Cresting the Ridge

The Southern Ram wrestlers traveled to Frostburg on Thursday night for the annual clash with the Mountain Ridge Miners.  This would also be the final regular season match for the visiting team and the final opportunity to add a win for regional duals qualification.  The evening began with seven very competitive JV bouts.  The Southern wrestlers were able to win five out of seven and the other two were close matches as well.

Scotty Tichnell with a 1st period pin

Varsity wrestling between Mountain Ridge and Southern began at the 195 pound class.  Sophomore Hunter Park took the mat against one of the Miners' senior wrestlers.  Hunter quickly found himself fighting off his back after an impressive upper body throw.  He did not panic, he turn up the heat, recording a second period fall to get the scoring started for the Rams.  Junior Scotty Tichnell and sophomore Cole Sweitzer added first period pins to stretch the lead to 18-0.

Brison Dixon took the mat at 106 in search of his 100th career win and attempting to keep his undefeated season in tact.  Dixon went on the attack early and after his opponent fought off his first shot, Brison was able to score the takedown on his second shot.  Shortly after that, the pinning combination was locked in and with 30 seconds left in the first period, the fall was recorded and his 100th career win was secured.

Brison Dixon after his 100th win

Joey McComas picked up a fall at 113 and the Rams led 30-0.  Mountain Ridge was able to get on the scoreboard at 120 with a decision but Jake E Sweitzer, Nate Tasker and Jace Guy were able to win by pins at 126, 132 and 138 to extend Southern's lead to 48-3 heading into the big match up between Jimmy Schwab and Cameron Ritchey at 145.  Ritchey was able to earn the decision for the Miners on the strength of his effort in the neutral position.

Alec Horner scored a quick pin at 152 and Brad Davis received a forfeit at 160 and the match was all but over with the Rams leading 60-6.   Even though the eventual team winner had been decided, there was still plenty of action and excitement to come in the final two bouts.  At 170, Patrick Duggan took the mat against one of the Miners' top wrestlers.  The action was intense as the two fought off each others attacks throughout the scoreless first two periods.  In the third period, Duggan gave up a reversal and a takedown while scoring two escapes to drop a tight 4-2 decision.

Joe Embleton with a great performance

In the final match of the evening, junior Joe Embleton had to overcome an epic bloody nose and the near expiration of his allotted "blood time".  With no room for error, Embleton attacked his opponent with urgency knowing that if the match was stopped again, he would lose by default.  He fought through it all and turned the Mountain Ridge wrestler to his back, applied amazing pressure and scored the fall near the end of the second period.

With the final score of 66-9, the Rams concluded their regular season competition with an overall record of 34-5 and a record of 12-2 in the regional dual qualification matches.  The final standings will not be released until wrestling is completed on Saturday, but it does appear that the Southern Rams have qualified for the post season for the 12th time in the last 15 years.

Southern 66 - Mountain Ridge 9
106 - Brison Dixon (SG) pins Jessie Fresh (MR) 1:33
113 - Joey McComas (SG) pins Anthony Harrison (MR) 2:48
120 - Teddy Baker (MR) dec Jake W Sweitzer (SG) 5-3
126 - Jake E Sweitzer (SG) pins Jacob Fresh (MR) 5:24
132 - Nate Tasker (SG) pins Damon Harold (MR) 3:59
138 - Jace Guy (SG) pins Brian Kirby (MR) 1:55
145 - Cameron Ritchey (MR) dec Jimmy Schwab (SG) 11-5
152 - Alec Horner (SG) pins Michael Warnick (MR) :41
160 - Brad Davis (SG) via forfeit
170 - Marcus Folk (MR) dec Patrick Duggan (SG) 4-2
182 - Joe Embleton (SG) pins Dustin MacDonald (MR) 3:31
195 - Hunter Park (SG) pins Conner Baker (MR) 3:09
220 - Scotty Tichnell (SG) pins Luke Vinci (MR) 1:44
285 - Cole Sweitzer (SG) pins Kenneth Muir (MR) 1:49

Dixon and his coaches, celebrating #100