For the second straight season, the
Boiling Springs (Spartanburg) Bulldogs wrestlers proved they were the best team in Spartanburg County.
With seven wrestlers reaching the championship match, the Bulldogs pulled away from Dorman to win the county title on Saturday.
Boiling Springs finished with 186.5 points, while Dorman, which had five wrestlers compete for individual championships, finished with 163.5 points.
"This feels fantastic, because we've been working so hard all year," Boiling Springs coach Rob Sater told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "It just goes to show what this team's attitude is. Last year we only won by seven points, so we wanted to win by a bigger spread this year. It wasn't as big as we wanted, and we could have done better in the finals."
Stan Davidge (160 pounds) and Mikey Clevenger (171) each won titles for the Bulldogs. Clevenger, who won his third straight county title, was named the event's most valuable wrestler in the upper weight classes for the second straight year.
"It was a pleasant surprise to be able to win that award," Clevenger told the paper. "I was more focused on the team scores."
Dorman's Patrick Vongxay won the same award for the 103-140 division.
CHAPIN TAKES DUALSThe
Chapin Eagles, the top-ranked 3A team in the state, won the Gamecock Duals on Saturday at Sumter High School. Chapin,
Lugoff-Elgin (No. 6 in 4A) and
Sumter (No. 12 in 4A) were in the championship pool after a long tournament.
Chapin topped Lugoff-Elgin 36-23 and Sumter 47-9 to win the event. Lugoff-Elgin beat Sumter 39-27 to earn second place.
BASKETBALL: GAFFNEY DROPS FIRST GAMELast year's 4A state champions, the
Gaffney Indians, won't be able to pull off a perfect season. They dropped their first game of the season recently, as they fell 67-62 to Lancaster in region play.
Gaffney, though, still has a chance to break a state record. After last week's 101-77 win over rival Spartanburg, the Indians have posted five games of more than 100 points. The state record, according to the S.C. High School League, is eight, which was set by the 1991 Denmark-Olar team.
The loss might have helped the Indians' focus.
"Yeah, we got the big head, everybody in town was telling us how good we were and we were going to go 29-0 and stuff," Gaffney senior point guard
Dershawn Dawkins told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "We lose to (Lancaster) and then Spartanburg beats them and, you know, it was tough. But I think we're grounded again and back on the right track."
COACHING WITHOUT SHOESCreek Bridge (Gresham) boys basketball coach Paul Hudacko worked the sidelines last week sans shoes.
According to the Florence Morning News, Hudacko and other coaches around the state did this to raise money and awareness for Samaritan's Feet. The charity provides shoes for needy children in more than 50 nations.
"I had seen college coaches do it before, and I thought it was a great way to give back," Hudacko told the paper. "Hopefully, this will start a snowball and all the coaches across the state will get involved in some way."
The school raised about $250 the week prior to Hudacko coaching barefooted and his team won 70-55 over Latta.
Jason Gilmer is an award-winning writer who has covered football in South Carolina for more than a decade. He does a statewide high school football blog on GoUpstate.com. You can reach him at palmettofootballtalkblog@gmail.com.
