LDHS has established a historic legacy over the past half-century, with the wrestling program growing over the years. A sport that pushes one mentally and physically based on skills, balance, strength and, most importantly, technique, the Raider wrestling program continues an ancient tradition.
Wrestling, considered one of the oldest sports in the world, dates back to ancient Greece and was first introduced to the Olympics in 708 BCE. In spite of the sport’s long history, many parents have opinions against wrestling due to the safety of their kids and believe that wrestling should not be a high school sport because of how dangerous it is. However, wrestling can build a person mentally and physically stronger.
Laurens’ wrestling program began when LDHS opened in the 1970s, but it was not as big as it is today. The team was still growing and improving in the early years, but the team became Region champions in 1974 and also became Region champions in 1976, 1977 and 1978 and also in 1989 and 1990, back to back.
From 1998-2021, the team was led by coach Rob Sheffield. Sheffield was a wrestling assistant coach at LDHS in 1997 before becoming head coach in 1998. Sheffield believes that being able to handle adversity on the mat prepares players to face adversity in life.
“Responding when things go well is easy; it’s how we act in the hard moments that truly defines us. We will all experience difficulties when we wrestle,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield wanted to teach his athletes the importance of life while being able to get through the tough times, especially in the sport they love. He said he loved helping each one of his wrestlers grow and develop; Sheffield was pleased with his athletes, whether they won or lost.
“I’m proud of every wrestler I’ve coached—because stepping on the mat alone takes grit,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield shared that one of his most rewarding parts from the time he was a coach at LDHS was helping wrestlers evolve and mature. Sheffield had coached many wrestlers, but a wrestler who stood out to him the most was Sid Gutierrez, ’11. Gutierrez did not win a single match during his freshman year, but then senior year he won over 30 matches and became a key leader on a team that won the Region championship.
“We couldn’t have won the Region championship without him, and it would’ve been easy for him to give up on wrestling,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield’s former athlete Joseph Adams, who is LDHS’s building construction teacher, wrestled for LDHS from 2008-2012. After high school, Adams attended Spartanburg Methodist College for wrestling. In 2016 Adams came back to LDHS to teach, and the next year he became assistant coach for the Raider team from 2017-2020. In 2021 Adams stepped up and became the LDHS wrestling head coach. Adams has always been a big supporter of the Raiders because he grew up in Laurens and wrestled for the team. After three years of being head coach, Adams stepped down but still continues to support the Raiders and runs the LDHS youth team for kids ages 4-14.
After Adams’ time coaching, the wrestling team kept growing. In 2023, coach Lawson Jordan became head coach. Jordan was a former assistant coach at Aynor High School alongside head coach Billy Jones. Jordan and Jones took their team to a state championship final but fell short. Jordan was a successful student wrestler himself. He wrestled at Marion High School in Florence from 2012 to 2016, and he and his team won a state championship and made school history. Jordan won an individual state title his junior year. He then made it back to the finals his senior year, but he fell short.
“[Losing in the state championship] was very hard to deal with, making me want to work harder in my college wrestling career since I didn’t finish my high school career with a win,” Jordan said.
Jordan believes the most important thing to teach his young athletes is how to face hardship on and off the mats. Jordan has made a huge impact on the Raider program. In 2024-2025 he led the team through a successful season and saw the state championship finals once more, but this time with a different family. Laurens fought hard, but it came down to the last match, and the team fell short 35-34, taking a tough loss to May River High School. Even though the team lost, they made LDHS history that will be remembered for centuries to come. The team became Region champions, then for the first time in school history, the team became Upstate champions and went to state finals.
After a tough loss at the team’s state championship finals, which left the Raiders and their fans heartbroken, the wrestlers continue to put in the work in hopes of winning an individual state title.
The 2025-2026 season was a good season for the Raiders, placing third in the Region and making it back to the play-offs but falling short in the first round. The team had a total of four wrestlers qualify for state: junior Crisley Martin, sophomores Hunter Elliott and Ke’Shun Robinson and freshman Samuel Parsons. Martin fought hard and placed fourth at State for the 106 weight class.
“Your hardest opponent is your own mind. You win there; you can win anywhere,” Martin said.
The team continues to grow and work hard every season, still being led on by coach Jordan in hopes of making another appearance in the state championship finals, but this time being able to bring the title home.
