Hammond breaks drought, claims SCISA 3A wrestling title

After five years of frustration, Hammond wrestling is the king of the mat.

The Skyhawks rolled through the SCISA Duals on Saturday to claim their first wrestling state championship since 2013 with a 39-32 win over Heathwood Hall at Ben Lippen’s gym. It’s the sixth state championship in the program’s history.

“I’m just really proud of the kids,” Hammond coach Austin Hood said. “It’s been years in the works. Most of them have been in the program a long time so I’m just really, really happy for them. We have a good group of four seniors that get to go out on top and enjoy the hard work we’ve put in over the last couple years. We took our whippings, but we came out on the top this year.”

Hammond had finished runner-up four of the last five years but wasn’t going to be denied this time. Starting at the 170-pound weight class, the Skyhawks raced to a 33-0 advantage thanks to pins from Owen Hales and Henry Cole and forfeit victories by Drew Turner, Jameson Phillips, and Jake Lalumondier. That made it 30-0 before a 6-0 decision by sixth-grader Luke Martin in the 106-pound weight class made it 33-0.

Heathwood Hall was able to reverse the momentum for a bit with wins by Pierce Avery (113) and Jackson Clark (120). Hammond finally clinched it after a 12-7 decision by Leo Addeo (126) and a 4-2 decision by Harper Meacham at the 132-pound weight class.

“This is the greatest thing this team could ever have,” senior Drew Turner said. “We set the team goal at the beginning of the year that on February 2 we were going to come out here and take what we’ve been working for all this time. This is the strongest we’ve ever pulled together.”

“We knew we would get the points to start with and we had the faith in the guys at the lower weight to go out there and execute and do their job. They helped finish it out.”

Heathwood closed the match with forfeit wins by Reagan Olsen and Minh Dang, an AJ Kuse pin and a major decision from Darius Bates.

“Heathwood suffered from forfeits but the 10 dudes they put on the mat are tremendous wrestlers. They should be proud of their effort,” Hood said.

Hammond had to withstand some drama just to get to the finals. The Skyhawks trailed host Ben Lippen 30-12 in the semifinals and needed a victory in the final match to rally for the win. Ryan Kane claimed a 10-2 major decision to earn four team points as the Skyhawks escaped with a 40-39 victory. Hammond defeated Augusta Christian 60-22 in first round action.

Heathwood Hall defeated Greenwood Christian 52-27 and Cardinal Newman 41-35 on the way to the finals. The semifinal match against the Cardinals wasn’t decided until the final match as well.

Cardinal Newman finished in third place after a 39-36 victory over Ben Lippen in the consolation finals.

Finals

170: Drew Turner (H) by forfeit; 182: Owen Hales (H) p. Henry Kimbrough; 195: Jameson Phillips (H) by forfeit; 220: Jake Lalumondier by forfeit; 285: Henry Cole (H) p. Jackson Avery; 106: Luke Martin (H) d. Will Buffum 6-0; 113: Pierce Avery (HH) d. Sam DuBose 2-1; 120: Jake Clarkson (HH) p. Reed Friesner; 126: Leo Addeo (H) d. Myles Roberts 12-7; 132: Harper Meacham (H) d. McIver Merritt 4-2; 138: AJ Kuse (HH) p. Zavier Harrison; 145: Reagan Olsen (HH) by forfeit; 152: Darius Bates (HH) maj. dec. Ryan Kane 14-3; 160: Minh Dang (HH) by forfeit.