Rock Hill tops Fort Mill and York in Region 3-4A wrestling
The Rock Hill Bearcats picked up a pair of tough Region 3-4A wins Thursday night, edging the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets 36-24 and the York Cougars 34-26 at Rock Hill High School.
The pair of wins improved Rock Hill to 4-0 in the region with only two matches remaining in the regular season. The Bearcats are the only unbeaten team remaining in the region.
“These were two hard-fought wins,” said Rock Hill head coach Cain Beard. “We knew going in tonight that both of the matches would be tough. Fort Mill is always tough, and York always wrestles us well.”
Against Fort Mill, Rock Hill’s Brandon Mills got the Bearcats started with a pin at 160, but Fort Mill’s Jack Debbaut cut the deficit to 6-4 with a major decision at 170. Brandon Cartier (182) scored a pin for Rock Hill followed by a pin by Fort Mill’s Jack Kelly (195).
Stephen Chesney (220) and Alan Salgado (285) both picked up major decisions for Rock Hill, and the Bearcats were in front 20-10. Justin Beck continued the Bearcats’ winning streak with a decision at 106. That gave Rock Hill a 23-10 lead at the midway point.
John Brotemarkle (113) scored a decision for Fort Mill, and when the Yellow Jackets’ Brody Claussen registered a decision at 121, Rock Hill’s lead was down to 23-16.
Darius Ellegor (126) picked up a major decision for Rock Hill, but A. J. Leitten scored a technical fall for Fort Mill and the Bearcats were up 27-21 with three divisions remaining.
Rock Hill’s Chris Clayton scored a last-second point to score a decision at 138, and when Noah Mead scored on a pin for the Bearcats at 145, Rock Hill led 36-21, and the match was over.
Fort Mill’s Steve Hamilton earned a decision at 152 to account for the final score.
“Salgado’s win got us going in the middle of the match,” said Beard. “The last-second win by Clayton and the pin by Mead were huge for us. Both of those wrestlers have really come on lately.”
In the second match, Rock Hill fell behind early, but rebounded to pick up the victory over York.
Sam Ferguson (170) won a deicsion, and James Good (182) scored on a pin to give York a quick 9-0 lead.
Stephen Chesney (195) earned a major decision for Rock Hill, but York’s Tyquan McCray scored a major decision at 220, and the Cougars led 13-4.
Rock Hill won the next four weight classes. Salgado (285) and Beck (106) scored decisions, Danny Love (113) won on a technical fall, and Jay McNeal (120) claimed a major decision. That gave the Bearcats a 19-13 lead.
Michael Avore of York scored a pin at 126 and the match was tied at 19-19 with five classes remaining. Jared Blake (132) and Mead (138) both won by pins and Rock Hill was ahead 31-19.
York’s Zeke Bean (145) picked up a major decision and the Bearcats’ lead was cut to 32-23. Charles Williamson (152) claimed a decision for Rock Hill for a 34-23 cushion and the match heading to the final event. York’s Chance Dickson (160) won it by decision to account for the final score.
“Salgado and Beck’s back-to-back decisions cut the deficit and gave us a lift,” said Beard. “They stepped up for us at the right time.”
The back-to-back pins later on were also huge for Rock Hill in the come-from-behind victory.
‘Everything does not always go the way you want it,” said Beard. “When others are not doing as well as you had hoped, somebody has to step up. Blake and Mead took us from a tie to a 12-point lead. That was big.”
Beard also reflected on the way his team came back in the second match after the emotional win over Fort Mill.
“It was awesome the way we came back against York,” said Beard. “That really showed the character of the this team. I am very proud of the effort all of our wrestlers gave tonight.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 11:04 PM with the headline "Rock Hill tops Fort Mill and York in Region 3-4A wrestling."