3 HS wrestlers from York and Lancaster counties crowned as SC champions. See full list

The individual state wrestling championships were held over the weekend in Anderson, and three area wrestlers earned state titles.

Isaac McLellan of the Northwestern Trojans won in the 220 weight class, earning a state championship for a second-consecutive year. And David Floyd and Dylan Layton, both from the Indian Land Warriors, claimed the other two titles. Layton claimed the title in the 145 division, while Floyd won in the 220 classification.

McLellan earned his title with a 3-1 decision over Christian Garland of Ashley Ridge. All of the points in the match were scored in the final period.

“He is a quality young man. He has worked very hard this year, and I am very proud of what he has accomplished,” Northwestern head coach Ryan Whitmore told The Herald. “He is very coachable, and he has turned into a complete wrestler this season. He was a great part of our senior leadership group this year.”

Layton earned his crown with an 8-1 decision over Lane Schraeder of Eastside. Layton led 4-1 after one period and capped off the match with four more points in the final stanza.

“He had a great season,” said Indian Land head coach Flip Sheesley. “He is a great competitor and is very focused. He was one of our senior leaders this year, and I am very happy for what he accomplished.”

Floyd earned the top prize with a 6-5 win over Jackson Chavis of Hartsville. Floyd led 2-1 after one period, but Chavis tied it at 4-4 when two periods were completed. Floyd won the final period 2-1 to earn the state championship.

“He has been a quiet leader, and he leads by example with his work ethic,” added Sheesley. “He comes in every day and gets straight to work to improve his skills. I am very proud of what he accomplished this year.”

Forty-three area wrestlers qualified for the two-day event at the Anderson Civic Center. In addition to the three state champions, there were eight second-place finishes, three third-place spots and nine more who were fourth.

Three of the second-place finishers were from 5A schools. They were Dawson Cashier (170) and Waverly Brooks (285) of the Rock Hill Bearcats and Yannis Charles (145) of the Clover Blue Eagles.

Two more were from 4A Indian Land. They were Drew Enders (126) and Max Yegge (138). The final three were from the 3A Chester Cyclones. They were Edwardo DePaz (106), Shaheim Willard (160) and Rathael Pendergrass (170).

Aidan Eubanks (113) of the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets was the only third-place finisher from 5A. The 4A York Cougars had Andre Johnson (170) earn a third-place finish, while Chester’s Drue Shipman (138) secured the third one.

The 5A schools led the fourth place finishers with five. The Nation Ford Falcons had two. They were Caden Brandenburg (152) and Clayton Rigol (220). Northwestern also had a pair in the group. They were Corey Dye (120) and Noah Lee (195). Noah Kitchton (138) of Fort Mill also earned a fourth place spot.

Three more in the fourth place group were from 4A schools. York had Chris Propst (106) and Gavin Wilson (145). Spencer Cox (160) of the South Pointe Stallions completed that group.

Chester’s Trent Bowser (126), of Class 3A, also earned a fourth place finish.

Who else competed in wrestling state championships?

Eighteen other area wrestlers also earned the right to compete in the state tournament, which featured the top-eight in each weight classification. None of those finished in the top four.

They were as follows: Fort Mill - Logan Shope (120) and Henry Debbout (195); Nation Ford - Mitchell Ladamus (126) and Isaac Nieves (170); Rock Hill - Malachi Brown (132); Northwestern - JP Snipes (106), Josh Popov (132) and Justin Spencer (145); Clover - Jaden Charles (120), Carson Enix (132), Enoch Long (138) and Wilton Grice (160); York - Anthony Wherry (152) and Joey Hall (285); South Pointe - Johnny Passmore (138) and Zyir Gordon (195); Indian Land - Malachi Jefferson (285); Lancaster - Brandon Alexander (152); Catawba Ridge - Jarrett Eubanks (152); and Chester - DC Carter (182).

Northwestern and Chester had the most qualifiers in the event with six each. Chester led the way among the area schools with five top four finishers.

“I was very pleased with our overall effort,” said Chester head coach Dennis Jensen. “I was happy for those guys, and we came very close to winning three state titles.”

He felt like the individual results capped off a very good season for the Cyclones.

“What we did during the dual season and the individual state championships was a credit to the work ethic of this year’s team,” he added. “We are losing some quality seniors, but we have some outstanding wrestlers returning and some good newcomers moving up to build our team around next year.”

How to access all results

For a full list of winners across the state, check scmat.com/february2022.htm.

This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 11:30 AM.