Another outstanding season for the Summerville Wrestling team ended with a loss in the state finals.
Fort Mill handed Summerville a 32-27 loss during the Class 5A Wrestling State Championship Saturday, Feb. 10, at Dreher High School. The Yellow Jackets were ranked No. 3 in the class entering the playoffs, while the Green Wave was ranked No. 1, as it has been for much of the season.
“They were here for a reason,” said Summerville coach Darryl Tucker. “They are the defending state champs, and they wanted it a little bit more than we did tonight.”
The Yellow Jackets wear the underdog tag well. Both this season and last, Fort Mill battled through their playoff bracket, upsetting higher-ranked Chapin en route to taking down higher-ranked Summerville in the finals.
“We took a little bit of a gamble and moved some guys around at 126, and we bumped some other guys up, and it paid off,” said Fort Mill coach Adam Marullo. “I thought we could score some points down low, but I knew they were going to score big points up top. Our guys battled and kept it close. Everyone did their job tonight, and that is why we are walking away with the state championship.”
Summerville built considerable momentum earlier in the week by defeating Carolina Forest 54-15 and Goose Creek 37-34 to capture the Lower State Championship. However, Fort Mill shifted the momentum early in the state title match.
Wrestling began in the 165-pound class, where Fort Mill’s Jack Kadish won a major decision. At 175, Theodore Ernst claimed a 6-4 decision with a move in the closing seconds of the final period, giving the Yellow Jackets a 7-0 lead.
Summerville’s Isaiah Frasier was set to claim a major decision at 190. Still, Fort Mill’s Sebastian Villatoro was awarded an escape point at the buzzer for the third period to prevent Summerville bonus points. The Green Wave won tight decisions in the next two classes to take a 9-7 lead into the lightweight classes.
Fort Mill claimed a pin in the next two classes and a major decision at 120, giving it a 22-9 lead.
Summerville’s Xavier Anderson pinned his opponent at 126 to keep the Green Wave in the match. However, Fort Mill claimed a decision in the next three classes to clinch the victory. The exclamation point was the 7-0 decision by Aiden Eubanks at 144 that gave the Yellow Jackets a 32-15 lead.
Fort Mill forfeited the next two classes for the 32-27 final.
“We just didn’t do enough,” Tucker said. I’m not sure what was going on during the first match, and then at 175, we were up 4-1 but ended up losing the match. Up top, we thought we would get bonus points, but they kept us to decisions, and then we got pinned at 106 and 113. You just have to do better in big matches.”
It is a bitter end to a season that saw Summerville fight adversity well. The Green Wave wrestling family suffered the loss of loved ones and faced a battle with cancer. The team worked through some critical injuries but then lost a starter to a knee injury this past week who was the runner-up for his class this past season.
The Green Wave finishes the season with a 27-3 record and as a region champion and Lower State Champion for the third time in the past four seasons. Summerville’s other duals losses came to Eastside, which captured the 4A State Championship, and to a team from Virginia.
Fort Mill finishes with a 27-2 record. The Yellow Jackets’ only season losses came to Lugoff-Elgin, the 4A state runner-up, and River Bluff.
Lower State Match
During the Lower State finals, Summerville had five pins. Brayden Burn’s pin at 165 pounds pushed the Green Wave to a 25-17 lead and set a tone. Summerville’s other pins came from Landon Deaton (113), Hassan Williams (150), Isaiah Frasier (190) and Jacob Cotterill (215).
Xavier Anderson recorded a 17-7 win at 126 against the Gators, and Kaleb Pinckney scored a key 9-8 win at 138.
Cotterill’s pin pushed the Green Wave to a 37-22 lead, and Summerville forfeited the last two matches.
Fort Mill 32, Summerville 27
165: Jack Kadish (FM) maj.dec. Brayden Burns (S), 10-1
175: Theodore Ernst (FM) dec. Ethan Woods (S), 6-4
190: Isaiah Frasier (S) dec. Sebastian Villatoro (FM), 8-1
215: Jacob Cotterill (S) dec. Joseph Richardson (FM), 4-2
285: Angel Lopez (S) dec. Grayson Sykes (FM), 5-4 SV
106: Luke Van Beynum (FM) pin Devin Garza (S)
113: Jacob Nally (FM) pin Landon Deaton (S)
120: Lincoln Greene (FM) maj. dec. Jacob Bullard (S), 10-1
126: Xavier Anderson (S) pin Grayson Thom (FM)
132: Tucker Gibson (FM) dec. Kayleb Pinckney (S), 3-2
138: Logan Shope (FM) dec. Reese Hollingsworth (S), 5-3
144: Aidan Eubanks (FM) dec. Preston Smith (S), 7-0
150: Hassan Williams (S) forfeit
157: Jonas Haynes (S) forfeit
