(Jan. 9, 2015) After trailing most of the meet Wednesday in Berlin, the Stephen Decatur wrestling team battled back to pull out a 39-30 victory over the Easton Warriors.
“Easton did a great job. They have an experienced coaching staff and experience kids. Those kids came to wrestle and they almost beat us,” said Decatur Coach Todd Martinek. “We’re a better team than we’ve shown this season. I don’t know what we’re waiting for. In the [practice] room we look like we know how to wrestle and then we come out here and it looks like it’s the first day, and it’s frustrating…Hopefully some of that is just youth, but our seniors are getting beat. We need more from our seniors and we need our young guys to mature quicker or it’s going to be a long season.”
Decatur senior captain Jeremiah Purnell edged out Easton’s Alex Daniels, 7-6, in their 138-pound match to give his team a 3-0 lead.
Easton earned pins at 145 and 160 pounds and a decision at 152 pounds to gain a 15-3 advantage.
Decatur freshman Caleb Bourne outscored Alex Deguzman, 6-4 in their 170-pound bout and Gus Esham, a junior, pinned his 182-pound opponent, Garrett Ennis, with 32 seconds left in the first period to cut Easton’s lead to three points (15-12).
“Any time you get a freshman in a varsity match and he gets a win, it’s good for his confidence and good for our future,” Martinek said of Bourne. “He’ll learn what he did right and what he did wrong. We’ll take that ‘W.’”
Easton forfeited the 195-pound match to Decatur senior captain Brandon Wooten, which put the Seahawks on top, 18-15.
The Warriors got a pin at 220 pounds and a decision at 285 to pull ahead 24-18.
Josh Lawson and Easton’s Dallas Strickland battled in their 106-pound match, but it was the Decatur sophomore who came out on top, 12-9.
“[Lawson] beat that kid in overtime over the summer. It was 12-9 tonight, but he handled him. He took him down five, six times,” Martinek said. “He wrestled pretty well on his feet. I think of all the matches tonight, Josh impressed me the most. I was pretty happy with his performance.”
Sophomore Robert Kaminski, ranked No. 3 in the state in his weight class, pinned Zach Danils with 1:11 remaining in the first period of their 113-pound competition to provide Decatur with a 27-24 lead.
Junior Drew Baker pinned Caleb Erskine with 34 seconds left in the first period of their 120-pound match to extend Decatur’s advantage to 33-24.
Easton scored a pin at 126 pounds to close the gap to three points, 33-30.
Sophomore Andrew McKahan, ranked No. 9 in the state, secured the victory for the Seahawks, pinning Jason Perez 23 seconds into the second period of their 132-pound bout.
Decatur is scheduled to compete in the Iron Horse Duals, today and Saturday, hosted by C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air.
Fourteen teams will be participating in the competition. They have been divided into two groups of seven.
River Hill, Archbishop Spalding, John Carroll, St. Mary’s Ryken, Liberty, Bel Air and Joppatowne are in Group A. Decatur is in Group B with teams from St. John’s, Hereford, C. Milton Wright, Spring Grove, Bishop McNamara and Franklin high schools.
“It’s a tough tournament. I’d like to come out of it with a winning record,” Martinek said. “I’d like to go 4-3, 5-2. If we can stay .500 or above I’d be happy.”
Not getting pinned and winning close matches is the key to Decatur having a successful tournament, Martinek said.
BOX SCORE:
Stephen Decatur (STDE) 39 vs. Easton (EAST) 30
138: Jeremiah Purnell (STDE) 7-6 over Alex Daniels (EAST)
145: Colby Palmer (EAST) pinned Brendon Scott (STDE), 0:25
152: Eddie BurghStahler (EAST) 4-2 over Tyler Vansice (STDE)
160: Colby Miller (EAST) pinned Brandon McKenzie (STDE), 3:20
170: Caleb Bourne (STDE) 6-4 over Alex Deguzman (EAST)
182: Gus Esham (STDE) pinned Garrett Ennis (EAST), 1:28
195: Brandon Wooten (STDE), forfeit
220: Andrew Wade (EAST) pinned Jian Joobeen (STDE), 1:11
285: John Kerns (EAST) 8-6 over Ean Spencer (STDE)
106: Josh Lawson (STDE) 12-9 over Dallas Strickland (EAST)
113: Robert Kaminski (STDE) pinned Zach Danils (EAST), 0:49
120: Drew Baker (STDE) pinned Caleb Erskine (EAST), 1:26
126: Van Kirchoff (EAST) pinned Robert Scafone (STDE), 1:38
132: Andrew McKahan (STDE) pinned Jason Perez (EAST), 2:23
