photo by Roger Lee

Marquis Robinson receives his state championship medal from Fort Dorchester Athletic Director Steve LaPrad.

photo by Roger Lee

Patriot wrestlers hoist the 4-A state championship trophy.

photo by Roger Lee

Patriot wrestlers react to Evan Thompson’s upset in the 171-pound match.

photo by Roger Lee

Seiji Borja (r) is declared the winner of the 152-pound bout.

Roger Lee

Fort wrestlers Geno Porter (l) and Keyshon Flores hoist the South Carolina 4-A Wrestling Championship trophey.

Rock Hill won the first match of the Class AAAA state wrestling championship, but it was all Fort Dorchester from there.

Fort Dorchester was so powerful in the first nine matches of the evening it was able to forfeit the final five and still earn a 36-33 victory to claim the 2010 South Carolina Duals Championship. The victory marks the second time the school has claimed a state title and the fourth time its head coach, B.D. LaPrad, has led a team to the prize.

LaPrad led the Patriots to their first championship in 2007 and coached championship teams at Dutch Fork (2003) and Irmo (1980). However, he says Tuesday’s victory at Lexington High School was made possible through sound teamwork that grew throughout the season.

“First, my two assistant coaches got our guys ready for tonight,” LaPrad said. “We put together a plan and then the kids did a great job of concentrating on match performance. This team’s never been about winning or losing, it is about competing the best you can. I think that helped take the stress off the kids so they could focus on what they needed to do.”

Last February, Rock Hill handed the Patriots a 4-point loss in the championship. But the Fort has a more experience team this year and the group has been eyeing the state championship all along.

“This is a good group and a confident group,” LaPrad said. “We have a lot of seniors who know what it’s like to come up short. They know how that feels so they wanted to make sure it didn’t happen this year.”

The Fort left no room for last-minute heroics by the Bearcats this year. Even the Fort’s sole loss that wasn’t a forfeit came in a manner that prevented Rock Hill bonus points and allowed the Patriots to start the celebration that much earlier.

Wrestling began in the 130-pound weight class, where Rock Hill’s Seth Beck earned a 7-5 decision over Sonny Bugarin. The Fort senior led the match at the end of two periods, but Beck had a strong third period to tie the score at 5. With a quick move, the Bearcat won in overtime.

The Patriots then reeled off eight straight wins, including four by pin fall. The quickest came in the 152-pound match, where Seiji Borja needed only 1:02 of clock time to pin Dorshay Mooer. DaQuan Wilson (135), Ashley Braklein (140) and Geno Porter (215) all won with a pin in the second round of their match.

The big upset of the night came at 171, where the Fort’s Evan Thompson, who is ranked ninth in the class, defeated third-ranked Jonathan Schavey 3-2. The 145-pound match featured that class’s top two wrestlers. Top ranked Patriot Michael Young earned a 5-4 decision over second-ranked Dominique Jenkins.

The Fort’s Alex Bugarin (160) and Keyshon Flores (189) also won by decision. All the decision on the night came in tight matches decided by a margin of 3 or less.

FORT DORCHESTER 36, Rock Hill 33

103—Keyon King (RH) wbf.; 112—Jordan Grav (RH) wbf; 119—J.T. Charrette (RH) wbf.; 125—Weston Beck (RH) wbf.; 130—Seth Beck (RH) d. Sonny Bugarin 7-5; 135—Daquan Wilson (FD) d. Justin Collins 6-3; 140—Ashley Braecklein (FD) p. A.J. Boyd; 145—Mike Young (FD) d. Dominique Jenkins 5-4; 152—Seiji Borja (FD) p. Dorshay Mooer; 160—Alex Bugarin (FD) d. Colin Meachum 2-0; 171—Evan Thompson (FD) d. Jonathan Schavey 3-2.; 189—Keyshon Flores (FD) d. Duran McDonald 5-3; 215—Geno Porter (FD) p. Anthony Davis; HWT—Rueben Valazquez (RH) wbf. Records: FD 18-2; RH 27-5

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.

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