Top-ranked Lexington overcame an early deficit to defeat No. 2 Fort Dorchester 31-22 on Monday in the third round of the Class 4A state wrestling playoffs.
Lexington (29-2) will square off against cross-town rival White Knoll in the Lower State championship match on Wednesday. White Knoll beat Summerville on Monday to advance to the fourth round of the postseason for the first time in program history.
“Sometimes you wrestle down to your competition. But in matches like this, these boys always seem to step up to meet the challenge,” Wildcats coach Derek Strobel said.
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“That’s what is so great about this team. They are willing to get after it against another great team. They showed a lot of confidence and poise out there tonight.”
The visiting Patriots prevailed in four of the first six bouts in the match that began at 145 pounds. The yield was a 19-6 Fort Dorchester lead through 195. The Wildcats caught fire starting with Nate Meagher’s pin at the end of the first period at 220 pounds. It was the first of four straight wins by Lexington, including two key decisions at 285 and 113 by Joey Perrota and Andy Szalwinski.
Perrota nipped Patriots top-ranked heavyweight Myles Moultrie 3-2 despite being at a significant weight disadvantage. Szalwinski scored a 3-0 win at 113 over Javon Jordan, who is a returning state champion.
“Joey beat (Moultrie) at a tournament this season and that showed him he could compete,” Strobel said. “Andy also stepped up to meet the challenge. Both of those guys were prepared, mentally ready to go. Those were two key swing matches that made the difference.”
A 2-2 tie in the heavyweight bout was broken when Moultrie led Perrotta up from the bottom position with the obvious intention of getting a takedown for the winning points. It never happened as Perrotta fended him off for the final 50 seconds.
“Coach always tells us to keep wrestling no matter what, and I did not wrestle defensively after he let me up,” said Perrotta. “When you try to nurse a lead, you usually end up losing it.”
Szalwinski broke a scoreless duel with Jordan with an escape early in the third period, followed by an insurance takedown.
The four-win roll, which also featured an 11-0 win by Jackson Myers at 106, staked the Wildcats to a 22-19 lead. Fort Dorchester pulled even on a 9-6 decision by Trevor Johnson at 120, but Lexington sealed the deal by winning the final three bouts.
Cody Bonham won at 126, Russell Taylor prevailed at 132 and Walker Barfield closed it out at 138.
“We believe we’re the best,” Perrotta said. “We don’t say that to be cocky. We have to believe that if we want to win a state championship.”
106: Jackson Myers (L) d. Tyree Wright 11-0. 113: Andy Szalwinski (L) d. Javon Jordan 3-0. 120: Trevor Johnson (F) d. Blake Risinger 9-6. 126: Cody Bonham (L) d. Dallas Brown 5-0. 132: Russell Taylor (L) d. Daquan Bukshaw 7-3. 138: Walker Barfield (L) d. Cody Williams 4-2. 145: Brandon Shepherd (L) d. Austin Ziliak 10-4. 152: Daquon Wilson (F) pinned Javen Fenchel 2:13. 160: Caleb Brack (L) d. Joseph Hutchinson 11-7. 170: Alex Bugarin (F) pinned Alex Mayrides 4:31. 182: Michael Shuster (F) d. Dacus Fenchel 2-0. 195: Kevin Flores (F) d. Andrew Carnes 13-3. 220: Nate Meagher (L) pinned Daitwan Commodor 2:00. 285: Joey Perrotta (L) d. Myles Moultrie 3-2.
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