Seahawks Claim Regional Championship

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity wrestling team rallied from an early deficit to win the state Class 4A-3A-East Region tournament at home on Wednesday, topping Old Mill, 37-33, in dramatic fashion to advance to the state Final Four.

The Seahawks beat South River in the region semifinals at home on Wednesday, while Old Mill took down South River. Against Old Mill in the regional championship match, the Seahawks fell behind early, 6-0, with a pin in the 152 match, but Johnny Soghomonian got Decatur on the board with a 3-1 decision at 160 to make the score 6-3.

Decatur’s Mike Meekins tied the match at 6-6 with a 9-3 decision at 171, but Old Mill pulled ahead 18-6 with a pin at 189 and a forfeit at 215. Nick Craven got a big pin at 285 to pull the Seahawks to within six points at 18-12, but Nate Rosenblatt was pinned at 103 as Old Mill pushed its lead back to 12 points at 24-12.

Decatur then mounted a furious comeback. A win at 112 cut the lead to 24-15. The Seahawks then got three straight pins by Cody Bush (119), Alford Hardy (125) and Seth Goggin (130) to take the lead, 33-24, with just a handful of matches remaining.

After Nick McLoota lost a tough decision at 135, Old Mill cut the lead to 33-27 with two matches still to go. Old Mil could tie the match with a pin or pull closer with a tie in the 140-pound match, but Decatur’s Andrew Boradaille shut the door. Boradaille got an early lead in a match stopped several times by injuries. When the match resumed, Boradaille continued to pile up the points and cruised to the 17-5 win.

The win pushed the Decatur lead to an insurmountable 37-27, touching off a wild celebration on the Seahawk bench and in the stands for host Decatur, which clinched the regional championship.

The win in the regional championship sends Decatur to the state Final Four. The victory came on the heels of Decatur’s eighth straight Bayside Conference title. The Seahawks demolished Parkside, 53-19, last weekend to clinch the conference title for the eighth straight year.