BERLIN- Three Stephen Decatur varsity wrestlers made a strong showing at the state 4A-3A championships this week including sophomore Jagger Clapsadle, who came so close to a state championship at the 106-pound weight class.
After the regional championships, Decatur qualified four wrestlers for the state championship meet in Prince George’s County last weekend and into the early part of this week. The state tournament was scheduled to be held last Friday and Saturday, but schedule changes due to the major storm in the area moved the finals to Monday.
At 106, Clapsadle cruised through his early matches, beating Brian McCaw of Montgomery Blair, Jason Liau of Thomas Wooten and Dustin Balcita of North Hagerstown in short order. The three-match sweep sent Clapsadle to the state championship meet at 106, but his momentum was stalled when the championship bout was moved to Monday. Complicating the issue was the 106 class was the last to wrestle on Monday night with the championship bout starting well after 9 p.m.
Clapsadle faced Yonas Harris of Northwest in the championship on Monday and the two high seeds battled to a tie at the end of regulation. In the overtime period, Harris edged Clapsadle, 7-5, to earn the state championship, while the Decatur sophomore finished second.
At 220, Bourne beat Jevon Coche of Clarkburg in his opener and beat Tyler Woodard of Dulaney in the second round. Bourne then lost to Luke Iglesias of Walt Whitman in the third round, but beat Shawn King-Pombo of South Hagerstown to reach the third-place match. Bourne then fell to Elijah Solomon of Franklin and brought home the fourth-place finish.
At 126, Jeremy Danner lost his opener to Earl Blake of Linganore, but rebounded with wins over Jose Argueta of Northwestern and Sincere Montgomery of Bel Air. Danner then lost to Nick Shardt of Broadneck.
Cade Solito finished fourth in the 4A-3A East Region Tournament two weeks ago and qualified for the state championship tournament. However, Solito injured his shoulder prior to the third-place bout at the regional tournament and could not compete last weekend in the state tournament.
