Prep Notebook for March 1

While this past weekend's S.C. High School League Wrestling Individual Championships marked the close of the public-school wrestling season, one more dual remains for a handful of local wrestlers who were selected to the 2010 Best Western Ocean Sands North/South All-Star Classic next weekend in North Myrtle Beach.

Hilton Head High seniors Jack Duane and David Beck -- who won individual Class 3-A titles Saturday at Rock Hill High School -- were selected in the 189- and 215-pound weight classes, respectively, to represent Team South Carolina in its bout against Team Georgia.

Meanwhile, Battery Creek seniors Matt Heinrich and Luke Johnson were picked at 145 and 171 to wrestle for the South team in this annual in-state battle, in which Duane and Beck will also participate. Heinrich took second at the individual championships Saturday, with Johnson placing fourth. Bluffton's Tyler Rosenlieb declined his invitation to participate in the all-star event.

WRESTLING THIS AND THAT

Beck and Duane's state title victories marked the first time since 2002 -- when current Bluffton coach John Hollman coached the Seahawks -- that Hilton Head High has had two state champions in the same year. Mike Sunkins and Mauro Bria each won state titles that season.

Duane is the fourth two-time state champion in Seahawks history. Cavin Sunkins most recently did the task in 2007 and 2008.

"He's had a tremendous year and a tremendous career," Seahawks coach Mike Newton said. "He's meant so much to our program."

The Seahawks will certainly miss their pair of seniors, but two freshmen gave the team some hope for the future as well.

Label Lewis finished second in the 103-pound weight class on Saturday to J.L. Mann's Oliver Burman. And Chris Ordonez (130 pounds) finished 1-2 in the state tournament.

"Label's first two matches to get to the finals were fantastic," Newton said. "Once he got to the finals, he's a freshman out there. I can't imagine what was going through his head. I could tell he was scared to death to begin the match. After the first period, he wrestled like Label wrestles. If we could wrestle that match over again, my money is on Label."

Bluffton's Austin Farmer (112) had another good showing for a freshman, finishing the day 2-2 and taking fourth place.

The Bobcats will rely on Farmer and fellow state qualifiers Lincoln Joly, Braden Putich and Manuel Lopez to carry on Bluffton's "tradition never graduates" mindset -- a difficult task, considering the Bobcats will be graduating more than 500 career wins with Tyler Rosenlieb, Andrew Dean, David Lopez, Josh Wetmore and Phillip Scott.

Rosenlieb is the school's all-time winningest wrestler. Lopez became just the fourth wrestler in school history to reach the finals of the individual state tournament. He lost to Beck in the 215-pound championship.

"These five seniors leaving left a heck of a mark," Bluffton coach John Hollman said. "They've all made a difference on what our program is. That's a lot of wins. These guys have helped that tradition. But Bluffton High School wrestling will be back."

ALL-REGION HONORS ANNOUNCED

Battery Creek's Brent Evans and John Drafts were named player and coach of the year, respectively, headlining the Region 8-AAA boys basketball team announced Tuesday. Teammates Javari Albergottie and C.J. Brown also earned spots on the 11-player team, as did Hilton Head High's Victor Frazier and Leon Hudson and Bluffton's C.J. Frazier.

Evans led the Dolphins in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (10.5 rpg) during a season that produced a school-record 24 wins and a second straight region title. This marks the second consecutive Region 8-AAA coach of the year selection for Drafts.

On the girls team, Bluffton's Amanda Thompson and Sheree Williams were joined by Battery Creek's Kierra Wright and Rashidah Jones as well as Hilton Head High's Sabrina Drammis and Margo Dill.

Bluffton coach Lonnie Roberts shared coach of the year honors after leading the Bobcats to their first playoff win in school history.

In wrestling, Beaufort High's Kenan Jackson and Alex Amaya earned All-Region 8-AAAA honors in the 160- and 171-pound classes, respectively. Both won individual region titles and earned trips to the Class 4-A state wrestling meet this past weekend, where Amaya placed fourth.

BEAUFORT ACADEMY PLAYERS MAKE ALL-REGION TEAM

Three Beaufort Academy basketball players have been named to the SCISAA Class 2-A Region 1 all-region team.

Bennett Fultz made the boys team while Katherine Neal and Caroline Carmody made the girls team.

For the boys, First Baptist's Andrew Hamburger and Charleston Collegiate's Will Hamburger were named co-players of the year. First Baptist's Jeff White was named coach of the year.

Fultz averaged 22.5 points per game for the Eagles this season, second-best in Beaufort County.

For the girls, Bible Baptist's Ariel Martinez was named player of the year and her coach Kenny Conroy won coach of the year honors. Neal averaged 7.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season for Beaufort Academy. Carmody averaged 10.1 points and 2.1 assists.

BEAUFORT LAX CLUB FALLS IN OPENER

The Beaufort Lacrosse Club lost its first regular-season game to Bluffton, 16-7, on Tuesday. McKie Cherry, Eric Deforge, Cody Gasque, Leif Koppernaes and Zack Everidge scored for Beaufort in defeat.

Beaufort, which includes about 20 players from Beaufort Academy, Beaufort High and Battery Creek, is competing this season in the Independent League with seven other private schools and clubs teams and will also play against several SCHSL squads in the coming months.

ANTHONY SELECTED FOR DOWN UNDER BOWL

Battery Creek senior wideout Devon Anthony has been selected to compete in the Down Under Bowl, an annual football game held on the Gold Coast in Australia. The senior wideout is the first to represent Battery Creek in this contest, according to Down Under Bowl records.

For the 22nd annual game, teams will be divided into brackets of four squads. Each team plays two games, with the first deciding which groups enter the consolation and championship brackets. Practices and games will be held July 10-17, with players from the United States, Australia and New Zealand invited to participate.

In order to participate, Anthony must raise $4,700 by May. If you would like to support Anthony, please send funds to the Dejay Anthony DownUnder Football Fund c/o SCBT, N.A., 1121 Boundary Street, Beaufort, SC 29902