Our Seniors

Tuesday evening was Senior Night for the Southern Ram Wrestling Team.  It was a great celebration of these five awesome kids.  Each wrestler has his own story and each their own accomplishments both on and off the mat.  During the ceremony, the mothers were presented roses and the senior were given framed action shots from this season courtesy of our photographers Alex Flanigan and Kelli Fulmer.  We thought we would share our Senior Night presentation for those who were unable to attend our 67-8 win over the Northern Huskies.

Cooper McCauley with him mother Dana

Cooper McCauley is the son of Jeff and Dana McCauley of Mt Lake Park.  This is Cooper's 2nd year on the wrestling team and his first year on varsity.  Cooper has 20 wins so far this season.  Cooper was also a member of the football team.  After graduation, Cooper plans to attend Duquesne University on the NROTC Scholarship and study political science.

Zach Tichnell and his parents Bonnie and KC

Zach Tichnell is the son of Bonnie and KC Tichnell of Oakland.  This is Zach's 2nd year on the wrestling team and his 1st year as a varsity starter.  Zach has earned 14 wins so far this season.  Zach is also a member of the track and cross country team's and qualified for states in cross country this season.  After graduation, Zach plans to attend college and earn a bachelors degree in political science and then enlist in the Army.

Johnny Lascaris with his parents Peggy and Jimmy

Johnny Lascaris is the son of Peggy and Jimmy Lascaris of Deep Creek Lake.  This is Johnny's first year on the wrestling team and has a current record of 8 wins and 5 losses.  After graduation, Johnny plans to attend West Virginia University and study Natural Gas and Petroleum Engineering.

Stephen Collins with his parents Kate and Fred

Stephen Collins is the son of Fred and Kate Collins of Oakland.  This is Stephen's 2nd year on the wrestling team and his 1st season on varsity.  Currently, his record is 21-12.  After graduation, Stephen plans to attend Garrett College and enter the Adventure Sports Program.  One day, Stephen hopes to coach the Southern Garrett Wrestling Team.

Scott Cooper with his mother and father Heather and Brian

Scott Cooper is the son of Heather and Brian Cooper of Oakland.  This is Scott's 4th season on the wrestling tea.  Scott is also a starter on the football and baseball teams.  His current record this season is 18-1 and was a regional qualifier last season.  After graduation, Scott plans to enlist in the Marine Corps.

Here is a video we put together honoring our seniors:

Southern Wrestling wishes the very best in the future for our amazing seniors.

After the ceremony, Scott Cooper leads the team to battle and a 67-8 win over the Huskies.

Senior Night Smackdown

It was another snowy evening as the Northern Huskies visited the Southern Rams for the final regular season match.  It was Senior Night at Southern and the Rams honored Cooper McCauley, Zach Tichnell, Johnny Lascaris, Stephen Collins and Scott Cooper in a ceremony prior to the evening's contest.  In the end, Southern dominated on the mat and earned a decisive 67-8 victory for the 12th win of the season.

Wrestling started at 220 where senior Scott Cooper received a forfeit in his final home match.  At 285, Marcus Tichinel won by injury default and Southern was quickly out to a 12-0 lead.  As we headed to the lowers weights, the home crowd was very excited and very loud.  Devan Hamrick earned a 9-0 major decision at 106 with another dominating effort.  Ethan Bittinger was awarded a forfeit at 113 and the Rams' lead was extended to 22-0.

At 120, defending state champion Austin Shaffer made quick work of his match, picking up the pin in just one minute.  Cooper McCauley lost to Northern's only state ranked wrestler and Southern's lead was 28-5.  Zach Tichnell received a forfeit at 132 and Tanner Massey won by pin at 138 to extend the lead to 40-5.

Senior Johnny Lascaris took the mat at 145 the match was a tight battle throughout.  Johnny took an early lead but his opponent was able to fight back.  The score was tied at 9 as time wound down and the final period ended with the score knotted 9-9.  In overtime, Johnny was able to score a quick takedown to get the win and extend to team score to 43-5.

At 152, senior Stephen Collins pick up a win by pin in his final home match for the Rams and Seth Kisner followed with a pin of his own at 160.  The rout was on and the Rams lead was stretched to 55-5 with three matches remaining.

Will Foulke took the mat for the Rams at 170 and despite wrestling hard and being the more aggressive wrestler, lost a decision.  The night ended with forfeit wins for Dalton Cooper at 182 and Brian Rinker at 195, making the final score Southern 67 - Northern 8.

