Rock Hill, South Pointe fall in second round of state wrestling tournament
Rock Hill and South Pointe lost in the second round of the state wrestling championships Saturday.
The Bearcats won the Region 3-4A regular season title and were seeking their third consecutive state title. Rock Hill defeated Laurens in the opening round Saturday 71-3, but lost to Dorman by one point in the second round.
Against Laurens, Tim McNeil won a the 220-pound weight class with a 4-3 decision for Rock Hill, and the Bearcats followed with seven pins for 45-0 lead.
After Laurens won in the 145 weight class, Rock Hill won three of the last five divisions by pin, one by technical fall and one by decision for the final score.
In the second match, the Rock Hill dropped a 32-31 decision to Dorman, which topped Blythewood in the opening round.
Alan Salgado started Rock Hill with a pin at 285, and Justin Beck (106) followed with a 10-1 decision. When Jay McNeil won by pin at 113, Rock Hill led 16-0.
Dorman got a decision at 120 and a pin by Zack Clary in the 126 weight class to cut it to 16-9. Jared Blake (132) scored a 9-7 decision for Rock Hill for a 19-9 advantage.
The Cavaliers won the next nine weight classes for a 32-19 lead. 21-19 lead.
Dorman forfeited the final two weight classes.
“This was a tough loss for us,” said Rock Hill head coach Cain Beard. “We dealt with a lot of adversity all year long. We had more than our share of injuries, and that hurt us some today.”
Rock Hill finished 45-3and has wrestlers in the individual state tourney, which starts next week.
“We still have lot to work for,” said Beard. “Despite the loss today, overall we had great year.”
South Pointe, which won the Region 3-3A title, defeated Seneca in the opening round, 69-12.
When the match reached the halfway point South Pointe led 27-12. The Stallions had a pair of pins, two forfeit wins, and a decision to offset two losses by pins.
South Pointe closed the match by winning the last seven weight classes by pins.
In the second match the South Pointe lost to Camden, 38-34topped Chapman in the first round.
Camden won the opening weight class at 182 by decision and followed with a pin at 195 for a quick 9-0 lead.
Zach Morgan (220) got South Pointe on the board with a 9-7 decision to cut it the score to 9-3, but the Camden Buldogs followed with three straight pins for a 27-3 lead.
South Pointe answered as Joseph Blackman (120) scored a pin to cut it to 27-9, but Camden’s Caid Cokley won a 16-0 technical fall for a 32-9 lead.
South Pointe’s Rodrick Whitlock (132) won by pin to cut it to 32-15, but Camden’s Bryan Avacedo answered with a pin at 138, and the Bulldogs led 38-15.
South Pointe rallied in the final four weight divisions, and nearly pulled it out.
Nathan Stroud (145) and Tarrik Beaulieu (152) both won by pins, cutting the Camden lead to 38-27 with two matches remaining.
South Pointe’s Devon Ruiz (160) won an 8-0 major decision. That left the Stallions down 38-31, and the match was over.
South Pointe’s Justin Corbin (170) won a 6-5 decision to finish the match.
“We had a good season overall,” said South Pointe head coach Eddie Cook. “We had some great senior leadership on this team and a good mixture of wrestlers.”
South Pointe qualified 13 wrestlers for the individual championships.
“We still have a lot of wrestling ahead of us this year,” Cook said. “This was a tight knit team, and they accomplished a lot this year.”
Fort Mill also lost in the second round. After beating Woodmont, it lost 33-22 to Boiling Springs. Nation Ford had the same fate. The Falcons toppled T. L. Hanna before losing to Westwood 42-30.
Indian Land was eliminated in the opening weekend, beating Columbia, before a loss to North Central, 39-33.
York and Chester both lost in the opening round. York fell to Hillcrest, while Chester dropped a decision to Belton-Honea Path.
This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Rock Hill, South Pointe fall in second round of state wrestling tournament."