Crushing the Campers

Southern Rams 2016/2017

The Southern Ram wrestling team had to wait an extra day for the 2016/2017 regular season to begin as a result of Tuesday's ice storm, but the delay did not seem to affect the boys.  The Allegany Campers made the trip to Oakland last evening for opening night action for both squads.  The Rams brought a new look to the home mats, but the action was what we have come to expect; tough, hard-nosed, dominating wrestling by the home team.

Push-ups for Patients

The evening started with another installment of "Push-ups for Patients", our charitable campaign raising money for Cindy's Fund to help local people who are fighting cancer.  Last night, we raised an additional $160 and our wrestlers then took the mat to do 160 push-ups.

Next up was some JV action where the young Rams set the tone for the rest of the evening by sweeping all four preliminary bouts.  Freshmen Joey McComas, Cole Baker, Trenton Tasker and sophomore Michael Moon all scored first period pins against Allegany.

Jace Guy with a pin

Varsity action began at the 126 pound weight class where returning state qualifier Jake E Sweitzer took the mat to get the season started.  Sweitzer dominated his opponent before scoring a second period fall to get the scoring started.  He was followed by another returning state qualifier and the result was the same, only much quicker.  It only took Nate Tasker 15 seconds to score a pin and give Southern a 12-0 lead.  Seniors Erik Fike and Jimmy Schwab followed with two more pins to stretch our lead to 24-0.

At 152, sophomore Jace Guy tacked on another pin and then juniors Alec Horner, Brad Davis and Joe Embleton all decked their foes and the rout was on.  Southern's lead after the 182 pound class was 48-0.  At 195, Allegany was able to get on the scoreboard as Gunnar Ward had to face the Campers top wrestler.  At 220, junior Scotty Tichnell continued the Rams' domination with a first period pin and that was followed at 285 with another fall by Cole Sweitzer.

Brad Davis rocking the new singlets

Freshman Jake W Sweitzer with a pin in his first varsity match

As we turned to the lower weights, the results were the same.  Sophomore Evan Paugh and senior Brison Dixon pinned their opponent quickly to stretch the team score to 72-6.  In the final bout of the evening, freshman Jake W Sweitzer made his Ram debut with a second period pin to close out the match at 78-6.

Next up for the Rams is a JV match tonight with Northern and then we travel to Winters Mill HS in Westminster for a weekend tournament.

Southern 78 - Allegany 6

106 – Evan Paugh (SG) pins Aaron Destefano (A) 1:13

113 – Brison Dixon (SG) pins Aaron Welsh (A) 1:10

120 – Jake W Sweitzer (SG) pins Tyler Dunmeyer (A) 2:32

126 – Jake E Sweitzer (SG) pins Kaden Weaver (A) 3:28

132 – Nate Tasker (SG) pins Tyler Murphy (A) :15

138 – Erik Fike (SG) pins Austin Crow (A) 1:30

145 – Jimmy Schwab (SG) pins Dion Destefano (A) 1:25

152 – Jace Guy (SG) pins Matt Murphy (A) 3:04

160 – Alec Horner (SG) pins Colby Fleming (A) 1:16

170 – Brad Davis (SG) pins George Davis (A) 1:31

182 – Joe Embleton (SG) pins Jacob Riffe (A) 2:57

195 – Karson Robinette (A) pins Gunnar Ward (SG) :50

220 – Soctty Tichnell (SG) pins Colby Twigg (A) 1:23

285 – Cole Sweitzer (SG) pins Tyler Durst (A) 1:38

16/17 Season Preview

2016-2016 Southern Garrett Wrestling

Tomorrow, the Southern Ram wrestlers take the mat in the opening match of the season in a 7pm battle at home against the Allegany Campers from Cumberland.  We enter the season with the intention of building on last year's successes and are working hard to accomplish even more this year.  We graduated only 4 seniors last season and we have a number of very eager wrestlers looking to step right into their shoes.  Replacing a two-time state champion like Devan Hamrick, or a great team leader like Corey Horner is difficult, but the hard-working young men on this season's team are up for the challenge.

Everyday, the 35 or so wrestlers on our team fight for a starting spot and with the wealth of talent we have, this fight will continue throughout the season.  The line-up is bound to change throughout the season, but here is the breakdown of the light, middle and upper weight classes:

106-126  We could almost fill the practice room with only the kids in the lower weights.  Returning state qualifiers Brison Dixon (SR) and Jake Sweitzer (JR) anchor this group of lightweights.  These two co-captains will be joined by returning wrestlers Zach Burgess (JR) and Evan Paugh (SO) and newcomers Chris Wheeler (SO), Michael Moon (SO), Will Meagher (FR), Zane Jones (FR), Joey McComas (FR), Tyler Landis (FR), Kyle Horvath (FR) and Jacob W Sweitzer (FR).  Our depth and experience (both at high school and in the mat club) at these lower weights will give us a big advantage in dual meets.

132-160  Our middle weights are equally as tough and equally as deep.  Led by senior co-captain and state qualifier Jimmy Schwab, this group will pick up right where the lightweights left off - winning matches and helping with our team's success.  Joining Schwab is another state qualifier in Nate Tasker and returning starters Jace Guy (SO) and Alec Horner (JR).  Also fighting for spots in the middle weights are Erik Fike (SR), Brandon Mersing (JR), Brad Davis (JR), Mikey Greene (JR), Luke O'Brien (JR), Michael Duggan (JR), Cole Baker (FR) and Declan McCann (FR).  The depth here is amazing and the wrestle-offs have been enjoyable to watch.

