Holiday tourneys reveal region contenders
By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
Area wrestling teams didn’t have to travel far to find some top-level competition over the holiday break, as a field of 35 teams that included powerhouses from South Carolina and Georgia descended on the Lowcountry for the U.S. Army Shark Invitational and the May River Duals in the span of a week.
After grinding to an 11th-place finish at the Shark Invitational, Beaufort High bowed out of May River Duals on Saturday to nurse some wounds and get healthy ahead of a key region match against visiting Hilton Head on Wednesday.
Colton Freeman was the only Eagles wrestler to survive the gauntlet Monday and Tuesday at May River, pinning his way through the bracket and placing second at 215 pounds with a loss to Fort Mill’s Ted Ernst in the finals.
Battery Creek’s Theo Johnson finished fifth at 126 pounds, while teammate Nate Najar placed sixth at 157. Bridges Prep’s Kevin Summers won his first two matches by pin before losing an 18-14 decision to Bluffton’s Noah Scott in the quarterfinals and subsequently forfeiting his consolation match due to injury.
Host May River had three champions — Stephano Calderon (106), Marcus Foulk (126), and Blake Butler (157) — and placed third behind Class 5A powers Fort Mill and Ashley Ridge.
Beaufort star Mullins sidelined
After blowing past 100 career wins and adding a couple more to the tally, Beaufort High standout Olesya Mullins had her senior season ended abruptly when she suffered a non-contact knee injury in practice last month.
Mullins has dominated her competition in the 106-pound weight class for the varsity team and is ranked first in the state in the 105-pound girls division, so she is holding out hope for a return at the girls Lower State qualifier Jan. 24 at South Florence.
Regardless, Mullins will get her chance to return to the mat eventually — she has already secured a scholarship offer to wrestle “back home” at Southwestern Michigan College next season.
Road to state starts now
The road to a state title begins Friday and Saturday at Hilton Head Island High School for middle school and JV wrestlers from around the Lowcountry.
The Area 9 Qualifier will take place over two days this year, with the JV brackets wrestled Friday starting at 6:30 p.m. and the middle school divisions wrestled Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
The top five wrestlers from each weight and the top three placers in each bracket of split weight classes will advance to the Coastal Sectional on Jan. 17 at Summerville High School. The top four placers in each weight at that event will advance to the Carolina Invitational state tournament on Jan. 24 at Lexington High School.
