By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
Falling short in the state dual tournament may have given South Effingham wrestlers just extra motivation needed to excel in the traditional season.
Saturday, six Mustangs won region championships and 12 overall had top-four finishes to earn spots in this Saturday’s Class 5A Sectional B (Regions 1, 3, 5 and 8) at Brunswick High School.
Effingham County had three wrestlers advance.
The top eight in each weight class at the two Sectionals, A and B, will move on to the state tournament in Macon on Feb. 13-15.
“We wrestled pretty well,” SEHS coach Christopher Bringer said. “We’ve been a consistent team. The kids didn’t have any bad matches (at region).”
The Mustangs graduated five, including two traditional state champions, from last season’s two-time dual state title team. South finished third in the dual competition this season.
But this season’s group continues to showcase its individual talent. Adam Hardeman (in the 106-pound weight class), Tahrik Bailey (at 113), Mayson Young (at 120), Emilio Santana (at 126), Brandon “Moose” Bringer (at 157) and Kevin Steptoe (at 285) each won region titles.
Alarik Gibson (at 132), Brayden “Bear” Bringer (at 150) and Bobby Craun (at 175) placed second.
ECHS’ Camren Douberley (at 120) and Kevin Poythress (at 144) also had second-place finishes.
South’s Noah Knowlton (third at 138), Caysen Fisher (third at 190) and Riley Atkins (fourth at 165) and Rebels’ freshman Immanuel MouHan (fourth at 285) also advanced to Sectionals.
In team score, SEHS finished second behind Glynn Academy and ECHS was fifth among the eight region teams. (Bradwell Institute does not field a team).
With two starters out, Coach Bringer juggled some of his wrestlers to fill weight classes. He said no one cut weight to move down.
His son, Brayden “Bear” Bringer, normally competing at 144 or 138, turned in a strong performance at 150 before falling in the region title match 1-0.
Knowlton (from 126 to 138), Jeremiah Hobbs (138 to 144), Atkins (150 to 165) and Craun (165 to 175) also stepped up in weight class and performed well.
Second-place finishers at state last season – Hardeman (two pins and 16-0 tech fall), Santana (16-1 tech fall and 13-3 major decision) and Brandon “Moose” Bringer – (a 21-6 tech fall, a pin and a 7-4 decision) – were impressive in claiming region titles Saturday. Hardeman (50-2) and Moose (59-2) suffered their only losses this season at a national tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., during the Christmas holiday.
Santana (44-4) and Bailey (53-3) bounced back from close losses in the state duals. Bailey, a freshman, defeated Glynn Academy’s Carson Lutz 4-3 in the finals after Lutz was assessed a penalty point with eight seconds left.
Steptoe, a sophomore, defeated Glynn’s third-seeded Robert Flores 1-0 and Brunswick’s top-seeded Crosby Alderman 2-0 in the semifinals and finals at 285.
In a local showdown at 120, Young (52-6) defeated Douberley 7-3 in the finals.
Poythress lost a 9-8 decision in the finals at 144. Gibson, a region champion a year ago, was topped by Brunswick’s undefeated Clayton Hicks at 132.
In girls action on Friday night at Houston County, South’s Leann Hill won two matches in the 105-pound weight class and Brooklynn Hughes and ECHS’ Ella Dean each won a match at 145, but did not qualify for Sectionals.