Rankings reveal balanced Region 8-3A
By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
If the latest rankings released last week by SCMAT.com are any indication, the battle for the Region 8-3A wrestling title is shaping up to be a good one.
Battery Creek came in at No. 14 in the updated Class 3A rankings, followed closely by Beaufort High at No. 15, with region rivals Hanahan and Philip Simmons right behind in 16th and 17th.
Battery Creek’s Elmer Linares (126) and Gunnar DeGroat (190) are both ranked second on the updated list, as is Beaufort’s Brandon Bolles (144).
DeGroat won the 152-pound title last season and has not lost in more than a calendar year, but he is ranked second to another returning champion in Gilbert’s Colton Travis, who has dropped down after winning at 195 a year ago.
Linares, the Class 3A runner-up at 120 pounds a year ago, is ranked behind Clinton’s Blake Greenwood, who was the runner-up at 132 last season. Bolles checked in at No. 2 at 144 pounds, just behind Gilbert’s Jonathan Brentlinger, a three-time state qualifier and one-time placer.
Battery Creek’s Andrew Legree is third at 157, while Beaufort’s Antonio McKnight is fifth at 138, Calvin Garcia is seventh at 150, and Jaden Priester is eighth at 285.
Bucs duo cracks rankings
Despite a strong start to the season, Bridges Prep did not crack to the top 20 in the Class 2A/1A rankings, but the Bucs had two individuals make the list. Jeremiah Chavez checked in at No. 4 in the 285-pound class, while Kevin Summers is ranked fifth at 165.
Whale Branch did not have any wrestlers ranked in their weight classes, nor did the Warriors crack the top 20 in the statewide girls rankings despite capturing the team title at the Lowcountry Championship earlier this month.
