Smith Claims Wrestling Title For Second Year
On Saturday, 12 members of the varsity wrestling competed in Admiral Holloway Invitational, hosted by The St. James School. Fourteen teams from Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and Pennsylvania competed, including numerous State-place-winners and National Qualifiers.
The Maroon wrestlers competed well in their opening event, compiling an overall record 27 wins, 21 losses. Ten out of 12 wrestlers won at least one bout, four wrestlers placed and four others came within one bout of placing as the Maroon placed 5th out of the 14 teams.
William Smith '19 repeated as tournament champion, earning three pins following a first round forfeit. He spent a total of 4:45 on the mat, which included an eight second fall. His opponent in the finals scored the only points on Smith all day before Smith secured a cradle and earned the fall at 0:38 in the second period.Max Meyer '20 opened his Episcopal wrestling career with two pins and a decision as he earned a trip to the finals and a second-place finish. Wrestling against much larger opponents at heavyweight, Meyer used both his speed and athleticism effectively before falling in the finals.
Bear Matheson '20 and Chineme Agulanna '20 both recovered from first round losses by winning three in row to earn spots in the consolation finals. Matheson had three pins as he demonstrated increasing patience with his pinning combinations. Agulanna had two pins and a decision. Agulanna was particularly impressive in the way he pushed himself to use higher level technique.
Stefan Olsen '21 and Yoyo Lu '21 both fell short of winning matches but each had moments in which they effectively executed technique. In particular, Olsen used a cross-face to stop his opponent’s shot and Yoyo was able to get his head deep in the hole on a front headlock. Ray Kang '19, Gilbert Amason '20, Max Smith '22, and Conrad Suppes '20 each fell one win short of placing but collectively accounted for 11 victories. Amason returned to action after missing last season with an injury by earning three falls. Kang bounced back from a first round loss to win three in a row. Suppes turned in perhaps the most exciting performance of the day as he won three close decisions, the first wins of his career.
Hays Talley '20 and Nick Carosi '22 each earned their first varsity wins for the Maroon. Wrestling in the same weight class as his brother, Meyer went 2-2 with two pins. Carosi's win came as he was down by one with 30 seconds remaining in the bout. He let his opponent up in an attempt to get a takedown for the tie, removing all doubt as he threw a headlock to win by fall in the close seconds.
