Middletown takes home gold at South River

Photo Credit: Thank you Arundel & Middletown Coaches!

Fifth-ranked senior Carter Canale of Middletown doesn’t just win titles at South River’s Seahawks’ Duals Tournament; he dominates.

That was the case, yet again last weekend for Canale, whose 9-0 record comprised eight pins and a technical fall as the ninth-ranked Knights conquered their rivals to capture the event with a 9-0 team record for the second straight season.

Canale was among three Knights’ wrestlers who went undefeated with three others losing just one of their nine bouts. Canale was joined as a title-winner by 10th-ranked junior Liam Soe (126) and 16th-ranked sophomore Ryker Keeney (144), each of whom finished at 9-0.

Also wrestling well for the Knights were seventh-ranked senior Brodie Burdette (138), junior Tobias White (157) and senior Xavier Ford (150), all of whom went 8-1. Burdette achieved his 100th career victory at South River, and Ford placed fifth at regions a year ago.

Among the nine teams vanquished by the Knights were 16th-ranked runner-up Stephen Decatur, 46-23, 15th-ranked Archbishop Curley, 51-19, and 18th-ranked South River, 48-26. Stephen Decatur finished at 8-1, and Archbishop Curley and South River, each at 6-3, with the Friars defeating the Seahawks, 44-33, for third place.

Middletown is coached by Chad Strube, a former two-time Class 2A-1A state champion in 2009 and 2010 after placing second as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore for the Knights.

“They did a great job last weekend," said Strube, whose Knights earned last year’s tournament victory with a 45-29 triumph over then-seventh-ranked Huntingtown, the eventual Class 2A state dual meet champion. "This was a great opportunity to learn and discover where we need to improve and work on getting better. They have been working hard, and it shows. I can’t wait to see the improvement when states come around.”

Canale is a returning champion in the Frederick County and Class 2A-1A West Region tournaments who was a Class 2A-1A state runner-up following a 10-6 state title bout loss to then-sophomore Ethan Vayro of Lackey.

Currently ranked third at 175 pounds; Vayro finished his season at 42-1 after defeating Canale, who ended last year with a record of 43-4 that included 26 pins and six technical falls.

“I’d say last weekend went well,” said Canale, whose record on the season is 19-0 with 15 pins and four technical falls. “I just did what I needed to do and to get as many team points as I could get.”

Canale’s 9-0 record at last season’s Seahawks’ duals included six pins and a major decision over then-fourth-ranked senior Tyler Hayden of Huntingtown, the previous season’s Class 2A-1A South Region champion who had placed third at Class 2A-1A states.

At Class 2A-1A states last year, Canale pinned Hayden at 3:58 of their semifinal before Hayden wrestled back to place third for the second straight year.

“Last year at South River I also went 9-0 with two decisions, one major, and six pins, so just small improvements this year make me very excited for the rest of the season,” said Canale, a former junior varsity county champion. “My goals this year are staying healthy to help the team reach our goal of a state title, and to also win states as an individual this season.”

Soe and Keeney are returnees who each placed second at counties and regions last season. At South River, Soe finished with seven pins and two decisions, and Keeney, with eight pins and a technical fall.

Soe's top three victories at South River were those over 10th-ranked Evan Kaliakoudas of Archbishop Curley by 11-3 major decision, 14th-ranked senior Trent Shipley of South River by 5-1 decision, and 19th-ranked sophomore Zackary Scarborough of Chopticon by fall in 5:31.

Top-ranked Stephen Decatur seniors Elijah Collick (138) and Peter Snyder (190) each went 9-0. Both are currently ranked nationally by High School on SI with Collick being rated 8th at 132 pounds and Snyder, 22nd at 190.

Bound for the University of Nebraska, Collick is attempting to become the Seahawks' first-ever four-time title winner in the Bayside Conference as well as in the region and state tournaments.

