That Stings

Coach Clark getting them ready and sending them out.

The Southern Rams finished off their tough December schedule on Wednesday as they traveled to Damascus, MD for a tri match against the Swarmin' Hornets and the Oakdale Bears.  Damascus is the 3-time defending 3A/4A state champions and currently is the top ranked public school in the state (3rd overall).  The Oakdale Bears are ranked 6th overall and are the second ranked public school behind Damascus.  We knew it was a tall order, but the Rams took the mat with confidence and energy and gave it everything they had.

 

Jimmy Schwab defeats Malik Boyd 6-4

Match one was against the home-standing Swarmin' Hornets.  After the first three bouts, Southern had an early 12-6 lead thanks to pins by Cole Sweitzer at 285 and Brison Dixon at 106.  Damascus was able to reel off four straight wins to pull ahead 26-12 before Devan Hamrick won by decision at 138.  The Rams and the Hornets split the next two bouts to bring the score to 29-18 with four matches remaining.  Damascus proved to be to strong in the upper weights and won all of the last four bouts to secure the 52-18 victory over the Southern Rams.

 

Freshman hwt Cole Sweitzer with 2 wins on Wednesday

The second match of the afternoon saw the Rams take on the Oakdale Bears.  Southern earned wins in each of the first three bouts to build an 18-0 lead with pins by Dixon at 106 and Nate Tasker at 113 and a forfeit win by Cole Sweitzer at 285.  The Bears won the next three matches to pull within two points at 18-16.  Hamrick and Jimmy Schwab picked up wins at 138 and 145 to give Southern at 27-16 lead heading into the upper weights.  Once again, the bigger school was just too deep in those upper weights as Oakdale won the final six matches to finish off the Rams with a final score of 52-27.

 

Two more pins for Brison Dixon

On a day where wins were few and far between, there were several highlights for the Rams.  First of all, senior Devan Hamrick and junior Brison Dixon remained undefeated on the season, each running their individual records to 20-0.  Freshman Nate Tasker improved his record to 18-2 on the season and junior Jimmy Schwab moved to 16-4.  Only three wrestlers were able to win twice on Wednesday and they were Hamrick, Dixon and Cole Sweitzer.

Senior Corey Horner with a 3-1 win against Damascus

 

The Rams are off until Thursday, January 7th where they will travel to Hyndman High School in PA for another tri-match against the Hornets and Meyersdale High School.

Damascus 52 - Southern 18
106 - Brison Dixon (SG) pins Ian Osterman (D) 3:07
113 - TJ Maklin (D) pins Nate Tasker (SG) :12
120 - Johnny McLaughlin (D) dec Jake Sweitzer (SG) 9-7 ot
126 - Dylan Ramirez (D) pins Zach Burgess (SG) 1:53
132 - Scott Obendorfer (D) tf Jace Guy (SG) 21-6
138 - Devan Hamrick (SG) dec Ryan Lawrence (D) 7-6
145 - John Furguson (D) dec Jimmy Schwab (SG) 7-1
152 - Corey Horner (SG) dec Davey Creegan (D) 3-1
160 - Brenden Parent (D) tf Joey Embleton (SG) 16-0
170 - Colin McLaughlin (D) pins Patrick Duggan (SG) 2:27
182 - Ben Lokos (D) pins Bernie Sislo (SG) :37
195 - Elijah Baisden (D) pins Hunter Park (SG) 1:42
220 - Michael Bradshaw (D) pins Scotty Tichnell (SG) :16
285 - Cole Sweitzer (SG) pins Sajed Abdelmanin (D) 2:34

