Bearcats claim their own wrestling tourney
The Rock Hill Bearcats won their own invitational wrestling tournament over a strong 26-team field Saturday.
The Bearcats finished with 222.5 points, followed by Lugoff-Elgin with 168.5 points, Fort Dorchester with 153.5 points, Byrnes with 145.5 points, and Mauldin fifth with 145 points.
South Pointe finished sixth with 116 points, while York was eighth with 110.5 points. Clover was 13th with 90.5 points, and Northwestern finished 16th with 80 points. Indian Land was 18th with 75.5 points, and Chester came home 21st with 64.5 points.
Rock Hill claimed the most first place finishes during the two-day event with three. Lugoff-Elgin and Fort Dorchester each had two. Clover and Indian Land were the only other local teams with a first place finish.
“This was a great team victory today,” said Rock Hill coach Cain Beard. “We had 12 of our 14 wrestlers place in the top eight for the tournament.”
Beard said he feels that winning the event, after finishing second last year, will help his team as the season progresses.
“Yes, it will definitely help our confidence as we move forward,”Beard said. “Overall, I thought we did a very good job. We had some great matches involving our wrestlers.”
Justin Beck won the title in the 106 weight class with a 10-6 decision over Jordan Aluyan of Fort Dorchester. During the tournament, Beck picked up his 100th career win and improved his record this year to 43-3.
“His performance in the tournament was outstanding,” Beard said. “His win in the finals was great.”
The Bearcats’ Jared Blake claimed first place in the 132 pound division, scoring an 18-3 technical fall over Kyle Daley of Indian Land. His win upped his record on the year to 46-8.
“He really did a good job for us today,” Beard said “He has done very well this season.”
Rock Hill’s Alan Salgado won the team’s third title with a 3-2 decision over Dalton Jenkins of Hunter Huss in the 285 pound weight class. Salgado’s win left him unbeaten on the year with at 51-0.
“That was a great match to complete the day,” said Beard. “Salgado led early, but fell behind 2-1 and rallied in the final period for the win. He really turned in a great effort.”
Evan Johnson of Clover picked up first place in the 160 pound division with a 2-1 decision over Jonathan Parker of Fort Dorchester. Johnson improved to 14-4 with the victory.
Indian Land’s Will Van Hoose was the final individual winner among local teams with a 7-5 decision over Connor Owensby of South Point (NC) in the 195 pound weight class. Van Hoose is undefeated for the season at 22-0.
Team scores
1. Rock Hill 222.5, 2. Lugoff-Elgin 168.5, 3. Fort Dorchester 153.5, 4. Byrnes 145.4, 5. Mauldin 145, 6. South Pointe 116, 7. South Point (NC) 112, 8. York 110.5, 9. Hopewell 105, 9. Hunter Huss 105, 11. Spartanburg 99, 12. Woodmont 94.5, 13. Clover 90.5, 14. River Bluff 88, 15. Gaffney 85, 16. Northwestern 80, 17. Kings Mountain 78, 18. Indian Land 75.5, 19. Forestview 71, 19. Irmo 71, 21. Chester 64, 22. East Gaston 58, 23. Vance 57, 23. J. L. Mann 57, 25. North Gaston 52, 26. Independence 44.
Individual Finishes
First place
106 - Justin Beck (Rock Hill) 10-6 dec. Jordan Aluyan (Fort Dorchester), 113 - Esco Walker (Hopewell) 9-3 dec. Jay McNeal (Rock Hill), 120 - Landon Anderson (Byrnes) pin Quenten Nguyen (Kings Mountain), 126 - Garrett Starks (Woodmont) 4-0 dec. Michael Avore (York), 132 - Jared Blake (Rock Hill) 18-3 technical fall Kyle Daley (Indian Land), 138 - Taylor Catoe (Lugoff-Elgin) pin Mason Bradley (Gaffney), 145 - Noah North (Lugoff-Elgin) 2-0 dec Jharee Kerns (Clover), 152 - Drew Parker (Fort Dorchester) 3-0 dec. Tarik Beaulieu (South Pointe), 160 - Evan Johnson (Clover) 2-1 dec. Jonathan Parker (Fort Dorchester), 170 - A. J. Alford (Fort Dorchester) 14-6 maj. dec. Shonquez Caldwell (Spartanburg), 182 - Blake Lewis (Hunter Huss) pin Kanon Hawkins (Mauldin), 195 - Will Van Hoose (Indian Land) 7-5 dec. Connor Owensby (South Point), 220 - Lathan Bumgardner (North Gaston ) 5-1 dec. Mike Hayes (South Point), 285 - Alan Salgado (Rock Hill) 3-2 dec. Dalton Jenkins (Hunter Huss).
Third place
106 - Keshon McLean (Hunter Huss) pin Adam Poole (East Gaston), 113 - Nick Murray (Byrnes) pin Bryan Robinson (Lugoff-Elgin), 120 - Nolan Edens (Hopewell) 8-0 maj. dec. Alan Chumswang (Northwestern), 126 - Tyler Grigg (South Point) injury def. Isaiah Gallaher (Mauldin), 132 - Jacob Power (Lugoff-Elgin) 7-1 dec. Addison Christopher (Byrnes), 138 - Zeke Bean (York) 17-2 technical fall John Mark Dorrill (Clover), 145 - Nathan Stroud (South Pointe) 5-4 dec. Bradley Friday (North Gaston), 152 - Hunter Strange (Woodmont) pin Derrick Turner (Gaffney), 160 - Chase Payne (Forestview) injury def. Sam Swoope (Rock Hill), 170 - Noah Reynolds (Rock Hill) pin Cameron Morgan (Kings Mountain), 182 - Hunter Forsyth (River Bluff) 11-5 dec. Carl Manigan (Spartanburg), 195 - Seth Ham (Lugoff-Elgin) pin Stephen Chesney (Rock Hill), 220 - Asa Gilliard (Fort Dorchester) 5-1 dec. Tay Whitner (J. L. Mann), 285 - Fabian Loeon (River Bluff) 5-2 dec. Isaiah Carter (South Point).
This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Bearcats claim their own wrestling tourney."