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Cane Bay's JJ Peace is a two-time state champion.

New Cane Bay wrestling coach Aaron Hynick has been with the program since 2015.

Cane Bay's JJ Peace is a two-time state champion.

New Cane Bay wrestling coach Aaron Hynick has been with the program since 2015.

The Cane Bay High School wrestling program may have a new point man in the winter, but the Cobras will be ready to strike on the mat as usual.

The Cobras began their first offseason with Aaron Hynick at the helm when veteran coach Tim Wash took a step back in March. Wash, who finished with over 500 career duals victories, guided Cane Bay to the Region 7-AAAAA crown last season and earned the region’s coach of the year nod. He’ll serve in some capacity for the 2022-23 campaign, though, but will have more time to hunt and fish.

From a personnel standpoint, the needle is definitely pointing up. The Cobras lost just one senior starter from a squad that advanced to the second round of the Class 5A state duals. They'll be as experienced as any bunch in the Lowcountry.

“We’ve got a team that’s ready to surprise some people,” said Hynick, a Cane Bay assistant since 2015. “I’m hearing guys saying they want to go to state and win state. They want to do big things as a team. They’ve got something they want to do and I’m going to do everything I can to lead them in that direction.”

The Cobras will construct a tough lineup around two-time state champion JJ Peace. The rising junior is the reigning Region 7-AAAAA wrestler of the year. Peace is unbeaten in two high school campaigns with state titles at 106 and 113 pounds. After last season, he earned all-American honors by placing fourth at sophomore nationals in Virginia Beach.

“He’s our building block,” Hynick said. “He’s a guy who everybody leans on. He’s always won. Now, he’s also become more of a (vocal) leader.”

Additional all-region wrestlers who can return for the Cobras are Madeline Bowlin (106), Noah Outen (113), Caiden Saavedra (132) and Will Coker (220). Saavedra, a rising sophomore, placed fourth in the state last season.

“Our team last year was really, really young,” Hynick said. “We were sophomore-junior heavy. This year, we’re going to be junior-senior heavy. We’ve got some good incoming freshmen and some freshmen who have been working hard since the season ended.”

While Cane Bay’s lighter wrestlers have the most accolades to this point in their high school careers, the heavier grapplers are coming, too. Hynick has seen the group getting after it in the weight room as football season approaches.

“Those guys have impressed the heck out of me,” he said. “I see them weightlifting for football. Whatever they’re doing, they’re all in. At camp, they showed me some stuff. They’re willing to go in the deep waters and get themselves tired, and do what they can to come out on top.”

Included in the bigs with Coker are rising senior Jaden Ussery, rising senior Ben Newton, rising junior Jayden Ferguson and rising junior Andrew Tumbleston.

As far as competing as a team this summer, the Cobras won 10 of their 13 duals matches at Lander’s camp in June and tangled with Cross High School in another matchup. The two Berkeley County programs got in a productive day’s work.

“A lot of our guys are playing football, but we’ve got another group that’s all-in on wrestling like JJ and guys like that,” Hynick said. “They haven’t stopped practicing since our season ended. They’re going around with the clubs around Charleston and trying to get as much mat time as they can.”

Hynick can relate to his wrestlers’ journeys. From his own experience, he knows the effort and discipline it takes to pull up a singlet and fight the day-to-battle with food. Hynick began wrestling at 8 years old.

He won a Kansas high school state championship 15 years ago and became a club national champion as an individual and team member as a junior and senior at Wichita State.

Gaining the keys to his own program is another dream come true.

“This is definitely something I’ve had my eye on for a little while,” Hynick said. “There are some nerves, but I’m extremely excited. One thing that keeps me from getting too overwhelmed is Coach Wash will still be around. It’s good to have a mentor who has been doing it as long as he has. He knows as much as anybody.”

Before leading Cane Bay for 11 seasons, Wash guided Lugoff-Elgin to three state championships and three runner-up finishes. He also led Rock Hill to a pair of runner-ups.

Wash garnered five region coach of the year honors at Cane Bay and went 13-5 in 2021-22, winning the region title for the fourth time since 2017.

Hynick's first squad figures to make a serious run at another region crown.

The Berkeley Independent 103 Journal Alley Summerville, SC 29483