Aynor wrestling reaches second straight SC state title match, falls again to West-Oak
Aynor wrestling coach Billy Jones loves the direction in which his program is heading.
It’s just lacking one thing — a state championship.
The Blue Jackets made their second straight title appearance Saturday, but lost to West-Oak, 51-15, at Dreher High School. It was West-Oak’s second straight championship and seventh in program history.
“What I’m excited about is this is my fifth year as a head coach and we have built the program and we are going to continue to build the program to where we get past the next step and win some of those trophies,” Jones said. “I am super proud of this crowd. … They continue to fight, and I told the underclassman to look at that scoreboard because we will be back.”
The match started at 170 pounds, which favored Aynor. The Blue Jackets won three of the first four matches to lead 12-3. Cole Johnson and Emmanuel Deas won by pin, and Riley Hucks won by pin.
West-Oak’s Jared Cruz won by decision and Payton Durham pinned Aynor’s Grace Williams to tie it at 12. Williams became the first female wrestler to wrestle in state duals in five seasons. Jones said Williams has lost just once to a female wrestler all year and will be a contender in the girls individual wrestling championship in two weeks. Girls wrestling has become more popular in SC. Woodruff’s June Welch became the first first female to win an individual state championship last year.
“Her improvement was unbelievable from start to finish,” Jones said of Williams. “We are excited to see what she could do in the female tournament in a few weeks.”
West-Oak’s AJ De La Cruz, Teague Strobel, Landon Allen and Jaxon Freeman all won to put the Warriors up 36-12.
Connor Lambert got Aynor’s last points by a decision before West Oak closed it out with wins by Marcus Thaxton, Lane Allen and Cael Davis.
West-Oak has won titles in each of coach Derek Strobel’s two seasons. Strobel said he prepared his team for another title by playing a challenging schedule.
“We knew we had the target on our back all year,” Strobel said. “I’m so proud of them. It is a testament of what they do. They buy into what their coaches tell them to do. They outwork everybody.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2023 at 3:55 PM.
