Since Dec. 2, Frank Taylor III has turned a corner.
Coming into this year, the Ninety Six junior had already proven himself in his brief high school wrestling career. He got a pin in the 2022 Wildcats state championship win against Timberland and a week later finished in the top three at the 152-pound weight class as a sophomore. He placed fourth in the state in the 152-individual state championship as a freshman.
But on Dec. 2, Taylor was facing off against one of the best wrestlers in the country — Dominic Bambinelli at Southern Slam. Bambinelli was the National High School Coaches Association 152-pound freshman champion a year ago and is rated as the No. 11 160-pound wrestler in the country by SBLive.
The pair met in the third round of the 160-pound division, with Bambinelli winning the match with a tech fall (19-4).
Bambinelli won the division, while Taylor placed eighth, but that match gave Taylor the confidence he needed to take the next step in his wrestling career.
“He’s really good, like insane,” Taylor said. “My mindset is I’ve already wrestled the best. Who is there to wrestle? In my head, that’s what I think every match now is ‘Hey, I’ve already wrestled the best. Let’s go wrestle. He’s not better than (Bambinelli).’
“I definitely do feel better mentally than I did at Southern Slam because I wasn’t confident in my wrestling. Now, I just go out there and wrestle, no matter who it is.”
Since starting the season in Taylors, Taylor has dominated his junior season.
After wrestling at 152 last year, Taylor has moved up to the 160-pound class. In the latest SC Mat rankings, the junior is the No. 1 160-pound wrestler in 2/1A.
“He’s been really good for us, the past two years especially,” Ninety Six coach Roy Lemmons said. “He’s just that quiet kid that works hard all the time. ... This year, he’s come out of his shell. He’s turned another level.
“Since (Southern Slam), his confidence level is out the roof, and it’s starting to spread among the room. ‘Let’s see what type of work that he does and see how calm, cool and collected he is.’”
That confidence isn’t new. Taylor is driven by competition.
In the individual state championships, Taylor competed at 152 pounds, despite he could have cut weight and potentially won the 145-pound class.
But he wanted to face Crescent’s Kade Williams, who won the 152-pound individual state championship for Crescent last year and the 145-pound championship in 2021 and Roman Watford, who he defeated in the state championship meet.
“It’s just something that’s always kind of been there. This year, I’ve definitely been more competitive of who I’ve wanted to wrestle, no matter what team we’re wrestling. The better dude at whatever weight class is closest, I want to wrestle him,” Taylor said. “It just comes from deep down in there.”
He finished third in the competition, but that spark was lit.
On Dec. 10, Taylor became the sixth Wildcat to break 100 wins since Lemmons took over the program six years ago.
But he isn’t done yet. The junior plans to run the state for the next two years.
“To get 100 wins in basically 2½ years, it’s kind of unheard of,” Lemmons said. “I think he sets higher expectations for himself than I do. He mentioned last year that he wanted to be the new Kade Williams. He said ‘I’m the new Kade Williams’ and he’s said that since last year at state.
“He put the work in over the summer. He set that tone and still going after it.”
Contact sports writer Cody Estremera at 864-943-2530.
Contact sports writer Cody Estremera at 864-943-2530.
