A total of 67 wrestlers from the LowcoSports coverage area qualified for next week’s SCHSL state championships at Florence Center.
The Lowco will be well-represented in the Class 4A brackets with 32 wrestlers qualifying from May River (12), Beaufort (7), Bluffton (6), Hilton Head (4), and Colleton County (3). The dual state champion Sharks had four Lower State champions — Stephano Calderon (106), Marcus Foulk (120), Blake Butler (150), and Joshua Echeverria (175) — while Beaufort’s Antonio McKnight (144) and Colton Freeman (190) and Bluffton’s Gabe Fulton (165) also won gold.
Battery Creek led all Lowco squads with 13 qualifiers at the Class 3A Lower State meet at Aynor High School, as the Dolphins had top-eight finishers in every weight class except 175, though only 165-pound runner-up Chris Martinez reached the finals.
Bridges Prep will send eight wrestlers to the Class 2A/1A finals, including a trio of champions in Kevin Summers (165), Ali Jenkins (175), and Jeremiah Chavez (285), while Whale Branch had six qualifiers and 126-pounder Bryan Sanchez became the first state qualifier for the first-year program at Hardeeville.
At the girls state qualifier at South Florence, Hilton Head’s Jourdyn Mootry (132), Jada Lawrence (147), and Makayla Hinchey (157) won Lower State titles, as did Beaufort’s Olesya Mullins (107). May River’s Angely Mendez (117) and Finley Thielmier (127), and Hilton Head’s Rosa Olivetti (107) also qualified for next week’s state meet.
Lowco State Qualifiers
Class 4A
May River (12), Beaufort (7), Bluffton (6), Hilton Head (4), Colleton Co. (3)
106: Stephano Calderon, MR (1st); Oscar Roman, BLF (3rd); Preston Hogan, CC (5th)
113: Eli Garcia, BLF (2nd); Bryce Stephenson, HH (3rd); Ryan Seman, MR (4th); Santino Communale, BFT (5th)
120: Marcus Foulk, MR (1st); Jose Catalan, HH (5th); Andre Jenkins, BLF (8th)
126: Liam Engblom, MR (4th); Cole Sowers, HH (6th)
132: Jordan La Presta, CC (5th); Darion White, MR (6th); Brady Wall, BLF (7th)
138: Thomas Brough, MR (2nd)
144: Antonio McKnight, BFT (1st)
150: Blake Butler, MR (1st); Jessob Paris, BFT (8th)
157: Leandro Larranaga, MR (4th); Shuler Baggett, BFT (6th)
165: Gabe Fulton, BLF (1st); Henry Santiz, MR (7th)
175: Joshua Echeverria, MR (1st); Landon Heath, BLF (6th); Chase Richardson, BFT (7th)
190: Colton Freeman, BFT (1st); Stephan La Presta, CC (3rd)
215: Malachi Bynum, HH (4th); Sean Zadroga-McNulty, MR (6th)
285: Beau Gwynn, MR (4th); Jaden Priester, BFT (7th)
Class 3A
Battery Creek (13)
106: Anthony Perez, BCHS (5th)
113: Cayleb Boggs, BCHS (4th)
120: Nijay Wright, BCHS (6th)
126: Theo Johnson, BCHS (3rd)
132: Tyler Wright, BCHS (7th)
138: Elijah Shuler, BCHS (4th)
144: Ricky Najar, BCHS (3rd)
150: Nate Najar, BCHS (3rd)
157: Isiah Lee, BCHS (5th)
165: Chris Martinez, BCHS (2nd)
190: Khalil Myers, BCHS (7th)
215: Pharrell Myers, BCHS (6th)
285: Jordan Washington, BCHS (6th)
Class 2A/1A
Bridges Prep (8), Whale Branch (6), Hardeeville (1)
106: Kainen Tuttle, BP (7th)
126: Javaree Bartley, WB (3rd); Bryan Sanchez, HVL (8th)
138: Wesley White, WB (4th)
144: Trevor Jones, BP (7th)
150: Amari Bradley, BP (7th); Ra’Shawn Johnson-Reviere, WB (8th)
157: Khai Belanger, BP (4th)
165: Kevin Summers, BP (1st)
175: Ali Jenkins, BP (1st)
190: Malachi Heyward, WB (7th)
215: Malik Moultrie, WB (3rd); Byron Douglas-Jackson, BP (7th)
285: Jeremiah Chavez, BP (1st); I’veon Watson, WB (4th)
Girls All Classes
Hilton Head (4), May River (2), Beaufort (1)
107: Olesya Mullins, BFT (1st); Rosa Olivetti, HH (4th)
117: Angely Mendez, MR (2nd)
127: Finley Thielmier, MR (4th)
132: Jouryn Mootry, HH (1st)
147: Jada Lawrence, HH (1st)
157: Makayla Hinckey, HH (1st)