Several newspaper articles below capture the significance of this match:
Marion reaches first State Duals - great newspaper article with a Marion perspective
Liberty wrestlers fall short again in state final - great newspaper article with a Liberty perspective
2016 2A-1A State Duals Final (boxscore at link) - Marion 35, Liberty 32

Some interesting trivia from this match:
1. Marion's first first lead of the match did not occur until the final weight class.
2. Marion's match in the Semi-Finals of the State Duals versus Battery Creek came down to the last weight class as well - Marion 37, Battery Creek 35. Battery Creek was the two-time defending 2A-1A State Champions at the time, led by the legendary Coach Nathan Day.
3. Liberty's Coach Dale Burrell has always had a fire lit to win and 2 seasons after this match he was able to bring Coach Nathan Day to Liberty to continue the great coaching tradition.
4. Liberty would win their first State Duals Championship in 2023 with Coach Dale Burrell.
5. Marion's Coach Michael Steinbar had one of the finest seasons in 2016, with two of SC's biggest State Duals victories back to back.

This nine-part series will continue in the next few days with #7 on our list of the Greatest State Duals Finals.

If you notice a correction, addition or just want to comment to these historical articles, please send a reply to scmat@hotmail.com

thanks,

Mark Buford