Lower State vs. Upper State

 

The Lower State has dominated the Upper-State for the past two years, and that is because of the lack of the All-Time Power House, Rock Hill.  I think that Rock Hill will eventually get back to where they were 3 years ago, but for the past two years, Byrnes and Irmo have been the top teams in the Upper State.  Irmo and Byrnes are definitely competitive teams, but my point is that Lower State teams have dominated the top 5 for the past two years.  Last year’s finished rankings were: 1st Summerville, 2nd Dutch Fork, 3rd Byrnes, 4th Irmo, and 5th Hilton Head.  Two years ago, there were 4 teams from the Lower State in the Semi-Finals of the State Duals; Dutch Fork beat Berkeley to reach the finals, and Summerville defeated Spring Valley to reach the Finals.  I think the final rankings were:  1st Summerville, 2nd Dutch Fork, 3rd Berkeley, 4th Spring Valley, and 5th Hilton Head.

Now that Irmo has moved to the Lower State, we have gained one of the Upper State's elite teams; but Irmo was in exchange for Spring Valley, and Spring Valley was a power in the Lower State.  I will admit that this levels things a little, but I still have to give the edge to the Lower State with 4 returning State Champions and 7-9* other returning State Placers, while the Upper State is left with 1 returning State Champion and 10-12* returning State Placers.  On top of this, Summerville picked up a AAA State Champion.  Also, Caleb Capocciama (Strat), Eric Lambert (DF), Andrew Benton (DF), Jamie Clark (Irmo), Mark Wojoski (Irmo), Jada Ross (Summ), and Alex Piper (HH) will be out for blood this year.  The Lower State looks just as stacked as it was for the past two years.  This will be an exciting season filled with lots of competition between the Upper and Lower State; I can't wait!

 

2002-2003 Season

Lower State vs. Upper State

Based on Last Year

 

Lower State                                                 Upper State

103:    Andrew Young (Summ)        Def.                 Brandon Goen (Byrnes)

112:    Anthony Manross (Irmo)       Def.                 Roderick Wright (RH)

119:    Gerald Turner (Summ)          Def.                 Antonio Knox (NW)

125:    Jamie Clark (Irmo)                Def. by            Cole Wilson (Byrnes)

130:    Omar Heyward (Berk)          Def.                 J. J. Davis (Byrnes)

135:    T. J. Selke (DF)                     Def.                 Michael Phelps (Lex)

140:    Andrew Benton (DF)             Def. by                        Ryan Reedy (Lex)

145:    ?????                                                             Jason Starnes (RH)

152:    Caleb Capocciama (Strat)  Def.                 Randy Nazionale (RV)

160:    Mark Wojoski (Irmo)             Def. by            Will Kuhn (SV)

171:    ?????                                                             ?????

189:    Jada Ross (Summ)                                       ?????

215:    Nick Leone (DF)                                           ?????

275:    ?????                                                             ?????