Seahawks Finish 2nd in Bayside Tourney

BERLIN- The Stephen Decatur varsity wrestling team’s bid for a ninth straight Bayside Conference tournament championship came up just short last weekend, but the Seahawks turned in a strong performance with individual titles in three weight classes and places in several others.

The Seahawks entered last weekend’s Bayside Championships with an eight-year winning streak on the line, but came up just short of repeating with a second-place finish to Parkside. The Rams finished the meet with 205.5 total team points, while Decatur finished with 191.5. Wicomico was third with 175 total team points.

For the Seahawks, it was the second time this year Parkside ended a remarkable streak. Earlier this month, the Rams ended Decatur’s years-long Bayside winning streak with a 39-29 win in a match both teams entered with perfect 12-0 records. Nonetheless, last weekend’s conference championship was a huge success for the Seahawks, who won three individual titles and placed in numerous others.

At 126, Alford Hardy swept Cambridge-South Dorchester’s Jacob Overstreet, Rasheed Harris of Easton and Terrence Blackwell of Snow Hill to finish first and claim the title. At 132, Dakota Roderick won the conference championship by beating Kenny Eck of Queen Anne’s, Dmitry Callas of Kent Island and Dallas Matthews of Easton.

At 285, Decatur’s Ryan Kail captured the championship by sweeping four matches including Ricky Maldonado of Kent Island, Brion Blades of North Caroline, Bremante Tull of Parkside and finally, Nate Hollinger of Easton in the title match. In the 145-pound class, Decatur’s Andrew Borradaile finished second, beating Ryan Spake of Kent Island and Wade Bishop of North Caroline before falling to Ryan Mister of St. Michael’s in the title match.

At 106, Decatur’s Nate Rosenblatt beat Brandon Eaton of North Caroline and Camden Fischer of Snow Hill to reach the finals. Rosenblatt fell to Stevon Smith of Kent Island in the finals and finished in second place.

Decatur’s Alex Schiffer finished third at 138, beating Robert Miller of Queen Anne’s and Brooks Hambleton of St. Michael’s before falling to eventual champion Ben Culver of Easton. Schiffer then beat Snow Hill’s Paul Gonzalez and Kent Island’s Liam Mulligan to take third place. Kaelan Patterson also took third place at 152, beating Kent Island’s Michael Hooks and then losing to eventual champion Brennan McAllister of Parkside. Patterson then beat Ken Strozier of Mardela and Raymond McLean of Bennett to claim third.

Decatur’s Jeff Evans finished fourth at 170. After losing his first match to Jerry Louis of Bennett, Evans beat Joel Milby of Easton and Zach Davis of Mardela before falling to Jared Camper of St. Michael’s in the third-place match. Ethan Mariner took fifth in the 113-pound class, beating Kira Gillin of Queen Anne’s and Jason Fox of Mardela, but losing to Colton Smith of Kent Island and Sheldon Garcia of North Dorchester.

Other results for Decatur wrestlers included Colton Lohnas (120) who went 0-2; Jermaine Purnell (160) 0-2; Ethan Eibl (182) 2-2; and Adam Bargar (195) 1-3.