Top-6 Pre-Season Youth Team Duals

Archbishop Curley HS
Baltimore, Maryland
December 13, 1998

The best of the best battled this past Sunday in the Top-6 Pre-Season Duals at Archbishop Curley HS in Baltimore. This is an annual invitational event to determine which Maryland or Northern Virginia youth team is the strongest in dual meet competition. Just being invited to the duals is a significant honor. Beltway level teams are the strongest competitive youth league teams in this region.

Representing the Capital Area (Beltway) Wrestling League, the SMWC All-Stars soundly defeated Westminster and then #3 Owings Mills before their final match, a rematch from last year's duals against perennial favorite and MD/VA beltway team champion Golden Ring. Golden Ring represents the Baltimore Beltway League, and had defeated both Springfield and Gaithersberg earlier in the day.

SMWC was in the hole right off by 6 team points when normal starter and Eastern National Runner-up Jonathan Ferringer was unable to attend the duals at 55 lbs. SMWC's backup 55 lb wrestler was also out, so the team had to use its 50 lb wrestler, Jamie Clark. Jamie was too small for GRs Josh Fitch and was quickly pinned. The 60 lb match was the real first of many great struggles with SMWC's Edwin Randall catching and pinning GR's Brian Bender in the second period. The 65 lb match was another great one with SMWC's Steve Sargent defeating GR's James Knox 6-2.

The next few matches went back and forth with SMWC's Mike Rowe and Rudy Rueda scoring victories. At this point SMWC's fortunes started to fail with GR scoring 4 straight falls (Bentz, Artis, Tippit, and Kahl) and an upset victory by Ben Sills over SMWC's Mike Rock to put them ahead in team scoring. Despite a narrow victory by SMWC's Mat Bancroft and a fall by SMWC's top wrestler Mike Vashon at 130 lbs., SMWC could go no farther.

GR never looked back with pins at 140 lbs by Elmer Forbes and at 150 lbs by Josh Devon to soundly defeat the SMWC All-Stars 54-27.

After the match, both SMWC and GR team coaches were quick to point out that despite the scores, this was a real difficult match and one truely showing the strength of youth wrestling in this region. In youth league wrestling, it doesn't get any better.