Spartanburg High School’s (SHS) wrestling team has grown substantially this past year. The team competed against local rivals Riverside, Byrnes and Gaffney. Additionally, the girls team has now competed at a varsity level for two consecutive years. They competed in important events such as the Spartanburg County Wrestling Tournament, which was held in Spartan High School’s own arena.
The boys’ wrestling team obtained a well-won region victory over Gaffney on Dec. 16, 2025. The match winners for the boys wrestling team included Ja’Hari Dawkins (9), Nasir Lindsay (10), Landon Viau (12), Malaki Nesbitt (12), Devin Purdy (11), Amir Harris (11), Samijay Huff (11) and BJ Sanders (11).
Michel Keller (10) competed in the Gaffney meet.
“My favorite match this season was when we went up against Gaffney and had a ton of great matches to start, and that energy kept flowing through the night. My favorite memory was when Nasir got a crazy pin in county, which he went on to win. This year my goals were to give full effort in practice to in turn replicate it on the mat, and I did so successfully,” Keller said.
The boys team was also very competitive with several region dual wins this year. The guys team also had several wrestlers who consistently placed in individual tournaments. Purdy and Sanders’ skills won them a place in the prestigious Bearcat Invitational held early January that featured schools across South Carolina. Lindsey, Purdy and Harris competed in day two of the Upper State Tournament hosted at Boiling Springs High School, Feb. 13–14. Harris continued to compete at the boys’ Individual State Tournament this year with an impressive 3-2 record for the weekend.
Carter Campbell (12) enjoyed his last year wrestling for Spartan High.
“My favorite match of the year was at the Maiden Christmas Classic. I really loved getting to stay at hotels for overnight tournaments and just hanging out with my teammates. The goals I set for this season were to go to state and to get 1st place at region,” Campbell said.
The girls wrestling team qualified for the dual state tournament. The girls competed well in individual tournaments, winning the RS Central Girls Havoc Tournament and placing runner-up in the Ms. Claus Invitational. Lorrene Smith (12) placed in the prestigious Bearcat Invitational. The Lady Vikings finished the year with Dessa Nunez (12), Madelynn Purdy (9), Eva Claire Davis (9), Bella Moore (12) and Alivia Rundgren (9) making it to day two of the Upper State Tournament. Rundgren qualified and competed in the individual girls’ State Tournament as a freshman.
Davis has wrestled for District 7 for three years and has loved getting to know her team and coaches better.
“The best piece of advice I have been given by a coach was, ‘Anyone can be beat, even state champs,’ from Coach Purdy,” Davis said.
This year, because of the snow in Spartanburg, the members of the SHS wrestling team participated in the “snow singlet challenge.” This challenge is where wrestling athletes play in the snow in only their wrestling singlet. Teams or individuals nominate others to participate in the activity, creating a chain of responses. This challenge builds team spirit and shows off athletes tough mindset during the cold weather.
