Three county teams still in Seahawk Duals mix

Hilton Head Island's wrestlers seemed to hardly skip a beat from the Christmas break on the first day of the Seahawk Duals. Ditto for Class 3-A chief rival Beaufort.

As for the rest of Beaufort County's delegation, injuries and holiday absences left their coaches a little wanting.

Battery Creek at least made it to the championship round, joining Hilton Head and Beaufort in the eight-team bracket after finishing second in the toughest of the morning pools. Thursday's quarterfinals are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

"It'll be tough sledding," said Battery Creek coach Nathan Day, whose reigning Class 2-A champions were missing five wrestlers from their usual lineup Wednesday. "We'll get some good, tough competition in there."

Bluffton and Whale Branch each wound up 0-2 on opening day, dropping to the consolation duals that begin at 9 a.m. Thursday.

"It's kind of what I expected," said Bluffton coach Cody Slaughter, who took over the Bobcats after John Hollman's sudden retirement earlier this month. "We're real young, and a lot of guys that started the season for us are hurt right now. We're just kind of piecemealing it right now."

Hilton Head, Beaufort and Battery Creek were joined in the championship bracket by Bamberg-Ehrhardt, ranked No. 1 in Class 2-A, along with St. James (Murrells Inlet), Nation Ford (Fort Mill) and a pair of out-of-state powers -- Alcoa (Tenn.) and North Marion (W.Va.).

If Alcoa or North Marion claim the title, it'll mark the third time in the past four years that the Seahawk Duals trophy went out of state. Buford (Ga.) won last year's edition, with fellow Georgia school Camden County taking the 2012 crown.

"There's going to be some tough competition now," Hilton Head coach Mike Newton said of the final matches. "We're glad to have those guys down here."

The Seahawks, who placed sixth at last week's 56-team Coastal Clash in Charleston, also are in the mix after a pair of breezy wins. Hilton Head opened with a 45-12 romp over South Effingham (Ga.), followed by a 52-21 victory over Laurens.

Talon Seitz and Martin Duane, who both won Coastal Clash individual titles, led a group of 10 Seahawks who went 2-0 on the day. That also included a pair of impressive performances from freshman Elihu Torres at 182 pounds.

"I always like looking at those younger guys who aren't there yet who had some hard-fought wins," Newton said.

Beaufort booked its place in the championship bracket with an opening win over Pickens, winning its first four matches by pin. Battery Creek nearly joined the Seahawks and Eagles with 2-0 marks, but fell to St. James 40-36 in its second match.

"We were one guy short to get it done," said Day, who got a 48-24 win over Bluffton in the Dolphins' opening match.

Day praised the effort of Cooper Kaminsky, who won both matches at 220 pounds despite giving up perhaps 30 pounds in weight. Kaminsky is ranked No.2 in Class 2-A at 195 pounds, but moved up to fill a holiday-induced vacancy.

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 12:04 AM with the headline "Three county teams still in Seahawk Duals mix."