On February 26-27, six Chapin Eagles visited Anderson, SC to compete in the State Wrestling Tournament. Paul Collingwood (126 pounds), Taylor Cabe (138 pounds), Cole Haile (182 pounds), and Hank Manos (285 pounds) returned home with Third Place honors.
The second day’s competition was particularly exciting. In the consolation semi-finals, Haile spotted his opponent a 5-0 advantage early in the first period. Then, he rallied in the second period to take the lead and finish the bout with a pin. In the consolation finals for third place, Collingwood and Haile won hard-fought decisions 5-3 and 5-4, respectively. Cabe used physical strength and superior technique to pin his opponent and Manos broke a 4-4 tie with fifteen seconds remaining to record 3 near-fall points and seal a 7-4 victory.
The Eagles, under the leadership of Head Coach Ken Wilson and seniors AJ Spearman, Cory Bianco, Paul Collingwood, Grant Frick, Matthew Hutton, and Drew Remensnyder, close a very successful season that included Coach Wilson’s 500th career coaching victory, a 24-4 record, a Top 8 finish in team competition, 14 Upper State individual qualifiers, 6 State individual qualifiers, and four third-place finishes in the State tournament. Other individual superlatives include
Most wins: Taylor Cabe, 50
Most pins: Cole Haile, 36
Highest winning percentage: Hank Manos 89.1% (49 wins, 6 defeats)
Chapin will be moving to the Lower State area next season. However, with more than one dozen lettermen returning and a talented rising ninth-grade class, the team is optimistic for continued success for the 2016-17 season.