RAZORBACK WRESTLING

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NEWS

April 2

Walhalla Wrestler Competes for Team Palmetto National Team

Andrew Rankin, a sophomore at Walhalla High School, competed for South Carolina’s Team Palmetto AAU National Wrestling Team in the Dixie Duals in Hoover Alabama on March 15-16. Team Palmetto fielded two high school all-star teams comprised of all-state high school wrestlers from across all classifications. Rankin, a 2008 1A-2A state champion in the 103 pound class, was selected as a starter at 108 pounds for the Palmetto A-Team. The Palmetto A-team competed against 12 other elite national teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Team Palmetto captured the second place team trophy with an impressive 5-1 duals record. Rankin finished with a 3-2 individual record in the tough two day competition. The highlight for Rankin came in a tight 6-point team victory over Team Georgia. In the dual Rankin notched an important 9-8 decision over Georgia’s 4A State Champion Pawlloes Belete of Tucker High School. The win helped advance Team Palmetto to the finals. Rankin felt honored to be selected to compete on the team.

February 26

Walhalla Wrestlers are

STATE CHAMPIONS

The Razorbacks brought home two state titles but on top of that had two 2nd place finishes and three other wrestlers participate in the meet.

103-pound sophomore Andrew Rankin swept through his bracket with surprising ease on his way to his first title. In the first round Rankin garnered the first pin of the day putting his opponent on the mat to stay in 43 seconds. In the rest of his run to the title Rankin outscored his opponents 15-3.

“It feels awesome,” Rankin said. “All that hard work finally paid off. Sophomore year, it’s going to hit after a little while but it’s all a little fuzzy right now.”

Just one weight class up senior Ethan LeCroy brought home his first state title after a hard fought path to the championship. In the semifinal round it took a last second takedown by LeCroy to advance him to the championship match.

“Both of those guys practice their hearts out,” Walhalla head coach Rick Somerville said. “Both of those guys give everything that a coach could ask, regardless of the situation that they’re in.”

The other high finishers for the Razorbacks were junior Austin Hedden, who lost in the final round and had a 37-match pin streak broken this meet. Senior Andrew Vaughn also took a second place finish home.

“Andrew was wrestling a very incredible wrestler,” Somerville said. “That was his opponent’s third state championship. He wrestled very well, in spite of his loss.”

The three other Walhalla competitors were David McCoy, Joey Harper and Justin Nathan.

FEBRUARY 2

WALHALLA — While the state wrestling playoffs got started earlier this week, the squad from Walhalla High School had a bye week after claiming the Skyline AA region championship.

After using the extra time to get healthy from a virus that has gone through the school, the second-seeded Razorbacks came out on the mat Saturday night and claimed a decisive 51-18 victory over region rival Palmetto in the second round of the playoffs.

The loss ends the season for the seventh-seeded Mustangs, who had claimed a victory over Emerald in the first round, while Walhalla will move onto the third round against Woodruff on Monday night.

Walhalla claimed victory in 10 of the 13 matches against Palmetto, showing no weak links up and down the roster, which is something Razors' head coach Rick Somerville said his team has strived for all season long.

"We've really been working on our team unity, and the seniors have kind of taken it on their shoulders," he said. "Right now it's win or go home, and we'll keep wrestling as long as they keep winning."

Andrew Rankin opened the evening with victory by pin only 24 seconds into his match at the 103 weight class, and coupled with a Palmetto forfeit, the Razors were ahead 12-0 only seconds into the match.

Palmetto's Marcus King earned a victory by pin of his own after the forfeit, but Walhalla then won four consecutive matches, with David McCoy, Chris Brown, Andrew Vaughn and Jarrad Holcombe all earning victories.

With Walhalla ahead 29-9, Andy Burrell and Joey Harper earned back to back victories for the Razors, pushing the lead to 39-9.

The high point of the evening came in the matches of Justin Nathan and Austin Hedden, who both came from behind in their matches to earn victories by pin at the 189 and 215 pound weight classes, respectively.