Committed to The University of Nebraska, Collick joined two-time champion Noah Reho as only the second Seahawks' freshman to earn a state title by earning the 106-pound title as a ninth-grader and can surpass three-time champion Danny Miller by becoming the program's first four-time state champion.

Collick placed second at the National High School Coaches' Association Tournament last spring, and fourth at the prestigious Super 32 in October.

Committed to Northwestern University, Snyder has returned to the Seahawks following three seasons at Blair Academy, where he earned a National Preps crown as a 165-pound freshman. Snyder placed fifth at Preps as a sophomore and missed his junior season due to an injury.

Snyder has also placed sixth and second at Beast Of The East as a sophomore and junior, eighth as a junior at The Ironman, eighth and third as a freshman and sophomore at The Journeyman World Classic, second and seventh as a sophomore at the Journeyman Fall Classic and the Fargo's Freestyle Nationals, and sixth and seventh as a freshman at Escape The Rock and the U.S. Open Under-17 Freestyle.

Leading Curley were sixth-ranked junior Oscar Davis (150) and sophomores Liam Rose (113) and Josiah Williamson (215), all of whom went 9-0. Davis improved his record on the year to 14-0 with 13 pins; Rose is 13-1, and Williamson, 13-2 with 13 pins.

Rose won the Dec. 8-9 Knightmare Invitational Tournament at Parkville for the second straight year, and Davis improved on the previous season's third-place finish with his title-winning effort at the event, and Williamson was third at Parkville.

The trio is coached by Paul Boettcher, a 1999 graduate of Archbishop Curley and a former Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and private schools state champion who twice finished third at National Preps and earned fourth place at the National High School Coaches’ Association Tournament.

Arundel of Anne Arundel County was paced by eighth-ranked junior Matteo Brown (157) and 15th-ranked senior Pierce Read (285), each of whom went 9-0.

Brown registered six pins, a technical fall and a major decision over Frederick's 12th-ranked Roman Epsin to improve his record on the year to 13-0 with nine pins and two technical falls. Brown placed fourth at counties and third at regions as a freshman, and third at counties, first at regions and fourth at states as a sophomore.

A returning county and regional runner-up who is ranked at 215 pounds by Legacy Wrestling, Read earned six first-period pins against three forfeits, raising his record on the year to 12-0 with eight first-period pins and one second-period.

"Pierce went 9-0 and earned Outstanding Wrestler," said coach Rob Connolly, an unbeaten 160-pound Class 4A-3A state champion at 35-0 as an Arundel senior in 1998, when the Wildcats earned the Class 4A-3A state tournament crown. "Pierce is an absolute animal this year with nine pins in 12 matches at the heavyweight spot. Pierce doesn't want to back down from anyone. "

Connolly said Read was hopeful of facing but did not get to wrestle either Middletown senior Landon Hofgesang, LaPlata senior Sima Saavedra or Patuxent senior Jahkiye Dixon, who are ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 by Legacy Westling at 285 pounds.

Saavedra was last year's runner-up in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference who was a Class 2A-1A South Region champion and fourth-place Class 2A-1A state finisher. Dixon was third at SMAC, second at regions and second at states.

"I joked with the South River staff that Pierce could stick around if anyone wanted exhibition matches," Connolly said. "Pierce garnered two healthy scratches from the top-ranked Middletown heavyweight and the LaPlata heavyweight. The returning state runner-up from Patuxent was a no-show."

Shipley went 8-1 with five pins to improve his overall record on the year to 10-3 with seven pins. Shipley has won a pair of Anne Arundel County titles in three championship berths, and placed third, fourth and fifth at regions as well as fifth at states.

Patuxent had a pair of unbeaten grapplers in fourth-ranked freshman Giovanni Barone (120) and Von Hargrove (106), with Frederick's fourth-ranked junior Joao Victor Guerra (165) doing the same. Guerra is a returning Frederick County champion who was second at regions and third at Class 4A-3A states.

Also finishing at 8-1 was Montgomery Blair's 132-pound Shabhrver Naiehi.