Fort Mill wrestlers drop from No. 1 to No. 3 then knock off top-ranked Rock Hill

After flip-flopping in the 5A state wrestling poll recently, the No. 3 ranked Fort Mill Yellow Jackets knocked off the recently No. 1-ranked Rock Hill Bearcats 48-28 in a crucial Region IV match.

Fort Mill had been ranked No. 1 in the state in 5A, but a less than expected performance at the Wildcat Duals helped move them down to No. 3 in the polls while Rock Hill, which had beaten Fort Mill during the Wildcat Duals, moved up to No. 1.

The win for the Jackets was one of the biggest they have had against their long-time rivals from across the Catawba River.

“We had been waiting on that for a while,” said Fort Mill head coach Chris Brock. “It was important we didn’t give up any bonus points.”

Fort Mill opened the match with a bang at 220 pounds as Jack Kelley had a memorable 16th birthday after winning in overtime with a pin to put the Jackets up 6-0. Rock Hill came back at heavyweight to tie the meet with a pin of its own, but from there, Fort Mill would get a pin at 106 pounds from Jackson Strong to go up 12-6 and never trailed the remainder of the meet.

At 113 pounds, Jacob “Fish” Sturgeon got a second period pin to extend the Jackets’ lead before the Bearcats again closed the cap with a pin at 120.

Fort Mill won at 126 pounds with Brody Claassen’s 7-6 decision to make it 21-12. Rock Hill kept things close at 132 after a 14-4 major decision, but it would be the last time the ‘Cats would get a meaningful win in the meet. Fort Mill reeled off five straight wins as Brock gambled some on his lineup when it came to bumping wrestlers around.

The Jackets sent out Nick Greek at 138 pounds, normally a spot reserved for two-time defending state champion A.J. Leitten. However, Greek made quick work of his opponent, getting a pin in the first period to make it 27-16.

“Greek’s win was a pivotal point in the match,” Brock said.

From there, Fort Mill sent out Leitten at 145 and got a third period pin while leading 13-0 and Jake Hart came back in the 152-pound match with a second period pin to extend the Jackets’ lead.

Despite the momentum, Fort Mill wasn’t out of the woods yet leading 39-16 with four matches left. Had Rock Hill won those four matches all by pin, they would have pulled out a one point win at 40-39. Fort Mill senior Jordan Markowski made sure that didn’t happen by winning 9-7 in overtime at 160 pounds in his first match back from battling an illness that kept him out of the Wildcat Duals.

That match made it mathematically impossible for Rock Hill to catch Fort Mill, as Caden Haverson finished the scoring for the Jackets with a third period pin to make it 48-16 at that point. Fort Mill dropped the 182-pound match and forfeited the match at 195 to end the dual.

The Jackets now head into a three-way non-region meet at home against Indian Land and South Pointe Jan. 17 and will host Clover Jan. 20 before finishing off the regular season Jan. 24 at rivals Nation Ford.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Fort Mill wrestlers drop from No. 1 to No. 3 then knock off top-ranked Rock Hill."