Seahawks Finish Strong at Arundels

Seahawks Finish Strong at Arundels
decaturhawk2128

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity wrestling team made a strong showing at the Arundel Duals last weekend, sweeping seven of eight matches including a big win over Rising Sun to finish fifth in the prestigious annual tournament.

The Seahawks rolled through their early matches, beating Liberty, Lake Braddock, Clarksburg, Landsdowne, and River Hill before falling to Hereford of Baltimore County in the first-round of the championship bracket and their sixth match of the tournament. Last year, Decatur finished second in the Arundel Duals, falling to Hereford in the title match and the Bulls provided the only stumbling block for the Seahawks again this year.

After falling to Hereford last weekend in the first round of the championship bracket, the Seahawks beat host Arundel, 44-36, to advance to the fifth-place match against familiar foe Rising Sun. Decatur beat Rising Sun, 42-23, in its final match of the event to claim fifth place among the field of some of the best high school wrestling programs in the state and surrounding areas. The win avenged a Decatur loss to Rising Sun, 31-21, back on January 22.

In the its first match of the tournament, Decatur beat Liberty, 54-12, as 10 Seahawks wrestlers won their individual matches including Cody Bush at 103 pounds, Devin Bataille (119), James McGarry (125), Corey Tobias (130), Matt Doherty (135), Josh Bargar (145), Bryce Smith (160), Mike Meekins (189), Danny Miller (215) and Dylan Drew (275).

A similar pattern unfolded for Decatur through the rest of its early round matches including a 49-20 win over Lake Braddock in the second round. Eight Seahawks won individual matches in the win over Lake Braddock including Anthony LaBarck at 112 pounds, Doherty (135), Bernie McGarry (145), Bargar (152), Vernon Zweifel (189), Miller (215), Drew (275) and Scott Wiskman (103).

Decatur then rolled Clarksburg, 57-13, in the third round as 10 wrestlers won their individual matches. Coming out on top for Decatur in the Clarksburg match were Seth Goggin (119), Tobias (130), Doherty (135), Bernie McGarry (140), Bargar (145), Smith (160), Delonte Tate (171), Miller (215), Drew (275) and Bush (103).

In the fourth round, Decatur stayed on a roll, thumping Landsdowne, 52-18, as nine Seahawk wrestlers took their individual matches including Bush (103), Bataille (119), Tobias (130), Doherty (135), C.J. Mitchell (145), Bargar (153), Meekins (171), Miller (189) and Justin Dennis (275). In the last match before the championship round began, Decatur beat River Hill, 40-27, with individual wins by Bataille (119), James McGarry (135), Tobias (130), Bernie McGarry (140), Bargar (145), Smith (160), Miller (215) and Drew (275).

Decatur had swept its first five matches to advance to the championship round, but fell to Hereford in a close match, 32-22. Among the winners for Decatur in the loss to Hereford were James McGarry, Doherty, Bernie McGarry, Smith, Miller and Bataille. The Seahawks rebound right away with a win over host Arundel 44-36, behind Johnnny Soghomanian, Doherty, Bernie McGarry, Bargar, Zweifel, Miller and Bataille.

Finally, the Seahawks secured fifth place in the tournament and avenged an earlier loss with a 42-23 win over Rising Sun. In the final match, Decatur got wins from Doherty, Bernie McGarry, Mitchell, Smith, Zweifel, Miller, Drew and Tobias.

Decatur wraps up its regular season with a dual meet at Easton against the Warriors and North Caroline with the Bayside Conference regular season championship there for the taking. Regional duals get underway next Wednesday, with the state duals set for the following weekend. The Seahawks are the defending Maryland Class 4A-3A dual meet champions.