 |
| Austin Shaffer squares off with Tim Null in the state finals. |
The 2014 MPSSAA State Wrestling Tournament was held this past weekend at Cole Fieldhouse on the campus of UMD. This annual event showcases the best wrestlers in the state and the Southern Rams proved once again that our wrestlers belong on top of the podium. Only three Southern wrestlers survived the tough west regional qualifier, but each of those three traveled to Cole with the top prize in mind. Seniors Austin Shaffer and Brian Rinker along with sophomore Devan Hamrick were ready for the challenge.
 |
| Brian Rinker in control at states. |
Brian Rinker was wrestling at 195 and entered the state tournament having placed fourth at regionals. He had to wrestle a regional champion from North Caroline in his very first match. Rinker wrestled great and was able to score a second period pin to advance into the quarter-finals. In the next round, Rinker would face a highly ranked wrestler from Marriotts Ridge. After wrestling a close first period, Rinker was put on his back in the second and the ref call a VERY fast pin to drop Brian into the consolation round to be wrestled on day 2. In his first match of Saturday morning, Brian took his opponent from Fallston High School all the way to the very end of the match where Rinker gave up a takedown at the buzzer, ending his tournament, his season and his career. Brian ended the season with an impressive 32-14 record.
 |
| Devan Hamrick, victorious in the quarterfinals at states. |
Sophomore Devan Hamrick entered the state tournament favored to claim a spot somewhere on the podium. He was definitely aiming for the top and with a 39-3 record coming in, he was in great position for a run to the top. In the first round, Devan faced Kelvin Gibbs from Overlea and he wasted very little time picking up the win by a pin in only 32 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Hamrick wrestled Chris Spano for Marriotts Ridge and easily put him away by scoring a second period tech fall to advance to the semi-finals. In Saturday morning's semis, Devan wrestled Joey Thomas from South Carroll. The two had wrestled in January and Devan had prevailed, but Thomas is very talented and we expected a tight match. In reality, the match was as close as it could possibly be, tied 0-0 heading into overtime. Hamrick was able to score a reversal in the second overtime period and ride out Thomas for the win claiming his spot in the state finals against Danny Bertoni from Middletown.
Hamrick and Bertoni had met twice this season, once in January and once in last weekend's Regional finals. In both cases, Bertoni came out on top and was favored in the state finals. At 106, Hamrick vs. Bertoni was the first match of the evening, just after the parade of champions. Bertoni scored a takedown in the first period and rode Devan out to make the score 2-0 and the end of one. From bottom, Hamrick had trouble escaping and from top, he had a hard time holding Bertoni down. In the end, Bertoni controlled the tempo and controlled the match and scored a 4-0 decision over Hamrick to capture his first state title. Hamrick is only a sophomore and has two more years ahead to get back to the state finals and win a state title of his own.
Senior Austin Shaffer entered the 2014 state tournament as the clear favorite to win his second state championship. He defeated his highest ranked opponent easily by major decision a week earlier at regionals. There were no guarantees, but it looked likely the two would meet again in the state finals to determine the champion. In the opening round, Shaffer had very little trouble pinning his opponent from St. Michaels. In Friday night's quarter-finals, Austin easily defeated Conner McCormick from North Caroline by major decision, earning a spot in the semi-finals.
In Saturday's semis, Shaffer faced Colin McDonald from Patterson Mills who sported an impressive 39-4 record on the season. Shaffer came out fast and strong and took control early. When the dust settled, Shaffer won by major decision and earned a spot in the state finals for the second time of his career. As expected, Shaffer was set to face Tim Null from South Carroll in Saturday evening's state finals. Having won 14-2 a week earlier, Shaffer felt very confident going into his last career high school match. But Tim Null was feeling good also and came out hot and scored the opening takedown, taking an early lead on Shaffer. The lead didn't last long as Shaffer got the reversal to tie the score. After that, Austin took control and when he locked up his cradle for three back points, he virtually lock up the match. As time wound down in the third period, it became evident that Austin Shaffer would capture his second state title and state championship #19 for Southern Garrett High School. After shaking hands, Austin sprung across the mat and did a celebratory hand-spring back tuck then jumped into Coach's arm for the traditional state championship post-match hug.
As a team, Southern placed 10th at the state tournament with only three wrestlers entered. South Carroll and Kent Island were crowned co-champions and Mt Ridge placed third.
Hamrick and Bertoni had met twice this season, once in January and once in last weekend's Regional finals. In both cases, Bertoni came out on top and was favored in the state finals. At 106, Hamrick vs. Bertoni was the first match of the evening, just after the parade of champions. Bertoni scored a takedown in the first period and rode Devan out to make the score 2-0 and the end of one. From bottom, Hamrick had trouble escaping and from top, he had a hard time holding Bertoni down. In the end, Bertoni controlled the tempo and controlled the match and scored a 4-0 decision over Hamrick to capture his first state title. Hamrick is only a sophomore and has two more years ahead to get back to the state finals and win a state title of his own.Senior Austin Shaffer entered the 2014 state tournament as the clear favorite to win his second state championship. He defeated his highest ranked opponent easily by major decision a week earlier at regionals. There were no guarantees, but it looked likely the two would meet again in the state finals to determine the champion. In the opening round, Shaffer had very little trouble pinning his opponent from St. Michaels. In Friday night's quarter-finals, Austin easily defeated Conner McCormick from North Caroline by major decision, earning a spot in the semi-finals.
In Saturday's semis, Shaffer faced Colin McDonald from Patterson Mills who sported an impressive 39-4 record on the season. Shaffer came out fast and strong and took control early. When the dust settled, Shaffer won by major decision and earned a spot in the state finals for the second time of his career. As expected, Shaffer was set to face Tim Null from South Carroll in Saturday evening's state finals. Having won 14-2 a week earlier, Shaffer felt very confident going into his last career high school match. But Tim Null was feeling good also and came out hot and scored the opening takedown, taking an early lead on Shaffer. The lead didn't last long as Shaffer got the reversal to tie the score. After that, Austin took control and when he locked up his cradle for three back points, he virtually lock up the match. As time wound down in the third period, it became evident that Austin Shaffer would capture his second state title and state championship #19 for Southern Garrett High School. After shaking hands, Austin sprung across the mat and did a celebratory hand-spring back tuck then jumped into Coach's arm for the traditional state championship post-match hug.As a team, Southern placed 10th at the state tournament with only three wrestlers entered. South Carroll and Kent Island were crowned co-champions and Mt Ridge placed third.
No comments:
Post a Comment