By CINDY CROSBY
The Colleton County Cougar Wrestling team began Region VII-AAAA competition in recent weeks despite a limited roster due to overall lack of participation and illness.
In a region tri-match held on Wednesday, January 12 at May River High School that included Hilton Head High School, the Cougars fell 80-3 against May River and 72-11 against the Seahawks.
“We were short-handed yet again,” said Coach Jaques Glover. “We only had four wrestlers, Avrial Portal (220), Gage Thomas (152), Joshua King (285), and Jaquan Washington (285). Thomas faced the No. 6 wrestler in the state, Miguel Cavalheiro, and fell 8-6. The next two matches of the night did not go as well for Portal and Washington, who both were pinned in their respective weight classifications.”
“Against Hilton Head, Thomas was slated to match the No. 5 wrestler in the state, KJ Holland,” said Glover. “Thomas started the match off strong jumping out to a commanding 10-2 lead, wrestling one of his best matches of the year and earning a 20-9 victory in a major decision. Portal followed with a quick pin in the first period of his match and King tried to keep the rhythm but ended up getting pinned.”
On the road for a tri-match that included region opponents James Island High School and Lucky Beckham on Wednesday, January 19, the Cougars remained short-staffed on the roster. Four wrestlers traveled for Colleton County including Thomas, Portal, Brock McHugh (285) and King.
The Cougars dropped both contests, losing 42-18 against both Lucy Beckham and James Island.
“We started off against Lucy Beckham with a quick pin from Portal against Sean Sullivan in the first period, followed by a forfeit given to King,” said Glover. “Thomas ended the match with another pin against Walker Hussey. We wrestled hard, winning all our matches but lost due to a lack of bodies.”
“James Island’s Gaines Thompson bumped up to the 195-weight class to wrestle Portal,” said Glover. “They looked well-matched until Portal took him down and put him on his back for the win. McHugh then faced Lexton Hydrick and was able to score two quick takedowns before pinning him just before time expired.
“Thomas ended the match against Gino Cirnigliaro, pulling out a reversal to earn the win. Once again, even though we won each match we wrestled, we came out on the losing end due to lack of bodies,” he said. “We hope to change the tone this week against Bluffton High School and Beaufort in the last home match of the season,” said Glover.
“We also hope to see Lashombre Johnson (113) and Aaron Hayes (138) return to the roster.”
The Cougars will host Bluffton High School and Beaufort in a Region VII-AAAA tri-match scheduled for Wednesday, January 26 at 6 p.m. Look for updates from this match on this newspaper’s social media and in next week’s issue of The Press and Standard.
