Area wrestlers to compete for state titles

Kyle Dawson, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Mar. 5—Nine area high school wrestlers will compete for individual state championships Saturday at Dreher High School.

All nine are from Region 5-AAAA and earned their spots based on top-three finishes at the Class AAAA Lower State championships.

Two area wrestlers — South Aiken's Carson Sessoms at 120 pounds and Aiken's Triston Williams at 285 pounds — won Lower State titles to earn a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the state bracket. Williams also qualified for state last year at 285.

Each weight class has six qualifiers — three from the Upper State and three from the Lower State.

South Aiken's Lathan Garland is a No. 3 seed at 106 pounds and will face Dreher's William Smolka.

Midland Valley's Destin Freeman is a No. 3 seed at 126 and has a first-round match against Eastside's Lane Schrader. Freeman qualified for state at 113 pounds last year.

South Aiken's Camden Taylor, the Region 5-AAAA Wrestler of the Year, is a No. 2 seed at 132 and will wrestle South Pointe's Spencer Cox. Taylor made it to state in 2019 at 120 pounds.

Aiken's Will Brinkley is a No. 3 seed at 160 and faces Lancaster's Eric Byrd.

South Aiken's Hunter Goodwin is a No. 3 seed at 170 and has a first-round match against Greenwood's Ethan Richardson. Goodwin also qualified for state last year at 170.

Midland Valley's Cory Yazzie is a No. 3 seed at 220 and will wrestle Travelers Rest's Kodie Hughes, the defending state champion.

Midland Valley's John Burke is a No. 2 seed at 285 and will face Laurens' Kole Lawson.

The Class AAAA matches are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Spectators are not allowed. A live stream will be available at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/schsl/wrestling.