lexington's Kraig Crawford to win the 171-pound class.

At the Class AA-A meet held at Gilbert High School, Bishop England senior Joe Boykin ended a string of runner-up finishes in a big way, beating Broome's J.T. Fessenden, 18-1, in the 171 final. Boykin had placed second the past two years and said he never lost focus during the final even when he shot out to a big lead.

"I knew any slip-ups could cost me the match," he said. "This is more relief because I've been waiting so long to get it."

Thomas was typical of Summerville's lineup this season — an unheralded wrestler who just kept working hard for the good of the team. Thomas won the Lower State title at 189 pounds, but a couple of Upper State wrestlers were considered better bets to win. Thomas used that as extra fuel.

"People didn't think I was going to make it this far," he said. "My first match I got hurt. The pain has been in my spine all day, but I had to keep going. This was for my dad who died a few years ago."

Hansen battled Rock Hill's Seth Beck for a 2-1 victory in the 112 final to put himself on the road to becoming a four-time state champion.

"I was thinking it at the beginning of the year. This is a stepping stone to where I want to be," he said. "I knew it would be a tough match. I knew I'd have to bring my A-game. I guess he did, too."

Hansen kept Rock Hill's Beck brothers from earning a clean sweep at the championships. The other two Beck brothers caused some disappointment for two other Lowcountry wrestlers. Weston Beck pinned Wando's Will James at 103 for James' first loss of the year. Similarly, Fort Dorchester's Wesley Dallas suffered his only loss when Chad Beck beat him 6-5 in 6-5 sudden victory overtime. Beck was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler.

Two of Dallas' teammates enjoyed better success. Borja defeated Dorman's Giazzi Segarra, 12-3, in the 140 final. "This is pretty satisfying right now, but it probably won't hit me until I see my plaque on the wall," Borja said. "Last year, I lost my first two matches. At the beginning of the day, I was having flashbacks. Once I got past my first two matches, I knew I was in a match I could win."

Quinn pinned all three of his opponents to finish his high school wrestling career four months after undergoing brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. Earlier this month, he signed a scholarship to play football for the University of North Carolina. Nobody would have thought less of him if he decided he didn't need to wrestle, but the urge to compete was too much to let him sit on the sidelines.

"I just had a goal in my mind to do what I had to do to be the first three-time heavyweight champion," he said. "People didn't think I'd come back. I came back to prove them wrong. Everybody was excited when I came back. It was something hearing the crowd cheer for me and feeling the warmth in my heart."

Class AAAA — Finals

103-Weston Beck (Rock Hill) pin Will James (Wando), 3:07. 112-Aaron Hansen (Summerville) dec. Seth Beck (Rock Hill), 2-1. 119-James Brotemarkle (Fort Mill) maj. dec. Kyle Manross (Irmo), 11-2. 125-Jared Williams (Northwestern) dec. Adam Kern (Mauldin), 7-5. 130-George Holstead (Dutch Fork) dec. Eli Ashby (Summerville), 7-5 OT. 135-Chad Beck (Rock Hill) dec. Wesley Dallas (Fort Dorchester), 6-5 SV. 140-Seiji Borja (Fort Dorchester) dec. Giazzi Segarra (Dorman), 12-3. 145-Zach McCormick (Westside) dec. Berlin Oliver (Summerville), 11-4. 152-Grayson Hutson (Irmo) dec. Josh Porter (Summerville), 6-2. 160-Zach Neubert (Clover) maj. dec. Thomas Speers (White Knoll), 14-5. 171-Travis Wynn (Beaufort) pin Kraig Crawford (Lexington), 3:22. 189-Willie Thomas (Summerville) dec. Jon Todd (Byrnes), 5-3. 215-Iouli Burroughs (Dutch Fork) dec. Matt Broad (Hillcrest), 9-4. 285-Robert Quinn (Fort Dorchester) pin Jimmy Carson (Irmo), 3:32.

