COLUMBIA – The Blythewood wrestling squad headed into the South Carolina High School League 5A State Duals as a number four-seed, and in the first round they drew the aggressive Ashley Ridge Foxes. The Foxes were nearly perfect, en route to a 54-15 first round victory against the Bengals.
The Bengals suffered three pin-fall losses at 126, 132 and 145 in the first four match-ups. Ashley Ridge’s hot start propelled them to an 18-6 lead, and they punched their ticket to second round with four more pin-fall victories in the 160, 170,182 and 192 pound divisions.
Even though the Bengals’ season came to a close, Blythewood qualified 12 of their 13 competitors for the State Individual Championships on Feb.16 and Feb.17 at River Bluff High School.