Seahawk Wrestlers Fall in Regional Duals

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity wrestling team came up just short in the state 4A-3A South Region Duals last week, falling to top-seeded Huntingtown by just one point at 34-33.

The Seahawks entered the 4A-3A South Region Duals as the number-two seed and faced third-seeded Leonardtown in the first match last Saturday in the regional duals in southern Maryland, which had been postponed earlier in the week because of snow. The Seahawks took care of business against Leonardtown, while Huntingtown, led by former Decatur coach Kevin Gilligan, cruised past fourth-seeded LaPlata, setting up a match between familiar foes in the championship.

Against Leonardtown in the opener, Decatur got wins from T.J. Scafone (120), Nick Bennett (145), Brett Kim (160), Andrew Borradaile (170), Jared King (182), Caleb Massey (195), Ethan Eibl (285), Robert Kaminski (106) and Andy McKahan (113). The win over Leonardtown set up a highly anticipated match with Huntingtown in the championship.

Huntingtown got on the board first with a win by pin at 126 over Decatur’s Joseph Rodriguez, but Nate Rosenblatt answered with a pin at 132 to pull the match even at 6-6. It was a pattern that would repeat itself in the back-and-forth match. Huntingtown won by pin at 138, but Nick Bennett answered by pinning his opponent at 145 to tie the match at 12-12.

Huntingtown swept the next two at 152 and 160, but Decatur’s Andrew Borradaile won by decision at 170 to stop the run. Huntingtown won at 182, but Caleb Massey won by pin at 195 and Ethan Eibl won by pin at 220 to put the Seahawks ahead, 27-22. Huntingtown then won the next three with a forfeit at 285, a decision at 106 and a decision at 113 to take an insurmountable 34-27 lead with just one match remaining. Decatur’s T.J. Scafone won by forfeit at 120 to pick up six more points and cut the lead to 34-33, but with Huntingtown leading by seven, the point was moot. Even if Scafone had wrestled a Huntingtown competitor at 120, the Seahawks could not make up the seven point deficit with just one bout remaining.