Class AAAA — Consolation Finals

103-Germain Truesdale (Fort Mill) dec. Garrett Corbett (Lexington), 6-3. 112-Jack Eddy (Hillcrest) dec. Nate Polly (Lexington), 5-2. 119-Keith Johnson (Berkeley) dec. Dylan Kern (Mauldin), 13-6. 125-Trey Blevins (Stratford) pin Shane Lee (White Knoll), 3:51. 130-Michael Young (Fort Dorchester) dec. Andrew Davis (Easley), 11-8. 135-Ashley Bracklein (Summerville) dec. Josh Wilson (Boiling Springs), 17-12. 140-Harut Ghalt (Irmo) maj. dec. Colt Gilliam (South Pointe), 11-3. 145-Tyler McElheney (Clover) dec. Thomas Mockridge (Fort Mill), 6-4. 152-Zach Howerton (Lexington) dec. Mike Medema (Fort Mill), 9-2. 160-Bobby Holmes (Summerville) dec. Chris Abeyta (Greenwood), 5-0. 171-Ryan Sullivan (Summerville) dec. Tristan Lapresta (Colleton County), 11-4. 189-Frank Ceva (Dorman) pin Sean Gaffney (Hillcrest), 2:57. 215-Niko Segarra (Dorman) dec. Jody Helms (Rock Hill), 4-3. 285-Andre Deweese (Summerville) dec. Ramone Truesdale (South Pointe).

Class AA-A — Finals

103-Andrew Rankin (Walhalla) dec. Derrick Geiges (Bishop England), 7-1. 112-Ethan LeCroy (Walhalla) maj. dec. Jeremy Phillips (Woodruff), 16-7. 119-Ian Harper (Chesterfield) pin Raffeal Brukette (Cheraw), 0:39. 125-Eric Rholetter (West-Oak) dec. Cody McCall (Crescent), 2-1. 130-James Long (Ninety-Six) maj. dec. Joseph Winkler (West-Oak), 9-1. 135-Trey Alley (Chesterfield) dec. Andrew Vaughn (Walhalla), 4-1. 140-Dalton Harper (Chesterfield) maj. dec. Justin Christopher (Woodruff), 13-2. 145-John Hunnicutt (West-Oak) maj. dec. Chris Curreri (Ninety-Six), 16-5. 152-Zane Newton (Emerald) pin Alfonso Oliver (Loris), 5:35. 160-Maurice Morris (Loris) maj. dec. David Ingle (Woodruff), 14-1. 171-Joe Boykin (Bishop England) tech. fall J.T. Fessenden (Broome), 18-1. 189-Jonathan Willard (Loris) pin Jared Clark (Broome), 5:36. 215-Bernard Kendall (Cheraw) dec. Austin Hedden (Walhalla), 16-10. 285-Tyler Marler (Palmetto) dec. Dustin Gooden (Chesterfield), 4-2.

Class AA-A Consolation Finals

103-Akierrian Gilliam (Woodruff) dec. Brody Bertolini (Ninety-Six), 5-2. 112-Laquandian Bromell (Loris) dec. Elijah Burr (Chesterfield), 6-4. 119-Marcus King (Palmetto) dec. Rashad Cunningham (Buford), 7-4. 125-Richie Flynn (Woodruff) dec. Adam Oaks (Abbeville), 7-5. 130-Larry Long (Bamberg-Ehrhardt) dec. John Dufour (Bishop England), 7-4. 135-Jarrett Loftis (Chapman) pin Kendario Lewis (Cheraw), 2:56. 140-Jaquon Pegues (Cheraw) maj. dec. Stephen Madden (Crescent), 8-0. 145-Josh Cowan (Abbeville) pin Kevin Davis (Marion), 1:58. 152-Bill Glace (Abbeville) pin Matthew Chapman (Gilbert), 4:33. 160-Chris Hurst (Chesterfield) dec. Brad Sieckman (Emerald), 6-4 OT. 171-Nigel Thomas (Newberry) dec. Tyler Neal (Ninety-Six), 13-12. 189-Bryan Glace (Abbeville) dec. Jeff Walker (Chesterfield), 7-4. 215-Jesse Simpson (Broome) dec. Chris McGee (Gilbert), 7-6. 285-Lenard Hudnal (Burke) dec. Jack Sweat (Abbeville), 5-3.