By Andy States
SMAC Content Manager
Talking with La Plata’s Brent Mowry after his team’s wins over Northern and Great Mills on Tuesday night, one may not have had the distinct impression that the Warriors dominated on the scoreboard.
While pleased with the team’s wins, the thoughts were more about how the team needed to progress. This, after La Plata defeated Great Mills 57-21 and later dispatched the host Northern Patriots 48-21.
“I feel like our lower weights are doing well, but we could do better,” said Mowry, the team’s 152-pounder. “I think in the middle we could do better.”
Such is life for the Warriors, who with their recent history have set the bar high. Over the past three seasons, La Plata (6-0, 5-0) have earned a pair of 4A/3A state dual and tournament titles each, and have not lost a regular season match in-conference since 2004. And, with an early-season start that has included a Lackey tournament title and a runaway win at Glenelg amonst the early-season highlights, La Plata has that look again. But that’s not to say there aren’t new challenges the team has to overcome.
In the upper weights the Warriors are relatively inexperienced, and have thus far been without the services of Alex Ingagliato, who was a state placer at 215 pounds a year ago. The team also was faced with the task of replacing state champions Jake Shilling and Tanner Shaffer in the lineup. But through everything, the Warriors are still unbeaten and won handily on Tuesday night.
Against Great Mills (6-7, 0-4), La Plata picked up pins in seven matches, with Dylan Dull (103), Mike Garrow (125), Johnny Thomas (130), Nick Romero (135), Chase Ursiti (140), Joey Higgs (145) and Nick Houser (160) doing the honors. Mowry added a 9-3 decision over Great Mills’ James Monda to a couple of forfeits for the eventual winning margin. Andrew Bogdan (171) took a tight 6-5 decision from Mitchell Keith to account for the Hornets’ first win against the Warriors, while Andrew Lopez earned a fall at 189 and Aaron Rodenhizer did the same in the heavyweight encounter.
The Warriors won by fall in another six matches in the nightcap, with Mowry, Houser, Keith, Garrow, Romero and heavyweight Jon Boarman decking their respective opponents to lead the team to the win over Northern.
“I wasn’t real happy. Some of the kids wrestled well, but we’ve got a lot of work to do, that’s for sure,” La Plata coach Todd Sharp said. “We got a lot to work on, but overall I was pretty pleased.”
The Warriors will receive a boost soon, as Ingagliato expects to be back on the mat in the coming week to help solidify the team’s upper weights.
Northern (7-6, 2-2) came out victorious in two of the higher profile bouts of the night in its match against La Plata. Eric Stubblefield and Quentin Leadbeter, both champions in last weekends prestigious Arundel tournament, earned respective wins against La Plata’s Dylan Dull and Daniel Brannon.
Stubblefield topped Dull by a 14-4 major decision at 103. At 119, Brannon scored with the first takedown against Leadbeter, but later gave up a point on a stall call and eventually came out on the downside of the decision after a third-period takedown by Leadbeter put the Northern grappler in front.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match going against La Plata,” Leadbeter said. “I had to bring my ‘A’ game.”
Stubblefield was still riding high off of his championship at Arundel, which was the wrestler’s first tournament title.
“It my first tournament win so it was a good experience,” he said. “To get it in the Arundel tournament was a great feeling.”
Northern defeated Great Mills 43-33 in the opening match of the tri-meet. Great Mills led 33-21 after Rodenhizer won by fall in the heavyweight bout. But the Patriots won the next four matches — a Stubblefield pin at 103 and a Leadbeter major decision at 125 sandwiching two forfeit wins — to come back for the victory.
Northern hosts its annual Patriot Classic tournament this coming Friday and Saturday.
Northern 43, Great Mills 33
130 Treasure (N) pinned Skibicki, :49
135 Kosewicz (G) pinned Rawlings, 2:32
140 Fanton (N) 9-6 Norris
145 Williams (N) pinned M. Bogdan, 3:02
152 Monda (G) pinned Reems, 1:39
160 Anderson (G) 10-3 Pasqualle
171 A. Bogdan (G) pinned Cranford, 2:45
189 Kopiske (N) pinned Lopez, 3:51
215 Bailey (G) pinned Crouch, 1:24
285 Rodenizer (G) pinned Murphy, 1:59
103 Stubblefield (N) pinned Brooks, :57
112 Croft (N) won by forfeit
119 Wilson (N) won by forfeit
125 Leadbeter (N) 13-3 Reilly
La Plata 57, Great Mills 21
135 Romero (L) pinned Kosewicz, 2:3o9
140 Ursiti (L) pinned Norris, 3:09
145 Higgs (L) pinned M. Bogdan, 3:40
152 Mowry (L) 9-3 Monda
160 Houser (L) pinned Anderson, 1:26
171 A. Bogdan (G) 6-5 Keith
189 Lopez (G) pinned Keeve, 5:20
215 Bailey (G) won by forfeit
285 Rodenizer (G) pinned Boarman, 1:20
103 Dull (L) pinned Brooks, :45
112 Jennings (L) won by forfeit
119 Brannon (L) won by forfeit
125 Garrow (L) pinned Wilson, 1:57
130 Thomas (L) pinned Skibicki, 1:12
La Plata 48, Northern 21
140 Ursiti (L) 14-3 Fanton
*145 Williams (N) 8-1 Higgs
152 Mowry (L) pinned Reems, 4:32
160 Houser (L) pinned Pasqualle, 1:38
171 Keith (L) pinned Cranford, 1:26
189 Kopiske (N) pinned Keeve, 3:02
215 Crouch (N) by forfeit
285 Boarman (L) pinned Murphy, 1:42
103 Stubblefield (N) 14-4 Dull
112 Jennings (L) 14-1 Croft
119 Leadbeter (N) 4-2 Brannon
125 Garrow (L) pinned Wilson, 3:39
130 Thomas (L) 15-0 Treasure
135 Romero (L) pinned Rawlings, 4:24
*Both teams deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
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