The pin for Hedden extended his school record of consecutive victories by pin to 34, and Nathan drew high praise from Somerville after he has been a part time contributor this season.

"We were real pleased with him because there is no quit in that kid," he said. "Whether he's winning or losing, he's giving it all he's got, and that's impressive."

With third seeded Woodruff coming to Walhalla on Monday, Somerville knows his team will need another stellar performance from the senior-laden Razors' team if it wants a shot at the state title next Saturday at Ridge View High School in Columbia.

"We have our work cut out for us," he said. "I just hope that we can wrestle as well on Monday night as we did tonight, because it'll take that against them."

The time of Monday's match has yet to be announced.

Walhalla 51, Palmetto 18

103 — Rankin (W) pinned Darnell, 0:24

112 — Lecroy (W) won by forfeit

119 — King (P) pinned Sanders, 2:55

125 — McCoy (W) pinned Halliday, 0:46

130 — Brown (W) tech. fall Ellison, 19-4

135 — Vaughn (W) minor dec. Frasier, 6-0

140 — Holcombe (W) minor dec. Davis, 8-1

145 — Cothran (P) minor dec. Reid, 5-2

152 — Burrell (W) pinned Phillips, 2:50

160 — Harper (W) major dec. Bumgarner, 11-3

171 — McConnell (P) minor dec. Lawrence, 8-2

189 — Nathan (W) pinned Callaham, 4:10

215 — Hedden (W) pinned Lambert, 2:49

Hwt. — Marler (P) pinned Smith, 3:03

Walhalla wrestlers capture region crown

Photo

Walhalla High School's Adam Lawrence lifts West-Oak's Andrew Addis off the mat during the Razors' 42-31 win Thursday in Walhalla.

WALHALLA — When the dust had settled Thursday night, Walhalla High School wrestling coach Rick Somerville was almost speechless.

Already coupled with a cold, Somerville’s voice was ravaged by his high-energy demeanor, which was running rampant as his team captured the Skyline AA region title with a come-from-behind win over rival West-Oak by a final score of 42-31.

For the No. 4 Razorbacks, it marked the first time in school history that they had captured the region title in consecutive years, and it was extra sweet to get it against the Warriors.

“It was the best match you could ask for,” Somerville said. “It’s what you always expect with Walhalla and West-Oak. It’s always a tough rivalry with good matches.”

The Razors’ senior night got off to good start as David McCoy won by pin at the 119-division, but West-Oak fired back with consecutive pins from two-time state champion Eric Rholetter and Joseph Winkler.

After Andrew Vaughn and Jarrad Holcombe picked up victories for Walhalla, West-Oak went on to win four of its next five matches, including pins from Phillip Kern and Kevin Certain to give the Warriors a 31-18 advantage with only four matches left on the evening.

It was then the momentum shifted for Walhalla, as the state’s top AA 215-pound wrestler, Austin Hedden, pinned his opponent in the first round, marking his 32nd consecutive victory by pin.

“I was counting the points, and I figured if we could get to 215, we’d be in pretty good shape with 103 and 112 coming up,” Somerville said. “We were pretty much counting on him to step it up.”

Easton Smith got a pin for the Razors in the next match to bring the score to 31-30 in favor of the Warriors, and a pin by 103-pounder Andrew Rankin, who also ranks first in the state at his weight class, gave the Razors a 36-31 advantage.

Ethan Lecroy then made it four pins in a row for Walhalla, as he sealed the night with a second round pin to lift the Razors to the region championship.

For West-Oak head coach Jeff Jordan, the performance his team put on was one of the best he had seen all season. His Warriors have struggled with injuries all year long, but the wounds have finally healed, which helped them win five matches this week coming into the matchup with Walhalla.

“I asked the kids coming in for their best effort,” Jordan said. “We knew they were a better wrestling than we are right now. I asked them to do the best they can, and every last one of them wrestled their tails off. I’m excited, and it’s a big confidence booster going into the playoffs.”

Along with the confidence boost the match provided, West-Oak will have the added benefit of playing at home during the playoffs as it will host the Skyline AA conference tournament this Saturday.

