ROCK HILL – A quick start and a good draw allowed the Fort Mill wrestling team to get out to a good start as they beat rivals in the Rock Hill Bearcats 49-21 in a key Region 3-5A match Thursday night.
The win improved the fourth ranked Yellow Jackets to 20-1 this season, but more importantly to 4-0 in the region with one more region match to go against Nation Ford at home Jan. 19.
A lot of what happened on the mat came before the match with the draw that Fort Mill got starting at 126-pounds.
“We got a great draw,” said Fort Mill head coach Chris Brock. “We picked up some bonus points early which helped.”
Fort Mill jumped out to a 22-0 lead and never looked back. Aidan Eubanks opened the match with an 8-2 win at 126-pounds. His win was followed by a major decision from Logan Shope (132) and the Jackets picked up their first pin of the evening with a first period win by Gavin Mitcheson (138).
The Jackets’ Caleb Brock (145) then got a 7-0 win followed by an overtime pin from Noah Kitchton (152) that put Fort Mill up 22-0. After the good start, Fort Mill dropped two consecutive matches to make it 22-12 before TJ Miller was able to get Fort Mill back on track with a 3-2 decision at 182-pounds.
The two teams traded wins over the next couple of weight classes as Henry Debbout (220) grabbed a first period pin to give the Jackets some breathing room and increase their seven-point lead to 31-18.
Circling back to the lower weights, Lincoln Greene got a key third period pin at 106-pounds to clinch the match with two weight classes remaining as Fort Mill secured the win. Jacob Nally (113) then got a second period pin and Tucker Gibson (120) got a first period pin to close out the match.
Fort Mill’s next scheduled dual is against Nation Ford to close out their regular season. The Jackets are heading to Tennessee this weekend for the Fannetti-Richardson Classic, an individual tournament in Johnson City.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
