Participating in your first ever playoff wrestling dual, one would think that there might be some nerves coming into the match. For the Catawba Ridge wrestling team, it was all business as they plowed through Easley High School to move onto the third round of the 4A playoffs.
After getting a first-round bye, Catawba Ridge easily beat Easley 60-15, dropping just three matches, two of them by actual decision and one by forfeit. For the Copperheads, it was just the second time they had wrestled at home all season, which head coach Allen Runyon believes helped with any nerves they might have had.
“It gave us an edge,” he said. “The first time being in a playoff match they took advantage of the opportunity and capitalized on it. They wanted to show people the season wasn’t a fluke and we are here to wrestle.”
Now ranked 16th in the state, Catawba Ridge will now take on the second ranked Lugoff-Elgin Demons in round three at 7 p.m. Monday night at home again in The Arena. The Copperheads are now 19-6 overall on the season.
Easley opened the first round Saturday with AC Flora as the two met at Catawba Ridge Saturday morning with the winner taking on the Copperheads right after. Easley didn’t have much of an issue with AC Flora as they would win easily 50-24 forfeiting a couple of matches in the process.
Starting the second round off with the Copperheads, Easley went up 6-0 getting a forfeit win at 106-pounds to start. Catawba Ridge would then come with all guns blazing and win the next seven matches to take a commanding 39-6 lead.
Alex Teel (113) got things started for the Copperheads with a first period pin to tie the match at 6-6. His win would be followed by pins from Clark Ostendorf (120) and Connor Stukitz (126). Jakob Kees (132) would get a 11-7 decision and then Jackson Rozelle (138), Levi Jones (145) and Jarrett Eubanks (152) would all pick up first period pins.
Easley would then get two wins at 160-pounds and 170-pounds to make it a closer, but the Copperheads would then win four consecutive matches to close the dual out. Sean Barstad (182) got a first period pin followed by an 8-7 decision from Nate Teel (195) and then first period pins from Alex Bunz (220) and Tony Atkins (hwt).
In other wrestling news, Fort Mill fell in the first round of the 5A playoffs to Blythewood 45-36 to end their dual season with a 15-8 record. Fort Mill was without two of its wrestlers and ended up losing four matches it was leading during the dual.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