With the team championship already decided, the individual state titles will be decided with matches getting underway at 9 a.m., and will last through about 2:30 p.m.

Matches will be running simultaneously across three mats, and eight-man brackets, based on regular season performance, will be used to determine the champions at each weight class.

Walhalla 42, West-Oak 31

103 — Rankin (W) pinned Mathis, 0:55, third round

112 — Lecroy (W) pinned J. Tannery, 0:38, second round

119 — McCoy (W) pinned M. Tannery , 0:56, first round

125 — Rholetter (W-O) pinned Brown, 0:01, third round

130 — Winkler (W-O) pinned Nichols, 0:04, second round

135 — Vaughn (W) tech. fall Bower, 15-0

140 — Holcombe (W) maj. dec. Mefleh, 11-3

145 — Kern (W-O) pinned Burrell, 0:33, third round

152 — Hunnicutt (W-O) maj. dec. Reid, 15-2

160 — Harper (W) min. dec. Bolling, 6-2

171 — Addis (W-O) min. dec. Lawrence, 9-6

189 — Certain (W-O) pinned C. Chapman, 0:14, second round

215 — Hedden (W) pinned Blackwell, 1:27, first round

285 — Smith (W) pinned Cox, 1:49, third round

Walhalla High School

Wrestling 2007-2008

Head Coach: Rick Somerville

Assistant Coaches: Ralph Holcombe, Brett Stephenson

Opponent	Date	Location	Time
Enka Duals	January 5	Enka High	9:15 AM
BHP Middle School Tournament	January 5	BHP High	TBA
Crescent (V, JV)	January 10	Crescent High	7:00
Wolverine Invitational	January 11-12	Woodruff High	TBA
Palmetto (V, JV, MS)	January 14	Walhalla High	7:00
Liberty (V, JV, MS)	January 17	Walhalla High	7:00
Abbeville and Emerald	January 21	Abbeville High	6:00
West Oak (V, JV, MS)	January 24	Walhalla High	7:00
Conference Tourney	January 26	West Oak	TBA
State Duals	Week of February 4	Finals at Ridgeview High February 9	TBA
Upper State Tourney	February 15-16	Crescent	TBA
State Tourney	February 22-23	Gilbert High	TBA
Team Banquet	February 26	TBA	7:00
North South All Star Classic	Feb 29 and March 1	North Myrtle Beach High School	TBA

2007-08 SCHEDULE

2007-2008 ROSTER

Aguilar, John

10

Alexander, Jeremy

12

Atkinson, Leighton

10

Darby Barnes

9

Belcher, Chris

10

Brooks, Bruce

10

Brown, Chris

12

Burrell, Andy

12

Chapman, Clayton

12

Chapman, Thomas

11

Cobb, Chris

11

Connoly, Kevin

9

Fisher, Dakota

9

Haines, Nathan

9

Glenn, Chris

11

Hancox, Jonathan

9

Harper, Joey

11

Hearl, Jonathan

10

Hedden, Austin

11

Holcombe, Jarrad

12

Jones, Matt

11

Kelly, Jordan

9

Kramer, Chris

9

Lawrence, Adam

12

Lecroy, Ethan

12

McCoy, David

10

Miller, Dennis

9

Nathan, Justin

10

Nichols, Dalton

9

O’Mahoney, Tommy

10

Oland, Anthony

10

Opperman, Sage

10

Oraham, Cole

10

Passon, Eric

Rankin, Andrew

10

Reid, Michael

12

Rochester, Lane

10

Sanders, Cody

9

Sanford, Joey

9

Smith, Easton

10

Thomas, Jessie

12

Turner, Matt

10

Vaughn, Andrew

12

Warner, Luke

9

Welborn, Jesse

10

Willis, Justin

9

Wood, Jonathan

10

WRESTLING LINKS

SCMat.COM
SCVARSITY.COM
THEMAT.COM

Photos

Walhalla High School 152-pounder Joey Harper puts a hold on Pendleton's Miguel Hill during the Razorbacks' 78-6 win over the Bulldogs Thursday in Walhalla.