Thomas Sumter's Steele-Allen captures state title on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Thomas Sumter's Aiden Steele-Allen reached the mountaintop over the weekend. The senior worked his way through the heavyweight bracket of the SCISA state championships and was the last man standing. After missing most of his junior season to injury, he was able to turn in a senior season to remember. He then added to his collection of honors by being named the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"Right when I won the state title, I already had friends messaging me, congratulating me. I even had people who went to Thomas Sumter my previous years, who I haven't spoken to in a minute, congratulating me," Steele-Allen said of the support he felt from the Generals. "It was really awesome knowing all these people were here for me."

TSA head coach Michael Spohn was thrilled to see such a driven individual fight his way to earning some impressive hardware.

"Watching this young man working with such dedication from the beginning of the season. He was just very business-like," Spohn said. "He worked on the moves we were teaching him in practice, and he was very dedicated to it. He has a habit of researching stuff on the side, as well. He showed no fear; he just went at it. When you get a kid like that, it's easy to do stuff because you just show them and get out of the way and let them go.

"To watch all the stuff he persevered through in his junior year with the injuries that hampered football and wrestling, to standing out like he did this year, that was really gratifying."

Steele-Allen's journey to the state title started with Greenwood Christian's Davis Peeler. He was able to grind out a victory by pin before what proved to be his toughest match. The senior fell behind early against Porter-Gaud's Antwann Chisolm but turned the corner in the second period and pulled out a pin to keep his championship dreams alive.

"He was playing very defensively, so when I had a chance to get on top in the second period, I threw my legs like my coach taught me and just went for the pin," Steele-Allen said. "I went very slowly making sure I would get everything out of it."

Spohn knew that Steele-Allen was going to be able to finish the job once he pinned Chisolm.

"It was in that second match. That guy was being really defensive with him, and there was no scoring until the very end. The guy got lucky and scored a quick takedown on him and went down 3-0," Spohn said. "He chose top, and I said OK. A lot of times, a heavyweight wants bottom because they want an escape to get some quick points. He chose top and had been working really hard with the double legs, and he did it to perfection. Once he got that move in, the pin was very fast.

"When that happened, I knew he had it. He kept his composure; he was never down. He stayed focused, and man did he show it in that match. He had a chance to crumble, and he didn't. He came back with a vengeance and pinned him."

Steele-Allen then faced Mason Driggers of Holly Hill for the first time in the championship match and got his third consecutive pin to claim the victory.

"He went for a head and arm, so I went for a double underhook to kind of defend it," the senior said, explaining his process. "I took him to the side of the mat, just in case something happened, so I could roll out of bounds. I ended up getting the pin right there."

Standing on the podium, Steele-Allen reflected on his journey to the championship. He missed most of his junior season with a debilitating back injury. While he finished that season with a fourth-place finish, he knew he was capable of reaching the top of the podium and worked relentlessly to achieve his dream.

"It was awesome. After almost three years of wrestling, last year having not a broken back but having to walk with a cane, knowing that I put all my hard work to good use and winning was just awesome. Especially seeing all of my friends and family there supporting me," he said. "It's just truly a gift. Going from crutches last year to immediately going to the state tournament and placing fourth was already pretty special in itself. This year, knowing I had to get back and truly worked to get back to my old strength and old self and getting over that and going farther than I ever did because I had people in my corner backing me, pushing me to go farther, is truly amazing."