South Carolina 4A Wrestling State Dual Championship 2006-2007
The 2nd Round of the 4A State Dual Championships for Monday, February 5 looks like this:
Upper State Bracket
#8 Rock Hill (2nd in 3-AAAA) at home vs. #20 Boiling Springs (4th in 2-AAAA)
Rock Hill is a name that signifies wrestling excellence in South Carolina. This is the
program with the most Team State Championships (15) and Individual State Champions (84)
in the 38 year history of the sport in S.C. This Rock Hill team however is not rebuilt
yet to the elite status the program once had. And Rock Hill may never get back to the
dynasty level due to parity across the state and exceptional coaching talent that has
evened the wrestling field. Speaking of rebuilding, Coach Bernard Durham deserves credit
for the exceptional job he has done this year. The climb back to the top has started!
Boiling Springs surprised me in the last round by knocking off Greenwood easily. The #4
team in their region knocking off Region Champions Greenwood ... impressive! Is this the
Cinderella team of the tourney? This is the third year the program has been back with
a wrestling team and last year's team was only 8-7. Coach Leo Sawyer, who wrestled at
Spartanburg Methodist College, has built a competitive squad that hopes this next round
can be a surprise upset. But, we give the nod to the home team and legacy factor ...
SCMAT Prediction - Rock Hill wins
#3 Hillcrest (1st in 2-AAAA) at home vs. #10 Lexington (2nd in 4-AAAA)
Lexington has lost another talented wrestler, 103 lbs. freshman Will Clark, out with
a shoulder injury. The season for Lexington has been like this all along, yet this
team still has a determination to pull our sports version of the "Statue of Liberty"
out and win a critical match when needed. With some nifty bumping at weights the
first round, Lexington got by Northwestern in a tight battle to set this round 2
match up of talented young coaches. Last year, Coach Strobel made it the State Finals
for the first time as a coach and first time for the Lexington team. Coach Bell at
Hillcrest hopes to duplicate that march to the top rung of Upper State this year and
this round should be moderately easy for Hillcrest given their depth and senior leadership.
Not only does Hillcrest boast three #1 ranked wrestlers in the state, their lineup also
includes Brittany Delgado, ranked #1 at 165+ for High School Girls in the Nation.
In a match last week, Brittany stepped in at 189 lbs. and pinned her Laurens opponent.
With this talented Hillcrest team being at home for this match we select ...
SCMAT Prediction - Hillcrest wins
#5 Fort Mill (1st in 3-AAAA) at home vs. #15 Dorman (3rd in 2-AAAA)
Fort Mill has been quietly rebuilding this season and will certainly keep the attention
off their team until Friday night if possible. This team seems to operate with a business
purpose to get each match done with a "W" and move on to prove some more. Coach Chris
Brock was a two-time runner-up for Rock Hill in 1981 and 1982, and coached at his alma-mater
as an assistant for many years until moving over to Fort Mill. His teams at Fort Mill have
been to the Upper State finals many times, but never to the Finals. Though this year could
be the same tale once again in 5 days, the stepping stones are in place for next season to
be a potential juggernaut season. Of the eight ranked wrestlers Fort Mill has at the moment
only one is a senior! Dorman had a close match with Westside in round 1, 37-33, on Westside's
home mat. Count on Dorman to be in the match the entire way with new head Coach Chad Singleton
having the playoff experience from his coaching days at Woodruff.
SCMAT Prediction - Fort Mill wins
#9 White Knoll (1st in 4-AAAA) at home vs. #7 Byrnes (2nd in 2-AAAA)
Two match ups in round 2, the other being in Lower State, will have the pre-game fans buzzing,
and this match is certainly the match to buzz about in the Upper State bracket for Monday.
Both teams are very balanced and very determined to make it another round. White Knoll crushed
South Pointe 50-24 in round 1 while Byrnes dispatched of T.L. Hanna to setup this classic in Columbia.
I'm not sure if White Knoll is peaking, but they certainly are making a statement this season.
