The Loris wrestling team will have a shot at a third state title in four seasons after all.
The Lions appeared to have lost to Hanahan 34-33 Wednesday night in the Class AA Lower State final, but Loris coach Thomas Britt said the Hawks used a wrestler in the 125-pound weight class who was no longer eligible to compete at that weight because he had wrestled two weight classes higher earlier in the season.
A wrestler can wrestle up a weight class, but still remain certified at the lower class. However, if a wrestler moves up two weight classes, they lose certification at the lowest weight.
Hanahan’s Koffi Dwira defeated Loris’ Jamar Gore 12-5 at 125, but Dwira had wrestled earlier in the season at 130 and 140, meaning he had lost his certification at 125 and was therefore ineligible to face Gore.
Britt said he had found that he had wrestled at 140 in December when he was given the Hawks’ weight certification paperwork after the match. Britt called the S.C. High School League on Wednesday night to register his appeal, and the SCHSL ruled in the Lions’ favor on Thursday, resulting in a Hanahan forfeit of the 125-pound match and leaving Loris as a 39-31 winner and the Lower State champ for the fourth-straight season.
Loris will face Woodruff on Saturday for the Class AA state championship at Ridge View High School. A win tomorrow would give Loris its fifth state wrestling title and third in the last four seasons. The Lions won in 1999, 2000, 2007 and 2008, but fell to Abbeville in last year’s state final.
This isn’t the first time Loris has dealt with championship controversy. In 1999, Loris appeared to have lost the Class A-AA title to Bishop England before a scoring error was discovered. Loris had already gone home with silver medals and the runner-up trophy before finding out two days later about the error which made them champions.
E-Mail
Print
Get The State newspaper delivered to your home. 