Southern 67 - Northern 8

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) m dec Lane Rounds (N) 9-0
113 - Ethan Bittinger (SG) via Forfeit
120 - Austin Shaffer (SG) pin Cody Platter (N) 1:03
126 - Justin Opel (N) tech Cooper McCauley (SG) 16-1
132 - Zach Tichnell (SG) via Forfeit
138 - Tanner Massey (SG) pin Brysan Day (N) 1:13
145 - Johnny Lascaris (SG) dec Chris McCann (N) 11-9 ot
152 - Stephen Collins (SG) pin Kyle Beard (N) 1:18
160 - Seth Kisner (SG) pin Kordell Yoder (N) 1:26
170 - Ryan Miller (N) dec Will Foulke (SG) 10-3
182 - Dalton Cooper (SG) via Forfeit
195 - Brian Rinker (SG) via Forfeit

Buzz, Buzz, Swat!

The Hyndman Hornets hosted the Southern Rams on a snowy evening yesterday in southern Pennsylvania.  The visiting Rams spoiled the Hornet's senior night celebration by swatting the home team and heading away with a 59-15 victory.  The win moves Southern to 11-2 in dual meet competition this season.

The match started at 160 where Seth Kisner found himself facing one of Hyndman's strongest wrestlers.  The start of then match was actually delayed as the Hornets presented Seth's opponent with an award for achieving his 100th win.  Kisner started strong but got hit with a headlock to his back and fought it off for awhile, but could not escape.  Hyndman got the pin and took a 6-0 lead.

At 170, junior Will Foulke wrestled very well again and scored a 4-1 decision.  Brian Rinker won by forfeit at 182 to give Southern a 9-6 lead going into the biggest match of the evening.  The bout at 195 was between Hyndman's Jake Bennett (30-1 on the season) and Southern's Scott Cooper (18-0 on the season).  It was a clash of the titans and remained close throughout.  Bennett was able to score a takedown in the first and Cooper quickly escaped, score 2-1 Bennett.  In the second period, Cooper quickly escaped again to tie the score at 2 and the period ended with no other scoring.  In the third, Bennett escaped to take a 3-2 lead and Cooper was unable to score for the remainder of the match, giving Bennett the 3-2 victory and Cooper his first loss of the season.

Then Brenden Spaulding received a forfeit for the Rams at 220 and Hyndman won by pin at 285 and the team score was tied 15-15 as the match turned to the lighter weights.  Southern cranked it up starting at 106 and never looked back.  Devan Hamrick continued his winning ways by earning a second period pin and Austin Shaffer followed that with a third period pin to keep his undefeated season in tact.

At 120, sophomore Josh King made his return to the mat for his first match of the season.  King broke his leg in a 4-wheeler accident in the fall and was recently cleared to compete.  Despite not being in mid-season form, Josh looked great and scored a second period tech fall for his first win.  Next at 126, Cooper McCauley thrilled Southern's crowd with a come-from-behind win by pin late in the third period.

Zach Tichnell, Tanner Massey and Johnny Lascaris all won by forfeit which led to Stephen Collins wrestling the final match of the evening at 152.  Stephen took an early lead and built on that lead through the second period.  In the third, the Hyndman wrestler made a strong comeback to tie the score, but Collins was able to secure the win with a reversal and rideout in the final minute, making the final team score Southern 59 - Hyndman 15.

At 11-2, the Rams fell just short of qualifying for the regional duals again this season.  The final regular season match will be held on Tuesday evening at home against the Northern Huskies.

Southern 59 - Hyndman 15

106 - Devan Hamrick (SG) pin Tanner Clites (H) 2:41
113 - Austin Shaffer (SG) pin Robby Snyder (H) 4:40
120 - Josh King (SG) tech Jacob Musselman (H) 16-0
126 - Cooper McCauley (SG) pin Chris Gibbner (H) 5:54
132 - Zach Tichnell (SG) via Forfeit
138 - Tanner Massey (SG) via Forfeit
145 - Johnny Lascaris (SG) via Forfeit
152 - Stephen Collins (SG) dec Tyler Clites (H) 10-8
160 - Richard Moskey (H) pin Seth Kisner (SG) 1:30
170 - Will Foulke (SG) dec Steve Miller (H) 4-1
182 - Brian Rinker (SG) via Forfeit
195 - Jake Bennett (H) dec Scott Cooper (SG) 3-2
220 - Brenden Spaulding (SG) via Forfeit
285 - Dylan Emerick (H) pin Marcus Tichinel (SG) 1:12