Two Lowco wrestlers claimed de facto girls state championships, and another won a junior varsity state title on the mat Saturday at the Carolina Invitational at Eastside High School.
Hilton Head High’s Zao Estrada repeated as champion and Siobhan Rogers joined her as Bluffton’s first girls champ at the Carolina Invitational, which is put on by the S.C. Wrestling Coaches Association and serves as the de facto state championship for middle school and junior varsity wrestlers, as well as high school girls wrestling, which is not yet sanctioned by the S.C. High School League.
Estrada went 2-0 after an opening bye, winning a 6-2 decision over Blythewood’s Chloe Franco to advance to the finals before earning a 7-5 win in overtime to edge Fort Mill’s Bella Hoffman for the 125-pound crown.
Rogers went 3-0 to win the 141-pound title, earning a major decision and a decision to reach the finals, where she easily handled South Florence’s Tyler Boswell in a 7-1 victory to become the Bobcats’ first girls champion. Teammate Jada Lawrence went 3-1 with two pins to place third and help Bluffton to a fifth-place team finish.
Hilton Head High’s Calvin Clayton was the only Lowco wrestler to win a JV state title, going 3-0 with three decisions at 170 pounds. Beaufort’s Andrew Legree (145) and Antonio McKnight (126) each went 5-1 and won four straight matches in the consolation bracket to finish third.
In the middle school meet, four Lowco wrestlers claimed top-four finishes, as McCracken Fiona Rogers (135 girls) and Tommy Perez (88 boys) and River Ridge’s Vivian Ureiola (115 girls) all placed third, and Bridges Prep’s Grace Guisse (123 girls) finished fourth.
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