‘A good win’: South Pointe wrestling claims Bearcat Invitational title at Rock Hill High
The South Pointe Stallions piled up 224 points and emerged from the 28-team field as victors at the annual Bearcat Invitational wrestling tournament at Rock Hill High School on Saturday.
This is the first time the Stallions have won this prestigious event.
“It was a great team effort the past two days,” South Pointe head coach Eddie Cook said after the tournament. “This is a good win for our program, and it should help our confidence moving forward.”
The Stallions had three first places, two runners-up, two fourth place finishes, a pair of fifth places and a seventh place finish.
“We have done very well thus far this season,” Cook added. “This is our third big tournament this year, and we have spent a lot of time working on technique. This team has worked hard from the start and showed a lot of improvement since the first of the season.”
Cook is also looking for this win to be a spring board for the rest of the season.
“Our guys have gotten to the point where they expect to win,” Cook said. “We are gaining confidence through hard work at practice and very good results in our tournaments. We are focused on returning to the playoffs and doing well there again this year.”
Local schools have individual champs
Lugoff-Elgin finished second with 167.5 points, the Rock Hill Bearcats were third with 153.5, and the Clover Blue Eagles finished fourth with 124.5. Mallard Creek completed the top five with 123 points.
The Northwestern Trojans were 11th with 91, while the York Cougars were 12th with 85. The Nation Ford Falcons scored 78.5 points and finished 14th, while the Chester Cyclones tallied 77.5 points and were 15th.
South Pointe’s Kemoni Reeves earned the team’s first title with an 11-6 win over Rock Hill’s Colton Smith in the 106 weight class. Reeves broke a 5-5 tie in the final 30 seconds to pick up the victory.
The Stallions’ Shy’Quan Ferguson got the second top finish with a 14-5 decision over Ca’Lique Cunningham of Northwestern in the 152 weight class. Ferguson led 5-3 after two periods and pulled away in the final two minutes. Isaac Ekanem won the third championship for the Stallions by pinning Brett Carder of Lugoff-Elgin in the 195 division.
Rock Hill had two first place finishes. Bailey Wilkins, who was tabbed the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the lightweight classes, got the first one with a 5-4 win over York’s Kaleem Heard in the 132 weight group. Wilkins broke a 2-2 tie after two periods to claim the victory. The Bearcats’ other title came when Webber Moore pinned Andrew Warren of South Point (NC) in the 182 division.
Clover, York and Chester won one championship each. Clover’s Zach Blanchard won the 285 weight class when he pinned Zach McRae of Byrnes.
York’s title was earned by Luke Rumfelt with an 8-3 win over Spencer Cox of South Pointe in the 120 division. Rumfelt broke a 2-2 tie after two periods to claim the win.
Chester got its lone title from Ly’Terrence Mills, who scored a 15-11 win over Alex Kata of Mallard Creek in the 170 division. Mills led 10-6 after two periods on his way to the victory.
Other results
The Stallions had seven other wrestlers place in the top eight. Eric Mitchell was second in the 160 weight class to join Cox as a runner-up. The Stallions got fourth place finishes by Matthew Belk (145) and Nygel Moore (182); fifth place performances by Josh Greenwood (220) and Erie Greenwood (285); and a seventh place by A. J. Powell (132).
Rock Hill also had six others finish in the top eight. In addition to Colton’s second place performance, the ‘Cats got a fourth from Manny Velazquez (170), a sixth from Dawson Cashier (160), a seventh from T. C. Goodwin (195), and eighth place finishes from Silas Allen (138) and Garrett Pfirman (285).
Clover had five others earn top eight spots. Besides Graysen Latham’s runner-up performance in the 220 weight class, the Blue Eagles got fourth place awards from Yannis Charles (120) and Matt Courtwright (195); a fifth place from T. J. Stacey (170); and an eight place from Dorian Brown (132).
York had four others earn top eight finishes. In addition to Heard’s runner-up, the Cougars had a sixth from Clay Crowe (145), a seventh from Bradley Welch (152), and an eighth from Andre Johnson (170).
Chester had three others finish in the top eight. The Cyclones got a third from Jadarius Evans (182), a sixth from Drue Shipman (106), and a seventh from Trent Bowser (113).
Northwestern had five performers earn top eight finishes. Besides Cunningham’s second place, the Trojans got a fourth from Jamey Nelson (126), a fifth from Irving Cabrera (113), a sixth from Malcolm McIellan (182), and a seventh from Kamarien Barnette (145).
Nation Ford also had five earn top eight finishes. In addition to Steven Johnson’s runner-up finish in the 145 division, the Falcons got a third from Sean Grennan (285), a fourth from Solomon Moore (113), a seventh from Trevor Strain (120), and an eighth from Caden Brandenburg (152).
In the girls’ competition, Rock Hill’s Trinity Davis was the runner-up in Bracket C, and the ‘Cats Alyson Vongsay finished third in Bracket D. Clover’s Amber Turner was fourth in Bracket A, while Rock Hill’s Samantha Neff was also fourth in Bracket C.
In other girls’ action, Rock Hill’s Phallyn Magby finished third in Pool C.