Decatur wrestling wins fourth straight title
WALDORF, Md. – Decatur wrestling continued their dynasty in the MPSSAA 2A Saturday afternoon, winning their fourth state title in dual meet wrestling in a row. The Seahawks first came back to defeat Middletown in the semifinals, 33-25. Decatur then dominated Sparrow’s Point, 49-18, to claim their fifth title in program history.
“November 15th we said we wanted to be back here, our guys put in the hard work and it paid off,” first year head coach Josh August said.
Things looked bleak in the early afternoon for August’s squad. Decatur found themselves trailing 18-4 after the first five matches against Middletown in the semifinals.
“We knew that Middletown is good up-top, and we had to get a couple points. We knew ours was going to come, and it did,” said August. “That was the state final from last year, so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Our guys just wrestled their tails off.”
“It just shows the amount of heart we have as a team, and as a group, and how we have each others backs day-in and day-out,” said 160-pound Decatur wrestler Gavin Solito.
Solito sealed the victory against Middletown in the final match of the meet, a 15-9 decision to send his Seahawks back to the state finals.
The finals were a different story for Decatur.
Nate McDaniel scored a crucial decision victory in the opening match in the 182-pound class. Kole Kohut escaped an attempted farmers toss and seized an opportunity to bring his opponent to the mat for a quick pin in the 220.
The Seahawks rattled off six-straight victories in the bottom weight classes. One of those victories was by Elijah Collick in the 120-pound class. August had plenty of praise for Collick following the win.
“Elijah Collick bumping up two weights, essentially. Taking out two guys, two state ranked guys. You can’t ask for anything better, from a freshman, too.”
And now yet another senior class rides off with a hand full of championship rings.
“Logan Intrieri just went out there put on two great performances. Evan Haworth just picked up a big win. ZJ Lyons and Evan, we wouldn’t be here if they didn’t pull it off in the semis. They had a bumpy road this season, and they take some losses, but they won when it counted,” August said.
When asked if they plan on being back, Solito, a junior, didn’t miss a beat.
“For sure, we’ll be back here.”
