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Fort Dorchester wrestling back in contention in AAAA

By David Shelton

Senior Writer

North Charleston – Though maybe not the overall favorite to win the AAAA state duals team championship this season, the Fort Dorchester High wrestling team may be a strong contender.

Under the direction of veteran coach B.D. LaPrad, the Fort Dorchester program has become one of the top AAAA programs in the state. Fort Dorchester won state championships during the 2006-07 season and again during the 2009-10 season.

Last year, Fort Dorchester lost in the lower state title match, 33-32, to Lexington. LaPrad has won three state titles as a coach (one at Dutch Fork), and has led six teams to state runner-up finishes.

The 2011-12 team is again ranked as one of the state’s top teams. Fort Dorchester was ranked sixth in the latest Class AAAA top 20 by SCMAT.com. The Patriots were the top-ranked team in the lower state in that list.

Fort Dorchester is closing in on another region 8-AAAA title as the wrestlers prepare for the state duals playoffs, as well as the state individual tournament. Both events take place during the month of February.

LaPrad has a mixture of veterans and first-time performers on the roster this season but as the season progresses, most of the starting lineup is of veteran status.

Working in the 106-pound weight class this winter has been Tyree Wright.

Senior Javon Jordan, who won the state AAAA title at 103 last season, is wrestling in the 113-pound division for most of this season. He is ranked as the third best wrestler in his weight class by SCMAT.com.

Trevor Johnson is settling in at 120 but junior Dallas Brown can wrestle in that class as well. Brown also competes in the 126-pound class and is ranked as a top 10 performer at 120. He was a state qualifier last season at 112.

Working at 132 are senior Matthew Culp and Daquan Buksha. Cody Williams can wrestle in the 138-pound weight class and Charles Washington sees time there as well.

Austin Ziliak performs in the 145-pound weight class. Daquon Wilson wrestles at 152 and 160, along with Bryce Tapscott and Anthony Mount.

Senior Alex Bugarin is the top performer at 170 and sharing time this season as the 182-pounder are Daitwan Commodore and Michael Shuster.

Kevyn Flores and Chris Marshall are sharing some time at 195 though Flores is the first-teamer.

Working at 220 is Delton Wells, with Cody Maree having seen time as well.

In the 285-and-up class is senior Myles Moultrie, a state qualifier last season.

 

 

March.
"Our goal is to finish the job this year," said Wheaton. "We had a great summer and offseason work program and this team has come into the season with good focus and good intensity so far. After the season we had last year, the expectations are very high here. We have to understand that after the season we had last year, we know that everyone we play will bring their A game. Our players have to be able to elevate their play even higher if we hope to achieve our goals."
Fort Dorchester is off to a 5-0 start this season and appears to be clicking on all cylinders, despite the fact that a few players were involved in football. Wheaton has three returning starters and more depth than he had to work with last year.
The biggest returning starter is 6-8 senior small forward R.J. Slawson, who has signed to play at South Carolina next season. Slawson averaged 19.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game as a junior. He is averaging more than 22 points per game early on this season.
"He's a complete game changer and when he's on the floor, we are difficult to defend," said Wheaton. "He has worked really hard to become a better player and it shows early on."
Senior Laurez Matthews returns as a starting guard.
"He just plays hard all of the time," said Wheaton. "He can do a lot of things for us. He can score and he can defend. He's a very tough kid and he loves to compete."
Corey Wright (6-2) returns at a forward and is one of the team's more valuable players because of the little things he does on a court, says Wheaton.
"He does things that people don't see in the stat box," said the coach. "He can score inside and he usually guards the other team's best player. He's a really valuable piece of the puzzle."
Sophomores Rodney Gibbs and Bradley Frazier are moving into starting roles and key reserve roles. Gibbs is a 6-2 swing man that can rebound and score. Frazier will run a lot of point guard this season. Both players saw extensive playing time as freshmen.
"We need those guys to play well and to contribute," said Wheaton. "They're the future of the program and we want them to start being key players right now."
Marcus Bowdry is a transfer from Georgia and has seen immediate early playing time as a starter.
"We have a good basketball team, if we work really hard. We won't be given anything. The region we play in and the lower state, it's really tough," said Wheaton. "We have to understand we were close last year but we're not there yet. I think we're still a hungry team and we have to use that hunger to make us better everyday in practice.
"We have to outwork every team we play. We might play teams with better shooters or maybe they're quicker than we are, but we're not going to let any team out-work us. If we stay disciplined and focused on that attitude, we can do some great things."