Published Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:26 AM
Updated Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:27 AM

 

Hawks wrestlers earn top seed in Lower State

For three years in a row, Hanahan’s wrestling team has had to make the long trek to Loris in the playoffs just to lose each time.

If the Hawks get tripped up against Loris this season, it will be in Hanahan.

The Hawks earned the No. 1 seed in the Lower State and Loris is seeded second, meaning it will be the Lions hitting the road should that match up materialize in the coming weeks.

The squads would meet in the Lower State finals.

“It feels good to be recognized as the top team in the Lower State,” Hanahan wrestling coach Ray Adkins said. “We worked hard for it and we had a good enough record to be the No. 1 seed. It’s going to be nice to stay at home and keep our normal routine.”

The Hawks (31-7) get a bye in the opening round Wednesday and host either Timberland or Bishop England in the second round Saturday. Hanahan dominated both teams during the regular season.

The third-round matchup Monday would be against Ashley Ridge or Cane Bay.

Cane Bay, seeded fifth in the Lower State, begins the playoffs Wednesday against Burke.

Woodruff is the top seed in the Upper State, while Abbeville is the second seed.

Hanahan recently lost two close matches to Abbeville in the Lakeland Duals.

The Lower State finals are set for Feb. 10 and the state finals will be at Ridge View High School Feb. 13.

Hanahan has three grapplers ranked No. 3 in their respective weight classes by scmat.com, freshman JJ Johnson (103), senior Michael Wolfe (125) and junior Francis Boykin (135). Senior Kofi Dwira is fourth at 130 pounds.

Other top-10 wrestlers for the Hawks are junior Cody Hancock (sixth, 140 pounds), freshman Jeff Brule (ninth, 112 pounds) and junior Nick Thompson (10th, 171 pounds).

Freshman Dennis Flores could be ranked inside the top 10 at 152 pounds but there is only a top eight.