Lan Hiers and Player Long, 8th graders at BEMS, were recently honored by selection to the South Carolina Middle School All-Star Wrestling Team---TEAM PALMETTO. These coveted spots were earned through wrestle-offs against the best grapplers in the state following their 1st Place finishes at the 2009 SC AAU Wrestling Championships. Lan filled the 115 pound class and Player took the 125 pound class for the team.

Team Palmetto, consisting of the top 25 middle school wrestlers ranging from 75 pounds to 250 pounds, represented our state well at the national level competing in two of the toughest wrestling duals in the country. First, the middle school team traveled to Indianola, Iowa on April 17th to participate in the AAU Middle School Duals where the best 32 Middle School All-Star teams in America compete. Team Palmetto went 4 and 4 in the tournament; but won the Copper Division on the final day of wrestling by deafeating Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Both Lan and Player had 5 wins and 3 losses on the weekend against top wrestlers from across the nation, which earned them Individual AAU All-American honors.

The following weekend the team traveled to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the Ohio Tournament of Champion Duals. Team Palmetto was pooled with 5 teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Michigan, and Indiana; and wrestled tough to handily win all 5 dual matches. Lan and Player again had the identical records on the day with 4 wins and 1 loss each. Both young men are looking forward to wrestling next year at the high school level for BEHS.

(Article written by John Hiers-----Thanks!)