photo by Roger Lee

Summerville senior Aaron Hansen works to put his opponent to the mat during the semi-finals of last weekend’s 4-A Lower State qualifying tournament. Hansen will attempt to earn his fourth straight individual wrestling title during the state tournament Feb. 25-26.

photo by Roger Lee

Brent Barfield (top) is one of eight Fort Dorchester wrestlers to qualify for this year’s state tournament.

Grapplers claim Lower State titles

Several local wrestlers will compete for an individual state championship this weekend.

During the Class AAAA Lower State qualifying tournament held at Fort Dorchester High School last weekend 15 Dorchester Two grapplers finished in the top four for their weight class to qualify for the state championships. Six of those athletes claimed a Lower State title by placing first in their class.

Summerville High qualified five wrestlers, including two who claimed Lower State championships.

Senior Aaron Hansen pinned White Knoll grappler Austin Lee in the Lower State finals for the 125-pound class to claim a No. 1 seed for the state championships to be held Feb. 25-26 in Anderson. Having already earned state title at 112, 119 and 125, he is after his fourth straight title, which is a rare accomplishment in high school wrestling.

Junior Jordan Wigger pinned Stratford’s Joseph Vasquez in the 119-pound finals to place first. Having already earned state titles at 103 and 112, he is after his third straight state championship.

Other Green Wave wrestlers advancing to the state tournament are Gavin Perkins, Michael Porter and Marcus Ambrose. Perkins placed second at 130; Porter placed third at 171; and Ambrose placed second at 189.

Fort Dorchester qualified eight wrestlers for the state championships, including four Lower State champions.

Javon Jordan won the 103-pound class with a 4-0 decision over Lexington’s Jackson Myers; Nick Maniche won at 135 with a 6-4 decision over White Knoll’s Kevin Epting; Daquon Wilson won at 152 with a 6-3 decision over White Knoll’s Zack Dicus; and Myles Moultrie won at 285 with a 3-2 decision over White Knoll’s Asa Gossett.

Other Patriot wrestlers advancing to the state tournament are Dallas Brown, Brent Barfield, Cody Williams and Alex Bugarin. Brown placed third at 112; Barfield placed fourth at 119; Williams placed second at 140; and Bugarin placed fourth at 160.

Maniche, Wilson and Bugarin, who are all juniors, are each making their second trip to the state finals.

Ashley Ridge had two wrestlers qualify for the state tournament. Emilio Uc-Tun placed fourth at 130 and Cameron Turner placed third at 140. Both wrestlers are making their first trip to the 4-A finals, but Uc-Tun won the 112-pound class at the Class AA state championships last year.

The four qualifiers in each weight class from the Lower State tournament will compete against each other and the four qualifiers from the Upper State tournament during the state tournament.

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

Journalscene.com ® is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Journalscene.com ® does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Journalscene.com ®. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!

• Santee Cooper announces 2012 refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper announces organizational changes in operation and finance departments
• Santee Cooper employees pitch in on Day of Caring
• Aerial herbicide treatment on lakes under way
• Santee Cooper Board Authorizes Rate Study
• Santee Cooper announces refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper, Florida Municipal Power Agency enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units
• Santee Cooper, Duke Energy Carolinas enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units 2 and 3