Seahawk Wrestlers Win Bob Rowe Classic

Seahawk Wrestlers Win Bob Rowe Classic
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BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity wrestling team added another feather to its already well-adorned cap last weekend, taking first place overall in the 15th Annual Bob Rowe Delmarva Classic in Salisbury.

The Seahawks took the tournament, which featured 16 of the top high school wrestling programs across the Eastern Shore and the entire region, with 241 total team points. Coming in second was Leonardtown of Southern Maryland, which finished with 207 team points. Sussex Tech was third with 199.5 team points.

Decatur was successful across the board, placing in 13 of 14 weight classes with three individual championships, two second-place finishes and three third-place finishes along with several other place winners. The big tournament win continued a hot streak for the Decatur program, which entered the event with an unblemished record.

Formerly known as the Delmarva Classic, the tournament was renamed this year in honor of Bob Rowe, who coached Wicomico High and Wicomico Middle School wrestling and taught at the latter for 35 years. The event took place last Friday and Saturday at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. The annual tournament showcased some of the best high school wrestling programs in the region. A total of 16 teams from Maryland and Delaware competed on seven mats on both the varsity and junior varsity levels.

Decatur’s Devin Bataille won the individual championship in the 130-pound weight class, sweeping three matches before beating Anthony Bonville of Milford High in the championship bout. In the 171-pound class, Decatur’s Bryce Smith won three matches to reach the finals and went on to beat Milford’s Brent Wingrove to take the title.

Decatur’s third first-place finish came in the 285-pound weight class when Dylan Drew swept four straight matches to reach the final. Drew topped Leonardtown’s Mark Bohanan in the title match to continue the run of first place finishes for the Seahawks.

Two other Seahawk wrestlers reached the finals in their respective weight classes and settled for second-place finishes. In the 119-pound class, Decatur’s Nick McLoota advance to the finals before falling to Sam Corey of Leonardtown in the championship match. At 152, Decatur’s Josh Bargar won three matches to reach the finals, but fell to Leonardtown’s Martez Allen in the finals.

With three first-place finishes and two seconds, Decatur was racking up team points in a hurry, but it was the strong finishes across the board in nearly every weight class the propelled the Seahawks to the overall team victory. For example, in the 125-pound class, Decatur’s Seth Goggin lost in the second round, but fought his way back through the loser’s bracket to earn a third-place finish.

In the 189-pound class, Decatur’s Mike Meekins won two early matches but lost in the third round. Meekins battled back and took third place in his weight class. Similarly, Luke Bargar battled through some tough early matches before beating Justin Rife of Laurel to win third place in the 125-pound class.

Otherwise, the Seahawks were strong throughout the tournament, placing in just about every weight class. Matt Meekins took fifth-place at 103, Cody Bush took fifth at 112, Johnny Soghomonian took sixth at 145, Cobin Lohnas took seventh at 135, and C.J. Mitchell took seventh at 140.