West-Oak wrestling bests Gilbert in state finals battle of longtime coaching friends
Eleven years ago, Mitch Hudson and Derek Strobel were on the same sideline together as they coached Lexington High to a Class 4A wrestling championship.
On Saturday, they were on opposite sides of the mat as Hudson led the Gilbert program against Strobel’s West-Oak squad for the Class 3A championship. Strobel and West-Oak defeated Gilbert 52-24 to win a third straight state title.
Afterward, the longtime friends shared a moment in the handshake line.
“I know how great of a coach he is and I knew his team was going to be tough,” Strobel said. “I’m glad that they made it because if we were going to lose, that’s who I was going to lose to. I love him and he is such a great guy. He’s an inspiration and taught me so much. I’m just glad we were here together.”
Strobel was the head coach and Hudson his assistant for 17 years at Lexington. The Wildcats won the 2013 championship by defeating Rock Hill, 36-21 and wrestled for three other state championships during their time together.
The two parted ways but remained good friends when Hudson left Lexington to take over the Gilbert program seven years ago. Strobel left Lexington in May 2021 to become West-Oak’s head coach.
Saturday’s match at Dreher High School was the first time the two coaches had faced each other.
“We love each other to death. We are like brothers,” Hudson said.
Strobel has won a state championship in each of his three years as West-Oak coach. Hudson has had success at Gilbert, making it to at least the lower state finals for six straight years and advancing to the state championship in four of those years, including three straight from 2019-21.
Gilbert still is looking for a state championship win, but making it to the finals was a big accomplishment after not having a full roster until the postseason. The Indians finished second in Region 5-3A and were ranked No. 18 in the Class 3A SCMat rankings, the lowest of any finals participant this weekend.
The Indians got hot in the playoffs and defeated Dreher, a team they lost to in the regular season, to make it to the championship.
“We came with a purpose and knew we had an uphill climb.” Hudson said. “... For us to be here with this group, it says a lot about our kids. We put up a fight where we could, but some spots we aren’t there yet.”
West-Oak jumped out quickly as Jared Cruz (205), Gunnar Mease (106) and Peyton Durham (113) won the first four matches by pin to lead 24-0.
Gilbert won by forfeit at 126 pounds but West-Oak won the next three matches from AJ Delacruz (132), Sy Strobel (138) and Landon Allen (144).
Gilbert’s other two match wins were by pin from Shane Wise (150) and Jonathan Brentlinger (157). But West-Oak’s Marcus Thaxton (165) clinched the match with a win by tech fall, 18-3.
Eastside sets state record
Eastside became the winningest wrestling program as far as championships in state history with a 62-12 win over Lugoff-Elgin in the Class 4A title match.
It was the Eagles’ ninth championship in a row (also a state record) and their state-best 19th championship overall, one more than Rock Hill. All 19 of Eastside’s championships have come since 2000. The Eagles will be moving up to Class 5A next season as part of SC High School League’s realignment.
“We go in and pretty much do the same thing every year and drill it over and over again until it is monotonous and boring,” Eastside coach Jack Kosmicki said. “But we make sure everything that they do is right. There is no secret recipe. It is hard work and wrestling right.”
After Barrett Langston (132) won the first match in sudden death, the Eagles captured the next four matches by pin with wins from Sam Wyland, Bronek Snizaski, George Maholtz and Peyton Schrader to lead 27-0. Other match winners included Jack Wyland, Hank Lee, Baron Leonard, Nate Manos, Dryaton Johnson, Owen Salvato and Kellen Smouse..
L-E’s two wins came by pin from Tyreon Taylor-Benjamin and Coleman Gross.
This was the second straight year L-E lost to Eastside in the championship. The Demons won the 4A Lower State over James Island on Wednesday and were making their 12th championship appearance.
“We will learn from this and move forward,” L-E coach Ted Monroe said. “... We got to draw from this experience. We are still real young and have just three seniors. I’m excited about the program and where we are. We got to remember how this feels. It has got to sting a little, hurt a little, because it doesn’t mean anything to you.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2024 at 2:22 PM.
