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SEHS’ Santana sees first wrestling action after foot injury
SEHS wrestling team with trophy
The South Effingham wrestling team poses with its trophy after winning all five matches and claiming the Blue Line Duals championship Nov. 16 in Springfield. (Donald Heath for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald

SPRINGFIELD – South Effingham wrestler Emilio Santana is happy to get back on two pain-free feet again.

The senior saw his first action of season Nov. 16 at the Blue Line Duals and registered four wins, including a second-round pin to end the day in the Mustangs’ 71-10 win over host Effingham County.

Santana, a finalist at state in the 120-pound weight class last season, broke a bone at the top of his foot before the cross-country season this fall.

“It hurts every now and then but it’s fine,” Santana said. “I thought (the foot injury) was going to carry into maybe not the whole wrestling season but half of it, but it healed faster than I expected.”

That’s good news for the Mustangs who will be counting on Santana, one of four seniors on the team, for leadership after posting a 55-7 record a year ago.

Saturday, Santana weighed in at 131 pounds but wrestled at 138. In his Effingham County match, he built an 8-0 lead during the first period but occasionally put himself in positions for reversals.

He settled in and secured the pin in the second round.

“I feel healthy,” said Santana, who expects to get down to 120 during the traditional season.

And his goal for 2024-25 season?

“To win a state championship,” he said.

Attempt a takedown
South Effingham's Alarik Gibson (left) attempts a takedown during a match at the Blue Line Duals on Nov. 16 in Springfield. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)
But first things first. The dual season precedes the traditional season and Santana has been part of the Mustangs’ back-to-back team state titles.

South is off to a good start on its quest for a threepeat. Santana and his teammates won all five dual matches Saturday, beating Richmond Hill, Brunswick, Greenbrier, Greenbrier ‘B’ and Effingham County to claim the team title.

The Mustangs (10-0) won all five dual matches at the Harlem Kick-Off Classic the previous week. 

“We’re starting a lot of 9th, 10th and 11th graders,” SEHS coach Christopher Bringer said. “We’re very young but all the kids are pretty good. Our scores have been pretty big (to start the season), but we still have some work to do.”

Bringer said injuries have been mounting. His son Brayden “Bear” Bringer suffered a shoulder injury against Richmond Hill on Saturday.

Jeremiah Moon, an expected starter at 126, was hurt during the cross-country season, Bringer said.

But there have been some early surprises for the Mustangs. Tahrik Bailey remains undefeated at 120 along with Mayson Young at 126. Young scored a 15-0 technical fall win in his match with ECHS.

Freshman Brooklynn Hughes was the first female to compete for South Effingham in five years, Bringer said. 

Rebels coach Isiah Royal said his team was missing players from the football team that advanced to the state playoffs, but the early portion of the wrestling season can still have importance for the shorthanded group.

ECHS won one of its five matches Saturday.

“I have a lot of young guys who have been working hard and they’ve improved dramatically,” Royal said. “We want to set expectations now so when football players come back there’s already a standard in the room. … We have to be disciplined in our practice room because that will correlate to our matches.”