RAEFORD — There really wasn’t a better way for the Richmond County Schools’ middle school wrestling team to end its inaugural season than with a conference championship.
And that’s what the Raiders did Saturday at Hoke County High School. Competing in the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference championship meet, Richmond edged Anson Middle School by a half a point to bring home the title.
Not only did Richmond squeeze past an experienced Anson team 185-184.5, the Raiders also saw four wrestlers earn individual conference championships by winning their respective weight classes.
Richmond also saw three second-place wrestlers, three third-place winners, and rounded out the day with five fourth-place finishers.
The first-place winners were Ty Murray (85-pound), Tykeem Ellerbe (128-pound), Dylan Locklear (197-pound) and Sebastian Fullwood (252-pound). Earning second-place finishes were Messiah Shaw (115-pound), Irwin Campos (134-pound) and Jabori Hester (222-pound).
“It feels great to be conference champions,” head coach Richard Kerekes commented. “But Coach (Andre) Ellerbe and I are most proud of the hard work, the character and the good sportsmanship that the Richmond wrestlers showed this whole season.
“It has been a long season and these athletes and their parents have been very helpful and dedicated to make this season a success,” he added.
Murray defeated Sandy Grove Middle School’s Noah Rios in his championship match, making it the second time in the last two matches he defeated Rios. Tykeem Ellerbe rolled through the 122-pound weight class, holding off Anson’s Kevin Graham for the title.
Locklear took the 197-pound championship with a win over Anson’s Jesse James, while Fullwood completed an undefeated season by defeating West Hoke Middle School’s Robert Sneed in the heavyweight championship.
Shaw, Campos and Hester came up just short in their championship bids, falling to Landon Nelson (Sandy Grove), Montez Stephans (West Hoke) and Elijah Williams (Sandy Grove), respectively.
“For our first season ever, I had no idea what to expect,” Kerekes said reflecting on his team’s championship run. “I knew it was going to be a challenge with only having one or two athletes who had ever wrestled before.
“Coach Ellerbe and I had to start from the basics and teach our team everything about the sport, while playing ‘catch up’ facing opponents that have had wrestling programs for a while,” he continued.
Taking third place in their weight classes for Richmond were Will Whitley, Jaxson Martin and James Strickland. Whitley didn’t have an opponent to face in the 78-pound weight class, while Martin beat Dakota Johnston (West Hoke) in the 100-pound class. Strickland (172-pound) finished his season by knocking off East Hoke’s Noah Glass.
Fourth-place finisher for the Raiders were Louis Fernandez (122-pound), Naamon Perakis (140-pound), Eric Green (147-pound), Matt Burns (162-pound) and VJ Whaley (184-pounds).
Rounding out the six-team standings were Sandy Grove (171 points), Carver Middle School (157 points), West Hoke (108 points) and East Hoke (99 points). Like middle school cross country, regular season records don’t help determine the conference champion.
“I want to especially thank all of the parents who helped the athletes travel to and from practice,” Kerekes concluded. “Also all of the athletic directors, especially Allen Adeimy, for all of their support.
“I want to thank Coach Ellerbe’s fiance and my wife for being so understanding and supportive of the countless hours of practice and time away from our families and babies at home to make this first season possible.”
