ROCK HILL – The Fort Mill wrestling team picked up three more wins Wednesday in a quad match at Northwestern High School.
The first match of three for Fort Mill was against Gaffney whom they rolled over 60-21.
The Jackets went up 24-0 before Gaffney scored as Luke Van Beynum (106), Jacob Nally (113), Lincoln Greene (120) and Tucker Gibson (126) all got pins for Fort Mill to start the match.
The Jackets dropped two straight matches before Keenan Coston (144) got a pin followed by a forfeit win to Cade Simpson (150) to make it 36-9.
Fort Mill again dropped two consecutive matches before winning the last four all by pinfall coming from Theodore Ernst (175), Sebastian Villatoto (190), Joseph Richardson (215) and Grayson Sykes (hwt.).
The Jackets’ next match was a rematch from last week’s clash with Northwestern, who remained ranked second in 4A, and Fort Mill, who is still ranked second in 5A.
Nally (113) started the match with a first period pin putting Fort Mill up early.
The Jackets dropped a close match at 120-pounds falling 8-4, but came back to win two close matches at 5-2 from Gibson (126) and 5-0 from Logan Shope (132) giving them a 12-3 lead.
The two teams would alternate wins as Fort Mill fell at 138-pounds, but the Jackets bounced back with a pin by Coston (144) to extend their lead.
Northwestern would take the next two matches to get a 20-18 lead, but Jack Kadish (165) would win 5-0 to put Fort Mill back on top.
The two teams would not only trade wins in the next four matches, but also traded the lead as well after each weight class.
Fort Mill scored crucial wins by Villatoro (190) and Richardson (215) to take a 30-26 lead. Sykes (hwt.) would then clinch the win for Fort Mill with a 4-2 decision to make it 33-26, with one weight class left at 106-pounds as Van Beynum would get a pin giving the Jackets a 39-26 win.
“I’m glad to see our guys win some matches we lost last week,” said Fort Mill head coach Adam Marullo. “They are a tough program. We are off to a good start.”
The final match for Fort Mill was against White Knoll as they bulldozed them 66-9.
Winning for the Jackets against White Knoll was Greene (120), David McCann (126), Gibson (132), Gavin Mitcheson (138), Coston (144), Simpson (150), Broden Mitcheson (157), Villatoro (190), Richardson (215), Sykes (hwt.), Van Beynum (106) and Nally (113).
Fort Mill is now 6-0 on the season. They will have their toughest test thus far next week at a tri-match against River Bluff and Lugoff-Elgin on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Dec. 6 Roundup
The Nation Ford Falcons wrestling team went 1-1 in Lexington beating West Florence 51-24 and falling to Lexington 53-17. The Falcons are now 6-4 on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
