Three Wrestlers Place at State Tournament

Nine members of the varsity wrestling team traveled to Virginia Beach to compete in the VISAA championships hosted by Cape Henry Collegiate School.
Missing two starters, the Maroon put together their best performance since 2015, placing 9th out of 29 teams. Eight out of nine wrestlers scored team points and three earned medals by placing in the top eight of their weight class. Placing for the Maroon were Bear Matheson '20 (7th at 182), Max Meyer '20 (2nd at 220), and William Smith '19 (1st at 195). In winning his weight class, Smith claimed Episcopal’s first state championship since 2011. Smith was dominant throughout the tournament, reaching the finals with three first period pins and then winning in the finals with a 15-0 technical fall, turning his opponent four different times.

Meyer also reached the finals with three straight pins losing in the finals. In the semi-finals, he blew open a close match when he dropped drop on a leg and cranked the head down as his opponent stood up—a move that put his opponent right to his back, earning a second period fall. Matheson had his best performance as an Episcopal wrestler, going 3-2 with three first-period pins. On day two, his first fall came over a returning State place-winner and his second fall came over an St. Stephen's and St. Agnes opponent who had beaten him twice previously.

Chineme Agulanna '20 capped off his second season by coming within one win of placing. He was right on the cusp as he lost a close bout to the 5th and 7th place finishers. Jay Kim '19 came within a match of placing and finished his season by earning six points for the Maroon with a pin in consolation round three. Kim's best moment came against the eventual 8th-place finisher in round of 16. Down 5-0, Kim chose neutral and threw his opponent to his back to close to within one point.

Victor Salcedo '22 provided one of the most exciting moments of the tournament in the round of 16. Wrestling the seventh seed, Salcedo got a little high using legs and got dropped to his hip. As his opponent tried to reverse him, he reached for the far leg and secured a splade for the fall and a trip to the Quarter-finals. Salcedo narrowly missed placing, losing in the placement round in sudden victory.

Ray Kang '19 also had his best performance of the season as he went 3-2 with two pins and came within a match of placing. After a first period fall in consolation round two, Kang won his second overtime match of the his season, this time getting a reversal right as time ran out to win in the first tie-breaker. Nick Carosi '22 competed in one of the deeper weight classes and lost two close decisions: one by four points to the eventual 7th-place wrestler, and the other in sudden victory to a senior from Bishop Ireton. Carosi ended his season with 18 wins, the fourth-highest ever by a freshman.

Hays Talley '21, competing in his first year, went 3-2 including a pin and a major decision in the consolations. He did a particularly nice job adjusting in the match to coaching points as he scored the most team points of Episcopal's “non-placers.” By virtue of scoring in the top four, Smith and Meyer earned the right to compete this coming weekend in the Prep National tournament hosted by Lehigh University.
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