Byrnes has not skipped a beat the last two seasons with Coach Eric Hansen taking over the program.
When former head coach Russ Howard made the move to Greenville, it was an easy selection to have
long time assistant Coach Hansen take over, and he has been brilliant coaching. This match will
really boil down to several factors - the coin toss that could influence bumping, home crowd advantage,
and depth across 14 weights. If we have to go with two out of three being the winner ...
SCMAT Prediction - White Knoll wins
Lower State Bracket
#6 Dutch Fork (1st in 5-AAAA) at home vs. #4 Battery Creek (3rd in 8-AAAA)
This is the other Buzz match I was referring to ... can it get any better than this?!! ... we just
recapped the #7 and #9 teams in the state and we find ourselves with #4 and #6 also meeting up
in Columbia ... if you live in Columbia, which match should you go to?? 160 and 215 lbs. are the
key weights to watch, otherwise it is even 6 weights to 6 weights, with pins being ultra-critical!
Coach Chad Cox with Battery Creek has re-established the Top 5 success that had once been common-
place when Coach Nathan Day obtained state titles in '91, '94, '95, and '96 while B.C. was in 3A.
Coach Day can still be spotted on the coaching sidelines committed as ever to seeing B.C win.
If we go with the theory that the coin toss, home fans and 14 weight class depth can pull out
a win for the team that lands 2 out of 3, we will go with the coin toss as the tie breaker and
predict it will flip for the Silver Foxes ...
SCMAT Prediction - Dutch Fork wins
#14 Sumter (1st in 6-AAAA) at home vs. #2 Summerville (2nd in 8-AAAA)
#2 in the region, Summerville, is traveling on the road for the first time in the second round since
1996 ... yes, the Ville last lost the Region in 1996 to Goose Creek (and they lost in 1993 to
Goose Creek as well). New head Coach Matthew Love of Sumter coached Conway prior to this position.
He has proven to be talented coach and has Sumter pushing as a Top 10 contender. Summerville will
have a road trip to make to get to the next round, but we believe this is all mathematics ...
SCMAT Prediction - Summerville wins
#11 Goose Creek (1st in 7-AAAA) at home vs. #26 Ridge View (2nd in 5-AAAA)
Coach Leonard Covington of Goose Creek has to be pleased being at home this round and next round if they
win Monday. It certainly is a benefit being a region champion on the up side of the bracket. Ridge View
wrestled well in the first round, knocking Hartsville out 60-24. Look for Goose Creek to settle this
quickly and move to a Wednesday match up with The Fort ...
SCMAT Prediction - Goose Creek wins
#1 Fort Dorchester (1st in 8-AAAA) at home vs. #32 Spring Valley (3rd in 5-AAAA)
Coach Rob Wells of Spring Valley saw his team win in round 1, with a 42-33 victory over Conway. For a team
that has struggled at times this season, that had to be a gratifying win. Fort Dorchester is next and this
will be nowhere close to the caliber of wrestlers Spring Valley saw in round 1. Though Fort Dorchester
seems to be comfortable handling the expectations of the state's top ranking, they will have teams this week
coming after them with an attitude to send them home. The depth of lineup to challenge them won't occur until
Friday and Saturday. In an easy round 2 win, we select ...
