Jenkins, Day receive top accolades from area coaches

One almost feels sorry for the rest of the state when any wrestling team from Beaufort County shows up.

There’s Tramone Jenkins, a three-time state champion. Until he came along, no one from Beaufort County had won three successive state wrestling titles in 23 years.

His twin brother, Tramon, was a state runner-up and both earned scholarships to Spartanburg Methodist College. They are National Merit Scholars with 4.0 GPAs at Beaufort High School.

There’s Battery Creek coach Nathan Day, whose teams have won state championships six times since 1991, behind only four other South Carolina schools (Rock Hill, 18; Summerville, 12; Eastside, 11; and Swansea, 10).

And Omar Daniels and Cooper Kaminsky, both of Battery Creek, were each state champs twice.

Why is Beaufort County such a powerhouse?

“Nate Day and (former Beaufort High coach) Bill Damude came in the mid-1980s and they built these programs up,” said Beaufort High coach Travis Wynn. “Everyone in the state knows them. We’re a very lucky county.”

Working within that wealth of talent, coaches from Battery Creek, May River, Beaufort, Whale Branch and Bluffton high schools voted for an all-area wrestling team. They selected Tramone Jenkins as Wrestler of the Year and Day as Coach of the Year.

“It’s nice to receive the award because there are a lot of good coaches in our area,” Day said. “Beaufort is a very competitive county. The coaches here put a lot of work in. We’re one of the stronger counties in South Carolina.”

As for Tramone Jenkins, Day attributes his success to a lifetime of hard work.

“He’s worked hard since he was in kindergarten,” the coach said. “His dad wrestled at Beaufort.”

Wynn credits Tramone’s success to his brother.

“They beat the crap out of each other. With that kind of competition since you’re been five years old, that makes a difference,” Wynn said, laughing.

Wynn said either brother could have won a state crown this year, but they could have only one wrestler per weight class and Tramone got the lower one at 126 pounds. Tramon competed at 132, although they started the year with only a three-pound difference.

“Both of them always want to learn and they run harder and faster than anyone else,” Wynn said. “It really was a pleasure to coach them.”

Benji Jenkins, the twins’ father, wrestled while at Beaufort High, as well as in the Marine Corps and afterward.

“One evening after I wrestled in Columbia, my neck was bothering me so I was laying on the floor,” the proud parent said. “I could hear them in the other room and one of them was trying to make a sound like a whistle. I went into the other room and they were wrestling. They were three years old. I asked if they wanted me to show them some holds and they said yes.”

A year later, they were competing through USA Wrestling. Most kids start at age 6.

“They always had a training partner — each other,” Benji Jenkins said. “They were 10 or 12 years old before anyone beat them. Usually, they competed against each other in the finals and took first and second place.”

Early on, it was Tramon who usually won, but Tramone caught up in high school.

Benji Jenkins, a retired Marine, said he was adamant about his sons’ academic progress.

“I told them, ‘You have only one chance to get your education,’ ” he explained. “I didn’t think they would want to go to college because they want to be Navy SEALS. They surprised me.

“I’m so proud of them.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Jenkins, Day receive top accolades from area coaches."