‘Always something between us’: Fort Mill wrestling downs Rock Hill in rivalry classic

The rivalry wrestling match between Fort Mill and Rock Hill ultimately ended with Yellow Jacket senior, Avery Wilcox, getting carried off the mat by one of his teammates — as if he was a hero on Thursday night.

In a way — at least to the roaring Fort Mill fans and his elated team — he was.

Fifth-ranked Fort Mill (16-5, 1-0 Region 3-5A) edged seventh-ranked Rock Hill (21-10, 1-1 Region 3-5A) on the road, 36-28, in another classic battle between the two schools. The lead changed seven times during the dual, and the match wasn’t decided until its final bout, which ended in a Wilcox pin.

“We needed a big win there because it was 28-30, so it was a must-win scenario,” Wilcox told The Herald after the match, catching his breath between his words. “Rock Hill (is) such a big rivalry.”

Fort Mill head coach Chris Brock called Thursday night a “classic Rock Hill-Fort Mill duel.”

“Sometimes wrestling can be flat, but no matter how the season is going, (there) is always something between us,” Brock said. “There is always going to be fireworks.”

The two schools started the match off at 195-pounds. Fort Mill notched a slim 1-0 win from Dylan Honaker to take a 3-0 lead for the match. Rock Hill then came right back to tie the match at 3-3 when Maurice Bonneau picked up a 6-4 decision for the Bearcats at 220-pounds, and then Rock Hill eventually took its first lead at heavyweight, after a first period pin by Garrett Pfirman.

The teams would then start trading blows: Rock Hill’s Colton Smith earned a pin fall at 106-pounds; then Fort Mill’s Sebastian Colon got a pin of his own at 113-pounds; then a win from Cayden Richard at 120-pounds allowed the Jackets a way to climb back into the match. 15-14, Rock Hill still leading.

The lead would change in the next five matches: Fort Mill would take the lead at 18-15 with a 14-6 decision by Joshua Sturgeon at 126-pounds. After him, Rock Hill’s Bailey Wilkins, who recently became the winningest wrestler in Rock Hill history, would get a tech fall and win, 18-3, to give the Bearcats the lead back.

Then, a 5-4 decision by Nick Stalford at 138-pounds put Fort Mill back in front, but the lead eventually went back to Rock Hill after Jose Mora earned a 12-3 major decision at 145-pounds. 24-21.

With only four matches left, for a moment, it looked as if Rock Hill was going to win. An 11-3 major decision from Bearcat Michael Ramirez at 152-pounds made it 28-21.

But Fort Mill would win three straight matches: one from Josh Clzmadia (160); one from Aubrey Schaffer (170) and then, of course, the decisive win from Wilcox (182).

“This, by far, was one of the best back and forth dual meets we’ve ever had in my 13 years here,” Rock Hill head coach Cain Beard said after the match. “Hats off to them, hats off to (Wilcox) who stepped up and got the pin for them...

“I have no qualms with our effort in this match. Excellent job by all of our young guys.”

Looking ahead

• Part of what makes this rivalry so fierce is that the winner of this regular-season dual match tends to be in the proverbial driver’s seat for winning the region title. Will the trend continue?

• The Yellow Jackets will next travel to Clover for another away dual match on Jan 21.

• The Bearcats will travel to Chapin this weekend for the Military Duals.

Alex Zietlow contributed reporting.

This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 12:45 AM.