The Whitman wrestling team capped off another amazing season with a third place showing at the 4A/3A State Tournament. The Vikes qualified an impressive 7 wrestlers for States.
Senior 112 pounder Sawyer Symington qualified for States for the second consecutive year. Sawyer went 1-2 in the tournament contributing to the team’s impressive 78 points.
Junior 130 pounder Eric Harder won his first two matches on Friday night to put him into the semi-finals and automatically place. There he lost to the eventual State Champ. However, Eric wrestled aggressively Saturday afternoon and won two tough matches to take third.
Junior 140 pounder Mike Harder went 2-2 in the tournament. Mike wrestled very well and missed out on placing by one match in the tournament.
Junior 145 pounder Andrew Follmann also placed in the tournament. Andrew is also a two-time state qualifier. Andrew lost his first match on Friday and wrestled all the way back to get into the 3rd/4th place match and went 4-2 in the tournament to place 4th in his weight class.
Senior 189 pounder Taylor Leighton is a four-time state qualifier!! Taylor is a three-time state placer taking 4th, 2nd, and 2nd. Taylor secured two falls in his first two matches Friday night. Taylor came back on Saturday and won his semifinal to advance to the finals for the second straight year!! Unfortunately, Taylor lost a very close match to a tough opponent 5-3. Taylor finished the year with an incredible 39-2 record!!
Senior 215 pounder Danny Lee was the fourth Whitman state placer. Danny is a three-time state qualifier and a three-time state placer. Danny placed 6th, 2nd, and 3rd the past three years. Danny won his first match by fall but then lost a tough match in triple overtime in the quarters. Danny however came back and wrestled with pride to win four straight matches on Saturday to take 3rd place. In his last match he beat the same wrestler who beat him in the quarters by wrestling very aggressive and offensive.
Junior heavyweight Ned Daryoush also wrestled very well on both days of the tournament. Ned went 2-2 in the tournament and missed placing by one match.
Congrats to the entire Viking squad for another terrific State Tournament and another highly succesful season!
In the past two weeks the Whitman Vikings have put on two consecutive performances to capture the Montgomery County and 3A/4A West Region Tournaments.
Last week the Vikes placed 11 wrestlers among the top 6 to win the tournament. The Vikes were headlined by going 4-0 in the finals. Winning their respective weight classes were Junior Mike Harder at 140, Senior Taylor Leighton at 189, Senior Danny Lee at 215, and Junior Ned Daryoush at HWT. Both Mike and Ned beat previously undefeated wrestlers in Joe Galeano from Springbrook at 140 and Pat Teixeira from Walter Johnson at HWT. Taylor secured a fall in the finals while Danny won a tough match in overtime.
Also placing for Whitman were Sawyer Symington at 112(3rd), Dylan Symington at 119(5th), Ben D’Elia at 125(6th), Eric Harder at 130 (4th), Jordan Tritell at 135(6th), Andrew Follmann at 145 (3rd), Alex Hysong at 152(6th).
The West Region Tournament was again headlined by the finalists for the Vikings. Harder, Leighton, Lee, and Daryoush once again advanced to the finals, securing their spot in the State Tournament at Cole Field House. Joining that quartet in the finals was Junior Andrew Follmann at 145. Follmann avenged a county tournament loss to Garrett Hoover from Paint Branch in the semifinals of the region to advance to the finals. Winning in the finals in the Region were once again Harder, Leighton and Lee. Mike Harder won a thrilling match with a takedown with less than 15 seconds to go in the third and held on for the victory. Leighton again secured a fall in the finals while Lee avenged one of his two losses this season. Lee lost to Bernard Wolley from Seneca Valley in the Mad Mats Tournament finals and beat him in the finals this weekend.
Also placing in the top four and advancing to the State Tournament were third place finisher Sawyer Symington at 112 and third place finisher Eric Harder at 130. Both Dylan Symington and Alex Hysong placed 5th at 119 and 152 respectively. Each are the first alternates to go to States should someone in their weight class not be able to wrestle.
Please come out and watch the Whitman wrestlers at Cole Field House at the University of Maryland this Friday and Saturday!!
GO VIKES!!
The Whitman Vikings wrestled through tough teams in Magruder and Clarksburg to win the 2010 3a/4a West Dual meet Region title on Tuesday night.
In the first match against Magruder the team split the total number of matches with the Colonels, 7 wins apiece. The match was decided on bonus points. Whitman earned 5 pins to Magruder’s 4. Garnering victories for the Vikes were Sawyer Symington, Dylan Symington, Eric Harder, Mike Harder, Andrew Follmann, Taylor Leighton, and Danny Lee. Dylan started off the match with a tough decision against an opponent he has faced three times this season. Perhaps the best match of the dual came at 125 where captain Eric Harder earned an overtime win over Parke Overmiller avenging a loss to him earlier this season. That was followed by 4 pins by M. Harder, Follmann, Leighton, and Lee. After consecutive losses at heavyweight and 103 the Vikes were down by four heading into the final match. However, calm and steady Sawyer Symington went out to secure the fall and send the Vikes to the Region Championship Dual.
Awaiting the Vikings in the second dual of the evening were the Clarksburg Coyotes. In an odd sense of symmetry the two duals were virtually identical. After once again splitting the matches at 7 apiece Whitman earned the win through bonus points. The Vikes were able to secure 5 falls to Clarksburg’s 4 (one by FF). Coming through with wins for Whitman were S. Symington, Ben D’Elia, M. Harder, Brad Taylor, Leighton, Lee, and Ned Daryoush. Ben D’Elia started off this dual with a big win at 125. After two tough losses at 130 and 135 Mike Harder stopped the Coyote momentum with a fall at 140. Two matches later sophomore Brad Taylor won a big match at 152. Although only winning 2-0 Taylor was in complete control. After two more losses the Vikings were down but knew there was a ton of talent and experience left in the final 6 wrestlers. Leighton, Lee, and Daryoush all secured quick falls sending the match back around to the lightweights. Only up by one point with two matches to go once again Sawyer Symington turned the tide and pinned his opponent two clinch the victory by Whitman!!
All of the wrestlers who wrestled last night wrestled with Aggressiveness and Determination, part of our A.B.C.D’s. Congrats to the all the Whitman wrestlers and the entire Whitman Wrestling Program on the third consecutive Dual Meet Title!!
