Seahawks duo gets perfect ending as 7 wrestlers capture state titles

Talon Seitz typically stays low-key after winning his matches, but the Hilton Head Island senior had every reason to exult a little bit Saturday evening.

“It feels like I won two state titles today,” Seitz said after finishing off an undefeated season by winning the Class 3-A championship at 170 pounds.

Teammate Martin Duane might have proclaimed something similar, also capping an unbeaten record with the 182-pound title, as the Seahawk seniors led a parade of seven Beaufort County wrestlers to leave the Anderson Civic Center with state championships.

Beaufort’s Tramone Jenkins joined Seitz as a two-time state champion, emphatically defending his Class 3-A title at 113 pounds. The Eagles crowned a second in Will Spann, whose overtime triumph over Emerald’s Connor Pirkle at 126 pounds avenged a semifinal loss a year ago.

Battery Creek also took home two titles from the Class 2-A/1-A meet, with Omar Daniels (126) and Cooper Kaminsky (195) ascending to the top after runner-up finishes last year.

And Billy Christie rounded out a trio of championships for Hilton Head by winning the 160-pound crown.

“You want to see them succeed, so it’s a good feeling,” said Seahawks coach Mike Newton, noting that it had been 13 years since Hilton Head had produced one undefeated wrestler — let alone two.

Seitz — who won a Class 4-A title last year while at Bluffton — and Duane were the cornerstones of a Hilton Head squad that won the Lower State title before falling to Eastside in the championship. Their excellence allowed Newton to strategically move them up in weight against certain opponents.

“Just hard workers,” Newton said. “Two seniors that you want to see succeed, and they deserved it.”

Seitz faced what figured to be one of the night’s showcase matches, taking on Emerald’s Luke Newton in a match between foes who had one loss between them. Seitz, though, controlled the match throughout in a 12-3 major decision that capped a 54-0 season.

Duane also finished 54-0, providing an even bigger exclamation point when he pinned Emerald’s Kivontay Clinkscales in just 24 seconds.

Christie overcame a 3-1 deficit entering the final period to beat Chester’s Cardan Williams, winning 4-3 when Williams got a late penalty for stalling. Christie had tied the match with a reversal to start the period, then continued to ride his opponent as the clock ticked down.

Jenkins completed a 55-1 season with his third pin of the weekend, finishing off West Oak’s Justin Smith with 41 seconds left in the second period. Smith had led 3-2 after the first before Jenkins turned up the pressure.

Jenkins’ twin brother, Tramon, wasn’t able to match his brother as he lost his 120-pound final to Eastside’s Zane Mitchell. Spann followed, though, with a dramatic victory in a match that stood at 1-1 after regulation before he finally took Pirkle down in the extra session.

Daniels and Kaminsky took opposite paths in bringing Battery Creek its titles. Daniels beat Landrum’s Wrenn Pierce 10-8, surviving a wild third period after Daniels had taken a 5-2 lead into the final 2 minutes.

Kaminsky came from behind in his 8-3 win over Marion’s Harold Mearite. He trailed 3-2 early in the third before taking Mearite down and almost pinning him near the end.

Hilton Head’s Alex Braden had a chance to join Seitz and Jenkins with back-to-back titles, but never got the upper hand in a 10-3 loss to Berea’s Auston Hall.

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Seahawks duo gets perfect ending as 7 wrestlers capture state titles."