SCMAT Exclusive Wrestling Article 2-7-24
Bonus 3 - The Undefeated
Summerville 2003 - Coach Kenny Walker
SCMAT continues our series reviewing the Greatest State Duals Finals in South Carolina wrestling history.
This is Bonus 3 of our series and the final article of this series ... today we give attention to The Undefeated.
SCMAT will cover two topics regarding The Undefeated ... 1st - the longest consecutive dual meet win streak from our Recordbook ... 2nd - Teams that were Undefeated all season (we will only review the State Duals Era).
Here is our current entry at SCMAT for SC Wrestling Records - Team: Longest Consecutive Dual Meet Win Streak (50+):
89 - Rock Hill - 1978-1984 - Coach Jim Barnes
61 - Summerville - 2001-2003 - Coach Kenny Walker - State Duals Era
58 - Airport - 1975-1980 - Coach Jim Barnes
State Duals Era - so what does that mean? Prior to State Duals deciding the team State Champions, the traditional state tournament, when individuals were crowned, also recognized the highest team score as the team state champion. Here is when each classification started State Duals:
1993 - 4A (with 5A later being created in 2017)
1994 - 3A
2001 - 2A-1A
Summerville had an incredible run of succesful wrestling seasons twenty years ago under Coach Kenny Walker. Summerville had 5 State Duals Titles over 6 years (2001-2002, 2004-2006) with only one in-state loss to Dutch Fork in those 6 years.
Which team and match in 2003 dropped Summerville, putting an end to the Stae Duals Era record of 61 consecutive dual wins?
It was Dutch Fork, coached by B.D. LaPrad, in the 2003 4A State Duals Semi-Final match. Dutch Fork had lost to Summerville in the 4A State Duals Finals the prior two seasons (2002 and 2001) before the gratifying win over their archrival in the 2003 Semi-Final of State Duals.
Coach B.D. LaPrad and his 1980 Irmo team would also halt (34-24) the Airport streak of 58 consecutive wins, which is third in our Recordbook above.
The record holding 89 consecutive dual wins by Rock Hill from 1978-1984 was snapped with an out of state loss (35-26) to Cox High School, defending VA state champions from the prior year. Rock Hill would also lose another dual match that season to Summerville, in January 1985.
A few weeks ago we had the 2018 5A State Duals Final in our article series, with Fort Dorchester undefeated at 23-0 going into the Finals, only to be upset by Rock Hill. Let's now look at Teams that were Undefeated all season.
How many times during the State Duals Era has a team been Undefeated at the end of the season? SCMAT will try and answer that question with the list of 13 teams below, though we need to acknowledge we are missing some team records between 1993-2007 and some teams may be listed as undefeated, but they could have had an "out of state" loss. In the early years of State Duals and seedings, sometimes the seeding was based off the "in state record" and that may be all SCMAT has at the moment.
2023 - Eastside (4A) - 19-0
2018 - West-Oak (3A) - 27-0
2011 - West-Oak (3A) - 36-0
2006 - Crescent (2A-1A) - 28-0
2005 - Summerville (4A) - 24-0
2004 - Eastside (3A) - 23-0
2002 - Summerville (4A) - 20-0
2001 - Summerville (4A) - 23-0
2000 - Rock Hill (4A) - 20-0
1999 - Rock Hill (4A) - 21-0
1997 - Rock Hill (4A) - 18-0
1996 - Rock Hill (4A) - 21-0
1993 - Summerville (4A) - 15-0
Finally, for the wrestling trivia enthusiasts, how many times have two wrestling teams met in the State Duals Finals with both teams Undefeated? SCMAT has this rarity occurring three times, see below (with final season records noted):
2002 4A State Duals Final with Summerville (20-0) defeating Dutch Fork (20-1).
2001 4A State Duals Final with Summerville (23-0) defeating Dutch Fork (20-1).
2000 4A State Duals Final with Rock Hill (20-0) defeating Irmo (17-1).
To see team records we have compiled since 2008, go to the link under our High School Recordbook called "Team State Tournament History" and as you navigate each classification you will see links to prior years with Team photos of State Champions and season records for the top teams.
NOTE - season records have been submitted to SCMAT consistently since 2008 and our archives are pretty solid prior to 2008, though we may be missing some details on team records. During the State Duals era, teams have traveled to competitive out of state tournaments and often may have losses from the tougher schedules. Teams also have 2x, 3x, or 4x as many dual matches now, versus years ago. Send us an email at scmat@hotmail.com if you have any feedback from seasons, teams and records.
Several newspaper articles below capture the 2003 4A State Duals Semi-Final match:
Dutch Fork 35, Summerville 32 - 2003 4A State Duals Semi-Final
Wave runs streak to 61If you notice a Recordbook update to submit, related to the records we listed above, please send an email to scmat@hotmail.com
thanks,
Mark Buford
Send any updates or feedback to scmat@hotmail.com
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