By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
A total of 17 Lowco area wrestlers claimed medals with top-six finishes in their weight class, including 145-pound champion Santiago Rueda, who helped May River finish fourth among 22 teams at the Coastal Clash at Hilton Head Island High School over the weekend.
The Sharks had seven placers and compiled 174.5 team points, just three behind Ashley Ridge for third place in the field of teams from throughout South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Brunswick (Ga.) took the team title with 225.5 points, while Carolina Forest (192) was second.
Battery Creek cracked the top 10 with five placers and 122 points, while host Hilton Head Island High (79) was 14th, Beaufort High (73) was 16th, and Bluffton (32) was 19th. The Seahawks and Eagles each had two placers, while the Bobcats had one.
First-year program Thomas Heyward finished 22nd with 10 points but first-time wrestlers Zane Wilson and Jordan Mikell earned their first wins by pin.
Rueda’s 4-0 run through the 145-pound bracket did not include a single pin — he won a major decision and three decisions — but he was the only Lowco wrestler to successfully navigate the gauntlet. May River teammate Isaiah Wysong placed second after picking up an impressive quarterfinal win over Hilton Head’s Drew Vigh in what could be the first installment of a key rivalry this season, and Battery Creek’s Riley Doray (113) and Beaufort’s Colton Phares (182) also collected runner-up finishes.
May River’s Gabe Juarez (170) and EJ Seman (138) notched third-place finishes, as did Battery Creek’s Sam Degroat (120). Miguel Cavalheiro (152) finished fourth for the Sharks, along with Battery Creek’s Elmer Linares (126), Hilton Head’s Vigh (132), and Beaufort’s Peter Adam Burnevich (160). Hilton Head’s Darnell Brawner and Bluffton’s Israel Salmeron placed fifth, and May River’s Emilio Mendoza (120) and Chris Snowden (182) and Battery Creek’s John Coker (106) and Sebastian Sanchez (152) placed sixth.
Championship Finals
106: Richard Spring (Fort Dorchester) DEC Jonte Crumpton (Carolina Forest)
113: Brody Bailey (Carolina Forest) F Riley Doray (Battery Creek)
120: Ben Singletary (Ashley Ridge) MD Braedon Bailey (Carolina Forest)
126: Ben Guilliam (Summerville) DEF Will Hendrix (Carolina Forest)
132: Rocky Moretti (Ashley Ridge) DEC Isaiah Wysong (May River)
138: Brayton Killiri (Summerville) MD Marcus Norman (Brunswick)
145: Santiago Rueda (May River) DEC Ryu Brown (Summerville)
152: Weston Eadie (Ashley Ridge) MD Blake Etheridge (Brunswick)
160: Rayshan Springs (Fort Dorchester) DEC Bradon Jacoby (Carolina Forest)
170: Joseph Rice (Columbia) F Nate Rodgers (Grovetown)
182: Leon Charlton (Brunswick) TF Colton Phares (Beaufort)
195: Anthony Maldonado (Grovetown) F Shawn Raggins (Columbia)
220: Anthony Lowe (Brunswick) F Staffon Stanley (Brunswick)
285: William Jones (Columbia) F River Creel (Brunswick)
Consolation Finals
106: Ernie Covert (Space Coast) DEC Landon Deaton (Summerville)
113: Raider Morelli (Space Coast) F Clayton Hicks (Brunswick)
120: Sam Degroat (Battery Creek) DEC Anthony Edwards (Space Coast)
126: Ryan Gallagher (Waccamaw) F Elmer Linares (Battery Creek)
132: Camri Cone (Brunswick) DEC Drew Vigh (Hilton Head)
138: EJ Seman (May River) MD Konnor Rutz (The Villages)
145: Connor Wilson (Ashley Ridge) MD Caeden Hadry (Space Coast)
152: Keith Grace (Ashley Ridge) DEC Miguel Cavalheiro (May River)
160: Kevin Coon (The Villages) DEC Peter adam Burvenich (Beaufort)
170: Gabe Juarez (May River) F Mason Ayers (Summerville)
182: Jaden Markus (The Villages) MD Damion Haines (Cross)
195: Izaiah Jauma (The Villages) F Jaydon Sheely (Space Coast)
220: Jayden Fuller (Aiken) F Ashton Hage (The Villages)
285: Triston Williams (Aiken) F Marquis Moss (Grovetown)
Fifth-Place Round
106: Colin Beever (Waccamaw) F John Coker (Battery Creek)
113: Nathan Gates (Fort Dorchester) MD Xavier Anderson (Summerville)
120: Thomas Clay (Brunswick) MD Emilio Mendoza (May River)
126: Caden Pollard (Greenbrier) MD Devin Dron (Greenbrier)
132: Sebastian Melendez (Greenbrier) F Gabriel Melendez (Greenbrier)
138: Crisjaniel Martinez (Greenbrier) F Ryan Arizabal (Grovetown)
145: Darnell Brawner (Hilton Head) F Noah Poppe (Carolina Forest)
152: Antwain Hoskins (Cross) MD Sebastian Sanchez (Battery Creek)
160: Dylan Spencer (Grovetown) MD Cade Branham (Ashley Ridge)
170: Titus Washington (Brunswick) F Allen Wasmund (Space Coast)
182: Jayden Drew (Columbia) DEF Chris Snowden (May River)
195: Nicholas Caudill (The Villages) DEC Charlie Middlebrooks (Brunswick)
220: Israel Salmeron (Bluffton) DEC Shawn Harper (Ashley Ridge)
285: Jordan Evans (Fort Dorchester) DEF Collin Dudley (Greenbrier)
