BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity wrestling team dropped its first regular season match of the season last week to North Caroline, but rebounded quickly with a win over Bayside South rival Bennett just two days later.
The Seahawks were 12-0 when they traveled to North Caroline last Wednesday for a match against the Bayside North power. When the dust settled after a back-and-forth match, it was the Bulldogs coming out on top, 39-31, handing the Seahawks their first loss of the season.
At 106, Decatur’s Shamar Baines beat North Caroline’s Ryan Hinkle. Tony Scafone of Decatur beat North Caroline’s Brett Blue at 113 and Jagger Clapsadle beat Reilly McIntyre at 120. North Caroline won seven straight matches, however, in the middle weights. Cade Solito fell at 126, Kyle Elliott lost at 132, Jeremy Danner lost at 138, David Braciszewski fell at 145, John Hoffman lost at 152, Zain Brady lost at 160, Ethan Kalchthaler lost at 170 and D.J. Taylor lost at 182.
Decatur’s Lukas Aulinskis got the Seahawks back in the win column with a victory over Alex Grable at 195. Caleb Bourne beat Martin Rivera at 220 and Justin Manganiello topped Tyreik Francos at 285.
Last Friday, the Seahawks put the lone season loss behind them quickly with a 63-6 win over Bayside South rival Bennett. Baines beat Charles Mann at 106, Clapsadle beat Nico D’Amico at 113, and Solito beat Gene Williams at 120. After Austin Miller won by forfeit at 126, Danner beat Zack Johnson at 132.
Decatur’s Jhymir Blake beat Jeremy Cope at 138, Brasiszewski beat Tanner Farro at 145 and Hofman beat Matt Brent at 152. Bennett got on the board with a win by Kyshon Watkins over Austin White at 160. The Seahawks reeled off the next four, however.
Aulinskis beat Micah Reddish at 170, Taylor beat Aaron Hooks at 182, Manganiello beat Troy Gibson at 195 and Bourne beat Corian Mills at 220. Bennett got one more win on the night at 285 as Angel Trujillo beat Shakur Nock.
Decatur earned the top seed in the regional duals and was scheduled to host fourth-seeded Atholton on Wednesday, while second-seeded Mt. Hebron was scheduled to face third-seeded Bennett. However, school closures across the state due to inclement weather forced those matches to be rescheduled for Thursday. Those matches took place too late to be included in this edition.
