Florence District 1 wrestling programs have successful years

           Florence – Wrestling programs have been in place at Florence School District 1 high schools South Florence, West Florence and Wilson for only three years, but each of the programs has enjoyed success.

           “Florence is a wrestling hotbed waiting to explode,” said West Florence head coach Andrew Cummings. “Over the last three years since these programs have been founded, all three schools have seen numbers increase, have sent multiple kids to the state finals, are solidified as solid wrestling programs in the state, and the City Championship is becoming a must-see wrestling event.”

           Between the three Region 6-AAAA schools, five boys and three girls qualified for their respective individual state championships. South Florence girls wrestler Niyah Brunson was the runner-up at state in the 190-pound weight class, while Bruins boys wrestler Justin Joe finished third in state at 285.

           The other boys to reach state were Bryson McBride, Noah Neal and Jameson Hardisty of West Florence and Jaden Boston of Wilson. The other girls were Makayla Coleman of Wilson and Brianna Davis of West Florence.

           SOUTH FLORENCE

           Joe was a state qualifier for the second straight year, finishing as the state runner-up last year in the 8-man state tournament. He won the region qualifier and was the runner-up in the AAAA lower state qualifier, finishing with a 16-4 individual record.

           “He has been with us since the start of the program three years ago,” South Florence head coach Marcus Montgomery said of Joe, who was also selected to play in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl all-star football game. “We couldn’t be more proud of his progress as a student, athlete and young man.”

           Brunson won the lower state championship to advance to state and the second-place finish in her first season in the program.

           “She is a winner and is a 2-time weightlifting champion,” Montgomery said of Brunson, who finished with a 22-2 record. “We are proud of what she has done to this point and has one more year to cement her legacy in this sport.”

           The Bruins had two other boys region champions in Jeremiah Mitchell at 190 and John Vargas at 106. Mitchell finished 22-10 and Vargas 20-10. Avan Rosado was the runner-up at 120, finishing 28-8.

           Two other SFHS girls wrestlers placed in the top three in lower state. Kamari Smith was the runner-up at 107 while Nasier Ellerbe was third at 145. Smith finished 15-7 and Ellerbe 17-7.

           The Bruins finished 16-10 on the season and finished fourth in the region to earn a spot in the state duals playoff.

           WEST FLORENCE

           Hardisty reached the state tournament at 165, Neal at 150 and McBride at 132. Hardisty and Neal did so by finishing as runners-up in lower state, while McBride finished fourth.

          Hardisty, who finished 33-6, was the region champion. Neal (30-13) was the region runner-up as were Timothy Rawls at 215 and Jordan Vereen at 126. Other Knights who were lower state qualifiers were Lamont Hargraves (113), Brendan Soloman (138), Keaton Taylor (157), Antonio Sirmans (175), Meshael Zevulun (190) and Christian Mack (285).

           Davis lost to eventual state champion Alyssa Ceacal in the first round of the girls 235 class. She would win her second match before being eliminated in the third round.

           The WFHS boys finished 12-16 as a team, missing out on the playoffs.

           WILSON

         The Wilson boys had a state qualifier in Boston and a region champion in Tyriece Mungo, while the girls had a lower state champion in Coleman.

        Boston, who had a 27-14 record, finished second at 175 in the region tournament to qualify for lower state. He then finished in the top four to become a state qualifier. Mungo won region at 215 to advance to lower state, finishing 31-7.

       Coleman won the lower state championship at 170 to qualify for state. She finished 12-4.



       Other lower state qualifiers for the Tigers were Daelyn Esaw at 144 and Divine Gee at 157, both of whom finished second in the region, Kameron Esaw (120), Curtis Esaw (126), Marquis Mack (150), Jalen Boston (165) and Amir Gee (285).

      Wilson finished with a 14-14 record, missing out on the duals.