Hanahan Hawks wrestlers cruise to state crown

  • BY JOHN DEVLIN
    Special to The Post and Courier
  • Posted: Sunday, February 13, 2011 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 12:15 p.m.
  • Text size: A A A
Hanahan’s Francis Boykin scored a pin over Chesnee’s Dustin Kirk in the 135-pound match.
/Alex Hicks/Spartanburg Herald-JournalHanahan’s Francis Boykin scored a pin over Chesnee’s Dustin Kirk in the 135-pound match.

COLUMBIA -- Hanahan washed away the bitter memory of 2010 on Saturday at Dreher High School by scoring a resounding 53-25 victory over Chesnee in the Class AA state wrestling championship match.

"I'll sleep very well tonight, and so will all of the boys," said Hawks coach Ray Adkins. "We can forget about what happened last year."

The luck of the draw put Hanahan in a strong position at the start of the match with the competition set to begin at 135 pounds -- the heart of the Hawks lineup.

Senior Francis Boykin set the tone with a pin 42 seconds into the opening bout. The intensely focused Hawks (29-3) had the match and the championship locked up by the time nine of the 14 bouts were in the books.

"That's what I wanted to do -- get that pin right off the bat," said Boykin, a three-time individual state qualifier.

"The rest of the guys really followed suit. We wanted to win this big. We didn't want to leave anything to question. This has been our only goal since the ruling on our appeal came down last year."

Hanahan won seven of the first nine bouts, all of them by fall. Six of the pins came in the first period. Cody Hancock (145), Dennis Flores (152), Nic Thompson (171), Joseph Clemit (189), C.J. Christie (215) and Trey Farley (285) followed Boykin's lead. Farley's pin at 1:15 upped the Hanahan lead to 42-10 and made the outcome academic.

"Hanahan just came out and jumped on us, and once they got the momentum we couldn't take it away," said Chesnee coach Jon Rentz, whose team closed with an 18-6 record.

"But I'm proud of the way my kids battled down to the end. I think we got a little intimidated by the setting today, but this is only our third year of wrestling and we hope to be back again."

It was the first state championship for Hanahan wrestling. The closest the Hawks had come before was a runner-up finish at the Class AAA state tournament in 1988 before the advent of the dual match playoff format.

The Hawks finished with a 29-3 record, and now will concentrate on individual competition matters over the next two weeks.

HANAHAN 53, CHESNEE 25

135: Boykin (H) pinned Kirk 0:42. 140: Martin (C) dec. Joseph 15-7. 145: Hancock (H) pinned Horton 3:32. 152: Flores (H) pinned Miller 1:16. 160: Martin (C) pinned Harvey 1:52, 171: Thompson (H) pinned Calderon 1:16. 189: Joseph Clemit (H) pinned Eric Calderon (C). 215: Christie (H) pinned Fowler 2:55. 285: Farley (H) pinned Bryant 0:45. 103: Needs (C) pinned Murray 2:20. 112: Johnson (H) dec. Rochester 15-0 (technical fall). 119: Blakenship (C) pinned King 2:24. 125: Brule (H) pinned Whitmire 2:41. 130: Emory (C) dec. Horlback 10-3.