170-285  The numbers up here are a little bit less, but the toughness is not.  This group of upper weights is led by co-captain Joe Embleton (JR) who had a great season last year and is set to tear things up again this year.  Our returning starters joining Embleton are Patrick Duggan (SR), Scotty Tichnell (JR), Hunter Park (SO) and Cole Sweitzer (SO).  Also in the mix are Gunnar Ward (SR), Michael Hollingsworth (JR), Nathan Sweitzer (SO), Bryson Alexander (FR) and Trenton Tasker (FR).

This is only half our team warming up before the Red/White scrimmage

Seniors
Jimmy Schwab
Brison Dixon
Erik Fike
Patrick Duggan
Gunnar Ward

Juniors
Zach Burgess
Jake E Sweitzer
Brandon Mersing
Mikey Greene
Brad Davis
Alec Horner
Michael Hollingsworth
Michael Duggan
Luke O'Brien
Joe Embleton
Scotty Tichnell

Sophomores
Michael Moon
Chris Wheeler
Evan Paugh
Nate Tasker
Jace Guy
Nathan Sweitzer
Hunter Park
Cole Sweitzer

Freshmen
Will Meagher
Zane Jones
Joey McComas
Tyler Landis
Kyle Horvath
Jake W Sweitzer
Cole Baker
Declan McCann
Bryson Alexander
Trenton Tasker

Our Schedule

Dec. 6              Allegany                                             Home              7pm   
Dec. 8              JV Invitational                                    Home              6pm
Dec 9/10        Grindstone Duals                              Winters Mill   4pm
Dec 14             Keyser (JV Only)                                Keyser                        6pm
Dec 16/17      Musselman Duals                              Musselman     4pm
Dec 21             JV Invitational                                    Home              6pm
Dec 22             Urbana                                               Home              6pm
Dec. 28           Oakdale/Keyser                                Home              1pm
Jan. 4               Northern                                            Away               7pm
Jan. 6/7          Fort Hill Super Duals                       Fort Hill          6pm
Jan. 10             Brunswick                                          Away               1:30pm
Jan. 11             Frankfort (w/Northern)                  Northern        6pm
Jan. 17             Catoctin                                              Away               5pm   
Jan. 18             Fort Hill/Keyser                                Fort Hill          6pm
Jan. 24              Northern                                            Home              7pm
Jan. 28              Williamsport/Hyndman                 Home              1pm
Feb. 2              Mountain Ridge                                 Away               7pm

Feb. 8               Regional Duals                                    TBA

Feb. 11             State Duals                                         TBA                 1:00pm
Feb. 18             Bi-County Tournament                     Northern        10:00am         
Feb. 25             Regional Tournament                        Middletown    10:00am
Mar. 4/5         State Tournament                              PG SportsComplex

RED/WHITE 2016 Preview

This Friday evening, the Southern Ram wrestlers take the mat in front of the home crowd for the first time on the season at the annual Red/White Scrimmage.  There will be plenty of exciting action as our wrestlers fight for starting spots and pride for their team.  This year, The Brutes will be in white and The Beasts will be wearing red.  In all, 32 of our 36 wrestlers will be competing on Friday and we will also be joined by a couple youth matches featuring the Southern Mat Club wrestlers.

Our captains this season are seniors Jimmy Schwab and Brison Dixon and juniors Joe Embleton and Jake Sweitzer.  Sophomore Jace Guy has been named alternate captain.  These fine young men have been doing an outstanding job leading the team through early practices and scrimmages and will have their teammate well prepared for this event.

We have a huge team this season and it looks like there will be some great battles under the light on Friday.  The public is welcome to attend this free event.  Please come out on Friday evening and support this hard-working group athletes.  We assure you, it will be well worth the trip and the price of admission.  See you there!

The Brutes – White	The Beasts - Red
Will Meagher – 9th	Evan Paugh – 10th
Zane Jones – 9th	Kyle Horvath – 9th
Tyler Landis – 9th	Chris Wheeler – 10th
Joey McComas – 9th	Zach Burgess – 11th
Nate Tasker – 10th	Erik Fike – 12th
Cole Baker – 9th	Brandon Mersing – 11th
Jake W Sweitzer - 9th	Brison Dixon - 12th
Jake E Sweitzer – 11th	Mikey Greene – 11th
Southern Mat Club	Southern Mat Club
Jace Guy - 10th	Jimmy Schwab - 12th
Brad Davis – 11th	Alec Horner – 11th
Michael Duggan – 11th	Michael Hollingsworth – 11th
Joe Embleton – 11th	Patrick Duggan – 12th
Nathan Sweitzer – 10th	Declan McCann – 9th
Hunter Park – 10th	Gunnar Ward – 12th
Scotty Tichnell – 11th	John Pilkerton – 12th
Cole Sweitzer – 10th	Trenton Tasker – 9th
Coaches	Coaches
Dan Clark, Chad King, Mikey Skipper	Tim Rush, Jason Burgess, Justin Gregory