Eastside High School from Greenville enters as the favorite in the tournament with four other schools, including Chesterfield and Cheraw, expected to battle it out for second.
"We have 15 good combination teams coming this year, with Eastside the heavy favorite coming in," Chesterfield head coach Lance Abernathy said, "but anything can happen at these tournaments."
Eastside brings a 3A squad to the tournament that returned 13 out of its 14 starters from last year's state runner-up team. The only new face on Eastside's roster is freshman J.C. Otto, who Abernathy acknowledges as the most talented freshman to ever come out of South Carolina.
"This guy has won every tournament imaginable," Abernathy said. "He's all-state, all-world - everything."
The 135-pounder will be joined by teammates Matt Leach, a returning 103-pound state champ; Justin Brewer at 119; Daniel Leader, a 130-pound state runner-up from last year; Wesley Linton at 160; and Quinn Williams at 171 pounds.
Four teams hoping to give the Eastside boys a run for their money at the Rumble this year are the hosting Rams, Cheraw, Dreher and West Oak.
Chesterfield enters the tournament having won the past three Ram Rumbles. Big name wrestlers for the Rams include returning state champ Dave Michaud in the 119-pound weight class; 112-pound Danny Curtis; Jay Gainey in the 125-pound class; 130-pound Dan Hanna; Buddha Bridges at 189; R.L. Stack at 215; and heavyweight Joe Bragg.
Also a top wrestler for Chesterfield, 160-pound Daquan Ingram, may not be at Saturday's tournament because of an injury he sustained earlier in the season.
The second-place ranked Cheraw squad will also be looking to come up big at this weekend's tournament. Two-time state champ Donte Isaac and returning state champ Dameon Pegues will both be in action for the Braves. Isaac will compete in the 125-pound division, while Pegues will square off in the 103-pound class.
Third-ranked 3A school Dreher from Columbia will send three state qualifiers to the tournament this year. Returning state runner-up Michael Hood will be Dreher's 160-pound grappler, while Chris Brazzel and Ross Potts will take up the 125 and 189 spots respectively.
The other team expected to finish near the top of this weekend's tournament will be West Oak. West Oak entered the season ranked number one in division 2A; however, several injuries have caused them to fall from the top spot.
West Oak's most successful wrestlers this season have been Ronnie Rogers, who is a heavy favorite to win the 152-pound state title this year; Luke McJunkin, in the 125-pound class; Wren Moore at 160; and Donnie Pass, who wrestles 189.
Other teams competing in the tournament will include North Central, Laurens, Liberty, Aynor, Buford, Marion, Clover, Richmond County, Marlboro County and Monroe.
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