Oakdale 52 - Southern 27
106 - Brison Dixon (SG) pins Jeremy Welch (Oak) :58
113 - Nate Tasker (SG) pins Dakota Fragel (Oak) :55
120 - Wyatt McCoy (Oak) pins Jake Sweitzer (SG) 1:05
126 - Camran Deluca (Oak) pins Zach Burgess (SG) :25
132 - Kyle McDonald (Oak) m dec Jace Guy (SG) 17-4
138 - Devan Hamrick (SG) pins Shaun Herndon (Oak) 1:52
145 - Jimmy Schwab (SG) dec Malik Boyd (Oak) 6-4
152 - Jake Nielson (Oak) pins Corey Horner (SG) 1:16
160 - Chase Demaille (Oak) pins Joey Embleton (SG) 1:22
170 - Ryan Shubert (Oak) pins Patrick Duggan (SG) 2:54
182 - Zach Grenier (Oak) pins Bernie Sislo (SG) 1:17
195 - Bryce Demaille (Oak) pins Hunter Park (SG) :17
220 - John Yacoubain (Oak) pins Scotty Tichnell (SG) :15
285 - Cole Sweitzer (SG) via Forfeit

Sophomore Jake Sweitzer loses in OT to a ranked wrestler from Damascus

Flexing at Musselman

Brison Dixon with another pin to remain unbeaten at 18-0

The Southern Rams hit the road again this weekend to test themselves against a strong group of teams from VA, MD, WV and NY at the 2015 Musselman Duals.  When the dust settled on Saturday evening, the Rams found themselves with a solid 7-2 record, sitting in 3rd place out of the 16 team field.  In addition to the great team results, the Rams boasted three all-tournament team members as Brison Dixon, Jake Sweitzer and Devan Hamrick were chosen as best wrestlers in their respective weight classes.

 

Cole Sweitzer went 7-2 this weekend at 285

Wrestling started on Friday with a big win against Hedgesville, WV by the score of 54-30.  The next match was against the NY team from Central Square HS near Syracuse.  Traditionally one of the tougher teams in this tournament, we were able to build a big lead early and hold off a late charge to secure our second win of the tournament by the score of 46-31.

 

Devan Hamrick punishes Mountain View's top wrestler

After a big win against Spring Mills, WV, we were set to face a tough team from Spring Valley, WV.  Their team was rough and tough and gave us a great challenge.  Spring Valley built a 30-15 lead through the heart of their line-up but we were able to battle back to take a 33-30 lead into the final bout.  Jake Sweitzer found himself losing 3-1 heading into the final period with the match on the line.  Sweitzer kept his cool and was able to tie up the score and then go in for the kill and the pin to give the Rams a 39-30 victory and a perfect 4-0 Friday.  The win was Coach Taylor and his staff's 250 career win with Southern Garrett Wrestling.

 

Saturday started with a big match-up with the Berkeley Springs Indians.  The tough team from the small WV town built up a 33-18 lead that we were not able to make up.  In the end, the Rams dropped the match by a 39-36 margin for the team's first loss of the tournament.  It didn't get much easier from there.  Next up was a solid team from Riverbend, VA.  The match was close throughout, but in the end, the Rams pulled out a 41-33 victory for the team's 5th win of the tournament.

Freshman Nate Tasker has an impressive 17-1 record

 

Round 7 found the Rams up against the defending champions for Mountain View, VA.  In the match against this team last season, we lost all but one of the 14 weight classes.  This year, things were different.  We started off with a big pins by Devan Hamrick and a victory by Corey Horner to take a 9-6 lead.  Unfortunately, we lost the next 6 matches by pin and found ourselves in a big hole 42-9.  We were able to win the final 5 bouts for a 7-7 match split, but their pins were too much for us to overcome, dropping the dual 42-35.

 

Jimmy Schwab for the pin and a 7-2 weekend

After beating East Hardy 66-15, we were set for the final match of the day against the host school, the Musselman Applemen.  It was an exciting match, with many close, well wrestled matches.  In the end, Southern was too strong for the host school, defeating Musselman 45-33 to finish the tournament 7-2.  Photos courtesy of Bev Rasel

Individual Results
9-0 - Brison Dixon (106)
9-0 - Devan Hamrick (138)
8-1 - Nate Tasker (113)
8-1 - Jake Sweitzer (120 & 126)
7-2 - Jace Guy (132)

Jake Sweitzer wins the final match of the day and goes 8-1

7-2 - Jimmy Schwab (145)
7-2 - Cole Sweitzer (285)
5-2 - Corey Horner (152)
Other winners:
4 wins - Partick Duggan
3 wins - Scotty Tichnell
2 wins - Zach Burgess
2 wins - Luke O'Brien
2 wins - Joey Embleton
2 wins - Bernie Sislo

