Nate Weaver rolled into the quarterfinals of the 215–pound weight class on the first day of the annual Dreher Blue Devil Invitational on Jan. 8.

When he arrived at Spring Valley on Saturday morning, however, Weaver was so ill that Vikings coach Rob Wells sent him home and scratched him from the tournament.

It was that type of weekend for the Vikings.

Wells had hoped the tournament would serve as another signal that Spring Valley’s wrestling program was no longer a speed bump for the Class 4A contenders. He also hoped for a top–10 finish that would serve as a springboard into a week in which Spring Valley faced Ridge View, Richland Northeast, and the field in this weekend’s Highlander dual– meet tournament.

“I really believe Nathan, Pedro Martinez (130 pounds), and Chris Johnson would have done well here and would have placed,” Wells said.

Instead, six starters missed the event because of illness or injury. Spring Valley finished in the middle of the 28–team field, and Wells was left to wonder how much of a team he will have available for the pivotal week.

Bluffton had no such worries. It won the event by 31 points. Dutch Fork (184 points) finished second. Irmo (167.5), Chapin (151.5), and Chester (145.5) rounded out the top five.

“I thought we had a chance (to win it) if we wrestled well, but I didn’t realize Bluffton was that good,” Dutch Fork coach Ken Wilson said. “When we saw them last, they were missing a few people.”

Among the remaining nine teams from the area competing, Airport and Columbia (11th, 74.0) were the top finishers.

None of the wrestlers from the Star’s coverage area made the finals, although two wrestlers from Dutch Fork, and one each from Columbia and Irmo earned titles. Among area schools, six wrestlers from the Star’s coverage area made the third–place matches.

Brookland–Cayce’s Michael Joyner finished third at 112, and Airport’s Chris Phillips finished third at 215.

“I would have liked Michael to make the finals and maybe one other, but with six sophomores and two freshmen, we are using this as a chance for mat time. We knew we weren’t going to be challenging for the top 20.”

The Bearcats finished tied with Dreher and Keenan in 24th with 36 points.

Richland Northeast’s William Boneparte finished fourth at 215. Also finishing fourth were Spring Valley’s Antonio Williams (140), Airport’s Jamie Sires (125), and Spring Valley’s Kyle Stiffler (103).

“These guys surprised me,” Richland Northeast coach Richard Bonneville said. “I thought it would be an earlier end to our day than it turned out to be. In addition to William, Brandon Beneitez (125) and Dustin Billings (189) made it to the consolation semifinals.”

Joseph McDougal (215) was the last survivor for Hammond. The Skyhawks (59.5) finished tied for 17th – four points behind Richland Northeast – in their first tournament of the season.

“We are a pretty young team and had four starters out this weekend, so I’m pretty pleased with how we wrestled,” Hammond coach Randy Wolfe said. “Gervais Baker (112), Gantt Castles (103) and McDougal did really well.”
Team Results
1. Bluffton, 215.00
2. Dutch Fork, 184.00
3. Irmo, 167.50
4. Chapin, 151.50
5. Chester, 145.50
6. Bamberg Earhardt, 143.50
7. Berkley, 111.00
7. (tie) Sumter, 111.00
9. Crescent, 102.00
10. Camden, 76.50
11. Airport, 74.00
11. (tie) Columbia, 74.00
11. (tie) Maiden, 74.00
14. Myrtle Beach, 73.50
15. Marion, 65.00
16. Richland Northeast, 63.00
17. Hammond, 59.00
17. (tie) Pickens, 59.00
19. Spring Valley, 54.00
20. Camden Military, 44.00
21. Swansea, 42.00
22. Darlington, 39.00
22. (tie) Ridge View, 39.00
24. Brookland–Cayce, 36.00
24. (tie) Dreher, 36.00
24. (tie) Keenan, 36.00
27. Heathwood Hall, 30.50
28. A.C. Flora, 30.00