By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
A total of 67 wrestlers from the LowcoSports coverage area — including 35 from schools in northern Beaufort County — qualified for next week’s SCHSL state championships at Florence Center by placing in the top eight in their weight classes at their respective Lower State qualifiers.
The Lowco will be well-represented in the Class 4A brackets with 32 wrestlers qualifying from May River (12), Beaufort (7), Bluffton (6), Hilton Head (4), and Colleton County (3). The dual state champion Sharks had four Lower State champions — Stephano Calderon (106), Marcus Foulk (120), Blake Butler (150), and Joshua Echeverria (175) — while Beaufort’s Antonio McKnight (144) and Colton Freeman (190) and Bluffton’s Gabe Fulton (165) also won gold.
Battery Creek led all Lowco squads with 13 qualifiers at the Class 3A Lower State meet at Aynor High School, as the Dolphins had top-eight finishers in every weight class except 175, though only 165-pound runner-up Chris Martinez reached the finals.
Bridges Prep will send eight wrestlers to the Class 2A/1A finals, including a trio of champions in Kevin Summers (165), Ali Jenkins (175), and Jeremiah Chavez (285), while Whale Branch had six qualifiers and 126-pounder Bryan Sanchez became the first state qualifier for the first-year program at Hardeeville.
At the girls state qualifier at South Florence, Beaufort’s Olesya Mullins won the 107-pound title, and Hilton Head’s Jourdyn Mootry (132), Jada Lawrence (147), and Makayla Hinchey (157) also won Lower State titles.
The state championships will be held at Florence Center on Friday and Saturday.
Area State Qualifiers
Class 4A
113: Santino Communale, BFT (5th)
144: Antonio McKnight, BFT (1st)
150: Jessob Paris, BFT (8th)
157: Shuler Baggett, BFT (6th)
175: Chase Richardson, BFT (7th)
190: Colton Freeman, BFT (1st)
285: Jaden Priester, BFT (7th)
Class 3A
106: Anthony Perez, BCHS (5th)
113: Cayleb Boggs, BCHS (4th)
120: Nijay Wright, BCHS (6th)
126: Theo Johnson, BCHS (3rd)
132: Tyler Wright, BCHS (7th)
138: Elijah Shuler, BCHS (4th)
144: Ricky Najar, BCHS (3rd)
150: Nate Najar, BCHS (3rd)
157: Isiah Lee, BCHS (5th)
165: Chris Martinez, BCHS (2nd)
190: Khalil Myers, BCHS (7th)
215: Pharrell Myers, BCHS (6th)
285: Jordan Washington, BCHS (6th)
Class 2A/1A
106: Kainen Tuttle, BP (7th)
126: Javaree Bartley, WB (3rd)
138: Wesley White, WB (4th)
144: Trevor Jones, BP (7th)
150: Amari Bradley, BP (7th); Ra’Shawn Johnson-Reviere, WB (8th)
157: Khai Belanger, BP (4th)
165: Kevin Summers, BP (1st)
175: Ali Jenkins, BP (1st)
190: Malachi Heyward, WB (7th)
215: Malik Moultrie, WB (3rd); Byron Douglas-Jackson, BP (7th)
285: Jeremiah Chavez, BP (1st); I’veon Watson, WB (4th)
Girls All Classes
107: Olesya Mullins, BFT (1st)