SCMAT Prediction - Fort Dorchester wins
Brackets for some past SC State Wrestling Dual Tournaments can be located here --- 2006 4A State Duals < = > 2006 3A State Duals < = > 2006 2A-1A State Duals < = > 2006 SCISA State Duals 2005 4A State Duals < = > 2005 3A State Duals < = > 2005 2A-1A State Duals Please note in the 3A Dual bracket below - Lake City made it to the Finals in 2004, not Georgetown. 2004 4A State Duals < = > 2004 3A State Duals < = > 2004 2A-1A State Duals 2003 4A State Duals < = > 2003 3A State Duals < = > 2003 2A-1A State Duals 2002 4A State Duals < = > 2002 3A State Duals < = > 2002 2A-1A State Duals 2001 4A State Duals < = > 2001 3A State Duals < = > 2001 2A-1A State Duals Finally, a History of the SC 4A State Wrestling Tournament State Title determined by Duals Championship - 2007 - TBD 2-10-06 2006 - Summerville 31, Lexington 30 (Coach Kenny Walker, Coach Derek Strobel) 2005 - Summerville 43, Rock Hill 16 (Coach Kenny Walker, Coach Tim Wash) 2004 - Summerville 41, Rock Hill 21 (Coach Kenny Walker, Coach Tim Wash) 2003 - Dutch Fork 37, Spring Valley 34 (Coach BD LaPrad, Coach Ken Wilson) 2002 - Summerville 32, Dutch Fork 31 (Coach Kenny Walker, Coach BD LaPrad) 2001 - Summerville 33, Dutch Fork 18 (Coach Kenny Walker, Coach BD LaPrad) 2000 - Rock Hill 40, Irmo 19 (Coach Jim Barnes, Coach Dave Maas) 1999 - Rock Hill 35, Dutch Fork 25 (Coach Jim Barnes, Coach BD LaPrad) 1998 - Summerville 38, Rock Hill 29 (Coach Kenny Walker, Coach Jim Barnes) 1997 - Rock Hill 54, Dutch Fork 13 (Coach Jim Barnes, Coach BD LaPrad) 1996 - Rock Hill 38, Irmo 21 (Coach Jim Barnes, Coach Dave Maas) 1995 - Rock Hill 31, Summerville 21 (Coach Jim Barnes, Coach Mike Frye) 1994 - Rock Hill 36, Summerville 24 (Coach Jim Barnes, Coach Mike Frye) 1993 - Summerville 31, Rock Hill 22 (Coach Steve LaPrad, Coach Jim Barnes) State Title determined by Team Points Championship - 1992 Summerville Steve LaPrad 123½ - 97 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 1991 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 124 - 114 Summerville Steve LaPrad 1990 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 176½- 80½ Summerville Steve LaPrad 1989 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 169 - 167 Summerville Steve LaPrad 1988 Summerville Steve LaPrad 204 - 169½ Rock Hill Jim Barnes 1987 Summerville Steve LaPrad 181½ - 133½ Rock Hill Jim Barnes 1986 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 157½ - 104 Summerville Steve LaPrad 1985 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 178 - 174½ Summerville Steve LaPrad 1984 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 161½ - 96 Irmo B. D. LaPrad 1983 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 151 - 126½ James Island Mark Agner 1982 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 164 - 130½ Summerville Steve LaPrad 1981 Summerville Steve LaPrad 170 - 132 Rock Hill Jim Barnes 1980 Rock Hill Tom Ellenberger 148 - 119½ Irmo B. D. LaPrad 1979 Irmo B. D. LaPrad 96 - 95 Rock Hill Tom Ellenberger 1978 Airport Jim Barnes 110½ - 69 Rock Hill Tom Ellenberger (All Classifications 4A, 3A, 2A, 1A together) 1977 Airport Jim Barnes 122 - 80 Bonds-Wilson James E. Cox 1976 Airport Jim Barnes 75 ½ - 68 Fort Johnson Chester Willis 1975 Lower Richland Jim Fitzpatrick 73 - 57 Airport Jim Barnes 1974 Lower Richland Rudolph Cooper 55 - 41 ½ Summerville Jim Flowers 1973 Lower Richland Rudolph Cooper 65 ½ - 35 Union Jim Barnes 1972 Lower Richland William Tourek 48 - 41 ½ Bishop England Jack Cantey 1971 Fort Johnson M. Leroy Jackson 56 - 53 Brookland Cayce John Checkovich 1970 St. Andrews Rusty Hamilton 113 - 61 James Island Edward Hertwig 1969 St. Andrews Rusty Hamilton 130 - 93 James Island Edward Hertwig Best wishes to all teams that are competing in this year’s 4A State Wrestling Duals Tournament! Article by Mark Buford Wrestling USA Magazine’s SC State Editor