What seemed to be a completed process is now far from over.
The Loris wrestling team was notified just moments before its Class AA state wrestling duals championship match was to begin Thursday that they would not be allowed to wrestle.
Following weigh-ins and as the Lions were warming up for their match with Woodruff, South Carolina High School League commissioner Jerome Singleton entered the gym and asked to speak with both coaches. He informed the coaches that Hanahan and Berkeley County School District officials had appealed a ruling by the SCHSL's Executive Committee earlier in the day that put Loris in the title match.
"They took it to a judge and shut us down," Loris coach Thomas Britt said. "They appealed the decision that the high school league's executive committee made this morning."
Hanahan, which beat Loris 34-33 in the Lower State championship Feb. 10, was ruled the day after the Lower State title match to have used a wrestler in a weight class for which he was ineligible and was forced to forfeit that wrestler's victory in the Lower State match. The change in scoring gave Loris a 39-31 victory, but Hanahan and Berkeley County School District officials decided to fight the ruling by SCHSL commissioner Jerome Singleton and obtained a court injunction to halt the state championship match until the hearing.
On Thursday morning, the league's executive committee voted 13-0 to deny Hanahan's appeal. That ruling cleared the way for Loris to face Woodruff in the title match at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Ridge View High School in Columbia.
Britt said the court order was issued in Berkeley County and the high school league will have to appear before a judge on Tuesday to explain their decision. What transpires after that will determine when and if a Class AA state championship match will be wrestled.
"In all likelihood this is going to be a long, drawn out process," Britt said. "I don’t see this being over any time soon."
For more on this story, see Friday's edition of TheSunNews.
