Decatur Finishes Second in Arundel Duals

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur's boys' varsity wrestling team last weekend made a strong showing at the 25^th Annual Arundel Invitational Duals, reaching the team finals before falling to Hereford of Baltimore County in the championship match to finish second among 20 of the top wrestling schools in the state.

Decatur blazed through the early rounds relatively unscathed, sweeping Clarksburg, Chesapeake and Howard by a combined team score of 202-27. The Seahawks lost just five individual matches during the early rounds while winning 37.

After the early round matches, Decatur faced Archbishop Spalding and won the match fairly easily, 56-15. The Seahawks won 11 of the 14 individual matches against Spalding to advance to the next round against eventual champion Hereford. In the Hereford match, the first of two for the two schools, the Bulls edged the Seahawks 31-28 in what would become a preview of the championship match.

In the first match against Hereford, the Seahawks went 7-7 in individual matches against the Bulls, but lost by a scant two points. The loss to Hereford set up a semifinal match between Decatur and Dematha Catholic. The Seahawks edged Dematha, 34-24, in the semifinal, going 8-6 in individual matches, to earn a rematch with Hereford in the championship match.

In the title match, Decatur started strong with three early wins by forfeit by Vinny Artrip in the 121-pound class, Sean McGarry in the 127-pound class, and Danny Banks in the 132-pound class. In the 142-pound class, Decatur's Bernie McGarry beat Hereford's Alex Stafford by decision, while Skylar Snead pinned the Bulls' David Fouts at 147 and Danny Miller pinned Chris Aghazaner at 217.

All in all, the Seahawks went 6-8 against Hereford in their second match against the Bulls in the tournament and finished in second place among 20 of the top high school wrestling programs in the state. From an individual standpoint, several Seahawks went a perfect 8-0 in the tournament including Danny Miller, who won seven matches by pin, Skylar Snead, Sean McGarry and Danny Banks.

Decatur, which has become the premier program on the Eastern Shore and a force to be reckoned with across the state and throughout the region, is marching toward its seventh straight District/Conference championship. During the same span, the Seahawks have won two regional championships.