Team Results
Southern 54 - Hedgesville 30

This team is pretty close and is having an excellent season

Southern 46 - Central Square 31
Southern 72 - Spring Mills 12
Southern 39 - Spring Valley 30
Berkeley Springs 39 - Southern 36
Southern 41 - Riverbend 33
Mountain View 42 - Southern 35
Southern 66 - East Hardy 15
Southern 45 - Musselman 33



Grinding It Out

Junior Brison Dixon remained unbeaten

The Southern Rams made the long trip to Westminster, MD this weekend to compete in the Grindstone Duals at Winters Mill High School.  The tournament saw some great competition and outstanding wrestling teams, big and small, from all over the state.  As the dust settled on Saturday evening, the Rams found themselves in a 4 way tie for second place with a solid 6-2 record.  After the criteria was calculated, Southern finished in third place behind Leonardtown and the host school.

 

Freshman Nate Tasker was 8-0 at the tournament

Junior Jimmy Schwab went 7-1 this weekend

On Friday, the Rams opened the tournament with a dominating effort against Lackey High School, winning 48-22.   Southern followed that match with an equally solid 50-27 victory over Mardela High School from southern Maryland.  For the final round on Friday evening, the Rams faced the eventual tournament champions Leonardtown High.  Southern started fast and built a 15-3 lead, but Leonardtown was able to win six straight bouts to take a commanding 36-15 lead with four matches remaining.  The Rams picked up pins in the next three bouts to close the gap to 36-33 heading into the last bout.  Unfortunately, Leonardtown would win the final match and take the dual meet by a 42-33 score.

 

On Saturday, the Rams started with two big wins, 66-18 over Dulaney and 78-0 over AACS to bring the team's record to 4-1 on the weekend.  Next up was the host school Winters Mill, a team all too familiar to the Rams.  It was a tight match throughout and the intensity level was high.  In the end, the Falcolns were able to secure a 39-33 victory over the Rams.  The Rams stood at 4-2 with two tough matched remaining.

 

Up next was Owings Mills, another team with a lot of history and familiarity to the Rams.  The last time Southern and Owings Mills met head to head in a dual meet was in the state finals in 2009.  On that day the Ram prevailed 48-24, on this day the Rams prevailed 42-19.  That win gave the Rams a 5-2 record heading into the final match against 6-1 Paint Branch.

 

Sophomore Joey Embleton was the hero on Saturday

The final match started out on a somber note as the whole team was a little down after losing one of their captains to a broken ankle that occurred in the previous match.  Paint Branch took advantage and built up a solid 29-0 lead before the Rams got their first win of the dual.  From there, Southern reeled off win after win, most by pins, to storm back to tie the score at 34 with one match remaining.  In the final bout, sophomore Joey Embleton took the mat and soon found himself down 4-0 in the third period with the clock running.  As has been his trademark throughout his short career, Joey never quit wrestling and was able to storm back and pull off the amazing 9-6 stunning victory to propel his team to a 6-2 record for the tournament.  Photos courtesy of Bev Rasel.



Senior team leader Devan Hamrick in charge

Individual Results
8-0 - Brison Dixon (106)
8-0 - Nate Tasker (113)
8-0 - Devan Hamrick (138)
7-1 - Jimmy Schwab (145)
7-1 - Joey Embleton (160)
6-2 - Jake Sweitzer (126)
6-2 - Jace Guy (132)
5-3 - Corey Horner (152)
4-3 - Ethan Bittinger (170)
Zach Burgess, Hunter Park and Cole Sweitzer each earned 3 wins and Patrick Duggan won twice.

Senior Ethan Bittinger gets a pin prior to his injury

Match Scores
Southern 48 - Lackey 22
Southern 50 - Mardela 27
Leonardtown 42 - Southern 33
Southern 66 - Dulaney 18
Southern 78 - AACS 0
Winters Mill 39 - Southern 33
Southern 42 - Owings Mills 19
Southern 37 - Paint Branch 34