FORT MILL – Needing to win just one of two matches to qualify for the 3A playoffs, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads wrestling team dropped both Region 4-3A matches to get eliminated from playoff contention.
Catawba Ridge lost both ends of a tri-match to Camden, falling 60-24, and to Fairfield Central, losing 47-26. The Copperheads finished 1-4 in the region, which is being led by Indian Land and Chester, who are both 3-0. Catawba Ridge is now 7-17 overall with still the Independence Duals left to participate in.
Head coach Scooter Weathers said at times he feels his team is buying in, but being in a pressure situation for the first time, the inexperience showed through when a must win situation was present.
“It is a lesson learned,” Weathers said. “Sometimes getting a bad taste in your mouth helps matters.”
One of the goals for Catawba Ridge wrestling in their first season was to make the dual playoffs, Weathers said. The state High School League bracket has room for just four teams from Region 4 in the 3A playoffs. Besides Indian Land and Chester, Camden sits at 3-2 and in third place and Fairfield Central takes the fourth spot at 2-1 so far on the season with two more region matches left for them to wrestle. Catawba Ridge’s one region win came against Keenan, who is winless in the region currently.
Despite not making the playoffs, Weathers said that the season had a lot of good moments.
“It has gone better than I thought it would,” he said. “I knew if we worked, some good things would happen.”
Weathers said he felt good going into the match with Fairfield Central with both teams having holes in their lineup. However, things started off bad and got worse for the Copperheads.
The match started at 145-pounds and saw Catawba Ridge drop the first three matches all by pin fall to go down 18-0, before Nate Teel got a 4-1 decision at 182-pounds. RJ Lincoln got a pin fall win at 195-pounds to cut the lead to 17-9, after Fairfield Central got a team point taken away for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Fairfield Central then won three straight matches, two by forfeit, to take a 35-8 lead, after Catawba Ridge also got a team point taken away for the unsportsmanlike conduct as well. Conner Stukitz won by pin fall for the Copperheads at 113-pounds and both Andrew Patten (120) and Logan Manha (138) got the final two wins, both by forfeit, for Catawba Ridge.
Against Camden, the match between the two schools went back and forth for a while. Camden went up 12-0 to start before Joel Reyes won at 145-pounds by pin fall. Sean Barstad then tied the match with a forfeit win at 152-pounds and Forrest Rozelle would give Catawba Ridge an 18-12 lead with a pin fall win in the first period. On two occasions Catawba Ridge would tie the match as Lincoln got the last win in the match for the Copperheads with a pin fall at 195-pounds to make it 24-24. Camden would then take victories in all of the remaining six matches to get the win.
While Catawba Ridge is out of playoff contention, they will still have wrestlers compete in the individual region tournament Jan. 31 at Chester. The Copperheads will try to qualify for the Upper State tournament at West-Oak High Feb. 21-22 and the state tournament at Anderson Civic Center Feb. 28-29.
Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM
