Indian Land edged out for 1A title
By Mike Laughlin
(Published February 10, 2009)
Indian Land's Trevor Jones uses a bridge to try to break out of the control of Chesterfield's Kevin Caskey in the Upper State championship Saturday.It was fitting that the top two 1A wrestling programs in the state for most of the season met to decide the Upper State champion.
Chesterfield and Indian Land, ranked first and second in the state respectively, clashed on the mats for the third time this season Saturday at Indian Land and Chesterfield got the better of the Warriors for the third time, winning the Upper State championship 36-30.
The six-point margin was the slimmest of the teams' three meetings this year.
"I feel like our kids are getting better," head coach Mike Kersey said. "It's all up to the guys."
The Warriors defeated Christ Church 64-9 in the opening round of the eight-team tournament and handled Ninety Six in the semifinals, 39-31 to set up the championship match against perennial 1A powerhouse Chesterfield.
Freshman Reco Hayden got the Warriors off to a great start in the opening match, defeating Chesterfield's Tim Wright in the 215-pound match and electrifying the home crowd.
The Rams responded, however, and took the next seven matches, including a streak of three straight pins, to claim a 33-3 lead.
That's when the Warriors' Thomas Harris stepped onto the mat against Elijah Burr, who finished fourth in the state last year in the 112-pound weight class. Competing this year in the 160-pound match, the two wrestlers went back and forth in the most entertaining and intense match of the afternoon. Neither wrestler had a lead of more than four points to reach a 17-16 score, in favor of Harris, late in the third period. That's when Harris quickly flipped Burr and pinned him with under a minute left in the match, sending the Indian Land bench into an eruption of cheers.
"I think I did pretty good. I did what I could," Harris said. "It's disappointing (not to win the Upper State championship) but it feels all right to get second. We had a lot of opportunities to win. It just didn't happen."
The emotion from Harris' win would spill over into the next match, when one of the Warriors most consistent wrestlers, senior Dillon Creed, went up against Chesterfield's Nick Gulledge.
With a 2-1 lead in the first period, Gulledge drove Creed headfirst into the mat and referee Sean Swoope called an illegal move, disqualifying Gulledge and making the score 30-15 after the penalty points were deducted from Chesterfield's score.
"I wanted it stopped, partly because of the rivalry," Swoope said. "[Creed] was hurt on something illegal."
Swoope said Gulledge was charged with a flagrant misconduct penalty on the mat, meaning he could potentially face future suspensions, but said he would review the match again with the South Carolina High School League. Indian Land Athletic Director Mike Meyer said Creed suffered a stinger, but is expected to be fully recovered in time for the individual state tournament.
The two teams traded the next two matches, making the score 36-18 with two matches to go. With the victory in hand, Chesterfield forfeited the last two matches to reach the final 36-30 margin.
"I felt like we wrestled decent today," Kersey said. "In the championship match, their kids were more disciplined than ours and we gave up too many pins."
The Warriors finished their season with a 21-12 record and will now eye the individual state qualifying tournament, Feb. 20-21 in Aynor.
"The most we have ever qualified is seven. I think we can beat that this year," Kersey said.
Subject: Indian Land 
Wed 11 Feb - 16:44
Fairly sure the author meant 140.
I think he wrestled 130 in the preseason. Most kids lose weight in wrestling season. So why would the ref review the issue with the HSL? Wrestling is a tough sport. Did the ref think it was flagrant?
