Experience the difference in Class 3A wrestling final between Battery Creek, West-Oak

Battery Creek coach Nathan Day wasn’t surprised to see West-Oak as the opponent in the Class 3A wrestling championship Saturday afternoon at Dreher. The state finalists have been the two top-ranked schools since the preseason and were on a collision course for the state title.

Unfortunately for Day and the Dolphins, West-Oak had the better of things as the Warriors claimed the title with a 34-24 victory.

“They have some guys that we knew were going to be difficult to get on their backs and that’s the way it turned out,” Day said. “The experience level they have in a couple of weight classes was far more than we have. It was just their day.”

The teams wrestled earlier this year and Battery Creek won 37-33. The Dolphins didn’t score a pin this time around, though, and that turned out to be the key.

The match started at 132 pounds with West-Oak earning a pin. After that, it quickly turned into a back-and-forth affair.

Battery Creek (44-7) got a decision by Tyrus Singleton at 138 pounds and a forfeit at 145 to go ahead 9-6. The Warriors won the next two matches by decision before Tyshon White retied it at 12-all with a 10-8 decision over Ian James.

Ahman Smalls earned a 5-0 victory at 182 pounds to give Battery Creek a short-lived 15-12 lead.

Kevin Bryant, at 195 pounds, nearly had a first-period pin but the officials decided it came after the buzzer sounded. He went on to drop a 10-8 decision and, instead of getting six points for the pin, the Dolphins lost three points for a 15-15 tie.

“The referee said he thought he hit the mat before the buzzer,” Day said. “The assistant referee said the buzzer was late and the period ended before the pin. It was a judgment call that went against us.”

West-Oak carried the momentum the rest of the way.

Battery Creek won at 220 pounds despite bumping up the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state in that division, Cooper Kaminsky, to the 285-pound weight class.

Gavin James had a solid 60-pound weight advantage that Kaminsky couldn’t overcome in dropping a 5-3 decision.

West-Oak forfeited at 103 to give Battery Creek a 24-18 advantage but scored consecutive pins at 113 and 120 pounds to clinch the match.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Experience the difference in Class 3A wrestling final between Battery Creek, West-Oak."