Midlands teams punch tickets to state wrestling finals

Gilbert wrestling has been on a rapid climb since former Lexington wrestler and assistant coach Mitch Hudson took over the Indians program three years ago. There’s only one hurdle remaining, but based on what Hudson and the rest of the Gilbert team learned last year, they feel better equipped to handle the big stage.

The Indians dominated region foe Swansea, 51-15, on Wednesday night in the Class 3A Lower State championship to earn a rematch with Indian Land on Saturday. The Class 3A state championship will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Dreher.

“This is so exciting,” Hudson said. “These kids have really worked hard. We had to put it together. In December, coming off a good year of football, about six or seven of our starters are football players. We had to get them in shape and get them ready. The whole time we’ve been building for February.”

It’s only the second time in school history that Gilbert has reached a wrestling final. They’ve been there the last two seasons and had a third round exit in Hudson’s first year.

Indian Land won 44-14 a season ago, but Hudson believes his team learned a great deal. Even though the final score was lopsided, the matches were competitive. The Warriors won five matches by two points or less.

“Indian Land has got some good kids and they’re going to be really tough,” Hudson said. “They have a lot of guys that are experienced. We have some young guys, we have six sophomores in the lineup; that will play a factor.

“We learned (from last year), we have to be really good on our feet and we learned we have to stay in matches. We have to put ourselves in an opportunity to score. We have to got to stay on the mat. That’s the big thing. We’ve got some spots where we’ll be able to score some points. It’s going to be a battle.”

It was a quick start by Gilbert that gave them control then they finished with a pinfall flurry to secure the match.

The Indians jumped to an early 18-0 lead. Things started at the 138-pound weight class with Jackson Caulder earning an 11-2 major decision. Harley Boatwright followed with a pin before Tony Rice earned a 2-1 decision at 152. Josh Coleman then earned an 18-2 technical fall and Gilbert led 18-0 after the first four matches.

Swansea stopped the momentum with a Tadrick Hallman pin and a 6-5 win by Hunter Brantley to make it 18-9.

Kyle Decker started the clinching series with a 7-2 win at the 195-pound class. William Harmon, Bryson Harmon and Blake Wise then recorded quick pins with Wise’s pin at the 10-3-pound weight class being the clincher.

“We got out here and fought and we’re ready to do it one more time,” Hudson said.

Gilbert is joined by two other Midlands schools in the finals Saturday.

White Knoll pushed by Summerville, 28-27, in the Class 5A Lower State championship to earn the Timberwolves’ first appearance in wrestling finals. All of the Wolves’ playoff wins have come on the road. They wrestle defending champion Hillcrest at 6 p.m. at Dreher.

North Central defeated Ninety-Six 37-26 to earn the Class 2A Upper State championship. The Knights had several obstacles to overcome, including a tornado that wrecked the high school a month ago. They competed at the middle school and only dressed 11 kids against Ninety-Six.

North Central faces Bamberg-Ehrhardt at 11 a.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 10:20 PM.