BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity wrestling team tuned up for its own War on the Shore tournament this weekend with a split in matches last week including a victory over Easton and a loss in the Iron Horse Duals.
Decatur will host its annual War on the Shore Tournament this weekend featuring many of the top prep wrestling programs from around the mid-Atlantic region. The tournament will feature 22 teams including eight each from Maryland and Delaware and six from Virginia. The tournament gets underway today with early round matches and bouts will be held throughout to day on Saturday culminating with championship matches in each weight division.
Before the War on the Shore, however, the Seahawks had some important meets leading up to the annual tournament last week and ended up with a split. Decatur beat Easton last week, 39-30, then fell to Archbishop Spalding at the Iron Horse Duals at C.M. Wright High School last Saturday.
Against Easton, Jeremiah Purnell got Decatur on the board in the first bout with a win at 138. After Easton swept the next three bouts, Caleb Bourne stopped the bleeding for Decatur with a victory at 170. Gus Esham won at 182 and Brandon Wooten won at 195 to continue the Seahawks’ mini-run. Easton pulled ahead, 24-18, with two straight wins at 220 and 285.
Decatur’s Josh Lawson got the Seahawks back in the win column at 106 to cut the lead to 24-21, the back to back wins by Robert Kaminski and Drew Baker pushed the Seahawks ahead, 33-24. Easton won at 126 to cut the lead to 33-30, but Decatur’s Andy McKahan got a big win at 132 to give Decatur the 39-30 win.
Last weekend, the Seahawks traveled across the Bay Bridge to compete in the Iron Horse Duals at C.M. Wright and drew a tough assignment in Archbishop Spalding. Decatur dropped its first two matches to fall behind 7-0 early. Max Pyles got Decatur on the board with a forfeit at 145 and Tyler Vansice won at 152 to give the Seahawks a 10-7 lead. Brett Kim won at 170 to push Decatur’s lead to 16-13.
The two teams swapped matches at 182 and 195 with Brandon Wooten winning at 195 to maintain the Seahawks’ three-point lead. However, Spalding won three straight matches at 220, 285 and 106 to pull away with 16 straight points. Robert Kaminski and Drew Baker won at 113 and 120 to pull Decatur closer, but Spalding won the match at 126 to seal the 38-30 win.