Seahawks Finish 7th at War on Shore

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur's varsity wrestling team enjoyed another great weekend hosting the 7^th Annual War on the Shore Tournament last week, finishing seventh as a team out of the field of 25 of some of best high school programs in the mid-Atlantic region and placing several individual wrestlers in their respective weight classes.

The Seahawks finished seventh as a team in the 2008 edition of the War on the Shore, held at Decatur last Friday and Saturday. Baltimore powerhouse Mount Saint Joseph won the event for the second year in a row with 221.50 total team points, edging second-place Smyrna, which finished with 212.50 total team points. Decatur finished with 120 team points to finish seventh.

For seven years, Decatur has hosted the War on the Shore tournament, which attracts many of the top high school wrestling programs from Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Last year, the Seahawks finished second in the tournament, which provided a catalyst for another record-breaking season for the Decatur program.

The Seahawks finished 14-0 in the regular season last year and captured the championship in the state dual meet. Decatur also won its seventh straight Bayside Conference title last year and several wrestlers went on to achieve individual great results and collect a couple of state titles.

One of Decatur's state champions last year, Danny Miller, got his senior season off to a good start last weekend during the War on the Shore with a fourth-place finish in the 215-pound class. Miller reached the semifinals in his weight class before falling to Alex Thomas of Sussex Tech. Miller was just one of many Decatur wrestlers who made an impressive showing at War on the Shore.

For example, Bryce Smith finished fifth in the 160-pound weight class, beating Justin Gainey of Rising Sun in his final round match. Sophomore Mike Meekins finished sixth in the 189-pound weight class after falling to Alex Mato of Hodgson Tech in his final match. Matt Doherty also collected a sixth-place finish in the 140-pound weight class, reaching the final day of the tournament before falling to Chris Miller of DeMatha.

Decatur's Danny Kominos finished seventh in the 152-pound weight class, beating Anthony Williams of Archbishop Curley in his final match, while Dylan Drew also finished seventh in the 285-pound class with a final round win over Indian River's Katteem Harmon. Devin Bataille also had a real nice run in the tournament's 119-pound class, finishing eighth after falling to Severna Park's Jordan Appell in his final round match.