Oakdale Wrestling & Paul Fitzpatrick IV triumph at War on The Shore Wrestling Tournament
OCEAN CITY, Md. – The War on the Shore 2026 Wrestling Tournament took place this past weekend at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center.
Todd Martinek coaches at Stephen Decatur High School, the hosting school of the event, and he said the point of the big tournament was competition.
“The whole point of starting War on the Shore years ago was to challenge our kids to be in the toughest matches, even take a lot of losses, because you can learn a lot more being in a loss than a win, especially in this sport,” said Martinek.
It featured some of the best competition from across the state of Maryland, and WMDT got the chance to speak with a wrestler who has triumphed through disability.
Amateur wrestling, a sport that focuses and tests your will, dedication, effort, and drive of young men and women. Many win, and many lose on a given tournament day or duel match.
Paul Fitzpatrick IV turned deafness into strength. He and his team, from Oakkdale High School, traveled from Frederick County to enjoy this tournament. Fitzpatrick said it comes down to a will to win.
“I like the competition, I guess it’s the competition,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick, affectionately known as PIV, is one of the best wrestlers on the team, but he gives all credit to his peers and teammates. He tells WMDT that they have supported and picked him back up through trials and tribulations. For PIV, he says it comes down to mindset.
“I’ve been wrestling my entire life, without the ability to communicate with all my peers, it’s all been an internal mindset, without access to interpreters,” he tells us. “It’s all been self-motivated, and now I’m finally in this opportunity where I have two great interpreters to help me get access, my team has also been learning sign language to help communicate, and it’s been really wonderful.”
PIV adds that anyone can go out and wrestle, but the proper mindset to learn the life lessons that come from the sport are what matters most.
“You get to know some techniques, figure out what you like, once you figure out you like the wrestling. Give it a few days, take it slow, and once you get the competitive urge, you dive right in,” he says.
Coach Martinek agrees that wrestling is all about having a can-do attitude.
“It’s a tough sport, it’s not for everybody. It’s very physical, it’s very mentally demanding, and I think it correlates a lot with life,” he concluded.
