Iron Horse grapplers: Tough & talented

Just how tough will Region 8-AAA be when it comes to the 2023-24 wrestling season?

 

The Philip Simmons High School team is ranked No. 13 in the state in the scmat.com preseason poll of Class AAA teams. That makes the Iron Horses one of the top teams in the Palmetto State. But when it comes to region expectations, the Iron Horses are in the middle of the pack as Hanahan (No.5), Beaufort (No. 11) and Battery

Creek (No. 12) are ranked ahead of the Iron Horses.

 

“I kind of think that’s where we should be (ranked),” said Iron Horse coach Anthony Sardelli, who arrived on campus in time for the 2019-20 season and helped guide the program through the Covid-19 era. “One of the biggest things we now have to deal with is (player) retention. We’ve had some of our guys move out of the area and

have transferred. But we still have a lot of guys pushing for a trip to the state.”

 

Sardelli has proved to be the man with the plan for the Iron Horse program. He wrestled at tradition-rich Fort Dorchester High School, graduating in 2006 and then attended – and graduated from the College of Charleston and graduate school at The Citadel. He coached at Hanahan, Cane Bay and West Ashley before landing the

PSHS job.

 

In 2019, Philip Simmons sent seven wrestlers to compete at the state meet. 

 

However, that number dropped to four in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic affected the schedule and the number of playoff entrants was limited.

 

While a couple of players who competed at the state championships moved away, the team still has a strong nucleus of grapplers who have all-state potential, thanks to talent and hard work.

 

One of the wrestlers, Matt Spignardo, could be known from coast to coast by the time he graduates in 2026. He was a freshman last winter and finished third in the state in the 126-pound division.

 

“For him, the sky is the limit,” Sardelli said of Spignardo, who has been a member of the program since the seventh grade. “He’s the total package. He’s a super athlete who works every day to get better. I think in a couple of years we will be having a conversation about him being an all-American.”

 

But the talent doesn’t end there as Bryce Smalls, Alex Watson, Josh Gant and freshman Sully Silbiger all have the potential to medal this season. Smalls and Gant were standouts on the gridiron for the Iron Horses. Both played linebacker.

 

Smalls competes in the 190-pound division and is 12-0 so far this season.

 

“He’s a monster on the mat,” Sardelli said. “He puts his opponents on their backs, and there’s nothing they can do about it.”

 

Watson, who competes in the 113-pound division, could medal at the individual state championships while Gant is a two-time state qualifier.

 

Silbiger just started wrestling last year. Sardelli said the freshman is a natural.

 

“He’s good,” Sardelli said. “For as long as he’s been wrestling, he’s very good.”