Fort Mill’s Leitten named area’s best wrestler

Lightning struck Dec. 22, 2014.

Fort Mill sophomore wrestling standout A.J. Leitten lost a pair of matches at the Coastal Clash tournament in Charleston, the only two losses of the season for the highly touted grappler.

“I think that kind of set me straight for the rest of the year,” Leitten said earlier this week.

Westwood High School’s Evan Carrigan dropped Leitten in the semifinals of that tournament. Unfocused, Leitten lost the third place bout too.

“A.J. is in a transition period right now,” said Fort Mill coach Chris Brock. “He’s transitioning out of wrestling like a young high school kid and wrestling like a kid with Division I potential. There’s a hard learning process that takes place in that transition. That was a hard weekend for him, and for us. He was by far the best kid there and everybody knows it, but you’ve got to prove it.”

Leitten did precisely that post-Coastal Clash. He ripped off 20 wins in a row, including a rematch with Carrigan in the state finals. The 126-pound Yellow Jacket swarmed his nemesis, producing an 18-1 tech-fall midway through the second period to claim the hardware in commanding fashion.

After that triumph, Leitten, The Herald’s 2014-15 All-Area wrestler of the year, took a week off and then was back on the mat with his club team in Charlotte. Unlike many of his opponents, Leitten wrestles year-round and is currently in Virginia Beach at the National Championships, where he previously won a middle school championship. He’s already working toward defending his state title next season, when he’ll be shackled with even higher expectations.

“A.J. is successful and talented and everyone around the state knows that,” said Brock. “Generally he falls in the conversation of who’s best overall. It does create a lot of pressure on you, but when you train and do things the right way, which he does, that helps handle the pressure a little more.”

Wrestling All-Area

Wrestler of the Year: A.J. Leitten, Fort Mill

Coach of the Year: Cain Beard, Rock Hill

First team

106 John Brotemarkle, Fort Mill – junior won Region 3-4A, finished second at the Upper State championship and qualified for the state tournament. Brotemarkle finished 39-6.

113 Logan Sexton, Rock Hill – junior fell just short of a state title, but finished second overall after winning the Region 3-4A and Upper State titles. Sexton finished the season 68-8.

120 Roderick Whitlock, South Pointe – sophomore was 45-13 this season and finished second at the 3A state tournament. Whitlock won the region and finished third in the Upper State, before dropping a 5-1 decision in the state championship match.

126 A.J. Leitten, Fort Mill – sophomore finished 44-2 and won the 4A state championship, as well as the region and Upper State titles. Leitten also won two individual tournaments during the year.

132 Jake Strong, Fort Mill – Strong won the region championship, but lost to Nation Ford’s Dalen Byerley in the Upper State title match. Strong, a North-South all-star, got his revenge, beating Byerley in the 4A state final to finish his senior season 36-8.

138 Cole Rumfelt, York – Rumfelt, a North-South all-star, won the Upper State championship at 138 pounds and placed third at the 4A state championship meet, finishing the season with a 43-6 record.

145 James Daley, Indian Land – senior placed third at the 2A state tournament after winning Region 4-2A and the Upper State championship. Daley wrestled back from a second round loss to pin two opponents and take third, finishing the season with a 30-4 mark.

152 Caymen Williams, Chester – junior won his weight class region title and finished second in the Upper State championship. Williams made a run to the 3A state championship match before falling in the final to finish 22-5.

160 Michael Grubb, South Pointe – senior placed third at the 3A state tournament, finishing with a 50-11 record. Grubb won the region tournament and placed second at Upper State.

170 Hunter Allen, Northwestern – finished second at the Upper State championship and qualified for the state tournament.

182 Ricky Blackman, South Pointe – senior finished the year 54-2, winning the 3A state title. Blackman won two regular season tournaments, as well as the region and Upper State titles. He was also selected a North-South all-star.

195 Stephen Chesney, Rock Hill – junior finished second at the Upper State championship and won a match in the state championship tournament, before ending his season 59-13.

220 Temaris Dixon, Chester – senior finished runner-up the last two seasons, but got over the hump this year winning the 3A state title with a 12-9 decision in the final. Dixon finished the season 46-2, won region and Upper State titles, and was named a North-South all-star.

285 Zach Conrad, Clover – senior’s run to a state title fell agonizingly short in the 4A state championship match with a 2-1 sudden death loss to John Simpson. It was Conrad’s only loss in an outstanding season in which he won the region and Upper State championships and finished 40-1, and also earned inclusion in the North-South all-star matches.

Second team

106 Justin Beck, Rock Hill – freshman qualified for the 4A state tournament and was Region 3-4A runner-up with a final record of 59-21.

113 Michael Avore, York – sophomore finished 34-14 and qualified for the 4A state tournament after finishing fourth in the Upper State championship.

120 Daquan Berry, Clover – senior finished 15-8, placed second in the region, fourth in the Upper State and qualified for the 4A state tournament.

126 Marvin Gallette, South Pointe – senior finished fourth in the state and was selected as a North-South all-star. Gallette won two individual regular season tournaments, as well as the region. He finished third in the Upper State.

132 Dalen Byerley, Nation Ford – 2014 state champ fell in the 4A finals this year to Fort Mill’s Jake Strong. That doesn’t diminish Byerley’s excellent season, though. He finished the year 56-4 with 46 pins and four individual tournament championships.

138 Jharee Kerns, Clover – junior was 28-13 and won the region championship. Kerns qualified for the 4A state tournament but was unable to compete because of an eye injury.

145 Babe Rigby, Rock Hill – North-South all-star finished 65-11 and placed fourth in the state in the 4A 145-pound class. Rigby also won the Region 3-4A title and two other individual tournaments during the regular season.

152 Jack Debbout, Fort Mill – junior won the region championship and finished second at the Upper State championships. Debbout was 40-8 this season.

160 Evan Johnson, Clover – junior was 38-10 and won the region title.

170 Juan Watkins, Rock Hill – senior was 52-23 and won the region.

182 Thomas Wilkerson, York – senior qualified for the state tournament after finishing second at the Upper State championship. Wilkerson finished 26-13.

195 Will VanHoose, Indian Land – junior won the Region 4-2A championship and Upper State championship to qualify for the state tournament. VanHoose finished the season 41-9.

220 Josh English, Rock Hill– senior and North-South all-star won the Region 3-4A championship, finished third at Upper States and qualified for the 4A state tournament. English finished the season 63-14.

285 Alan Salgado, Rock Hill – junior finished third at 4A states after a second place finish in the region tournament and a fourth place finish in the Upper State. Salgado lost to eventual state champ John Simpson in the first round at states and wrestled back to take a 3-2 decision in the third place bout and finish the year 56-14.

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Fort Mill’s Leitten named area’s best wrestler."