Page 31 - July Banner 2018_Neat

Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com www.TheCatoctinBanner.com The Catoctin Banner Newspaper July 2018 Page 31

CHS Wrestlers — Continued from page 30

the first round, won by decision in semi’s, and was pinned in the second period the match and gain control of the contestants. Fuss has always been a physical
of his finals match, again, by the future state runner-up. wrestler, bluntly unintimidated, and one to counter aggression with his own
Travis Fields came up short at the regional tournament for the second time in offensive charge. He displayed his eye-for-an-eye style during the bout, and
as many years. After a victory by fall in his first bout, Fields was eliminated with his actions were well within the legal bounds of sportsmanship. It appeared,
back-to-back losses. However, the 145-pound sophomore won over 70 percent however, that the actions of his opponent were not only bordering on illegality,
of his matches, an improvement of over 10 percent from his freshman year, but were outright malicious, and that the wrong athlete may have been punished
including eight regular season dual meet victories, two wins at the Bauerlein with ejection. The impending decision to disqualify Fuss resulted in the forfeit
Duals, and six triumphant bouts at the Westminster Duals. He went 3-2 at the of his final two high school matches, and he would be forced to accept a 6th
Hub Cup for a fourth-place finish and 3-1 at the Frederick County tournament, place finish. With a season winning percentage of over 80 percent, Fuss still
earning a third-place medal. Fields ends his season with a 23-11 record and a had plenty to celebrate, including an 11-3 regular season dual meet record, a
career mark of 45-27. 4-1 performance at the Bauerlien Duals, and a near-perfect record of 8-1 at the
Wyatt Payne, the 152-pound junior, was eliminated after a close loss by Westminster Duals. He fought back from an early loss at the Hub Cup to earn
decision in the pigtail rounds in his second showing at regionals. His progress third-place honors and qualified for states by placing third in the region. He
was interrupted mid-season by an injury that kept him from participating in the was nominated to the Frederick News Post’s All-area 1st team and is ranked at
Westminster Duals and the Hub Cup, but he claimed a 4-4 tab in regular season number fifteen by the MSWA. He finishes his senior year with a season record of
dual meets matches, posted a perfect, 5-0 record at the Bauerlien Duals, and 32-10 and increases his career totals to 121-41.
went 3-1 at the Frederick County championships, collecting a third-place medal. Joshua Small, the uniquely calm 160-pound senior and already the
The Frederick News Post Honorable Mention rounded out his junior season owner of a pair of state championship medals, has had plenty of post-season
with a 11-6 record and bumps his career record to 54-34. wrestling experience. The four-time state qualifier came away empty handed
RJ Monoghan qualified for his first appearance at the state tournament last as a freshman, but finished in fifth place his sophomore year and earned a
season as a junior. This year, the 182-pound senior would not be so fortunate. third-place medal last year as a junior. Employing a no-frills, practical, and
After a first-round bye, he advanced by way of a very close decision in quarter’s deliberate wrestling methodology, he would add yet another piece of hardware
only to suffer a one-point loss in semi’s, the match that would have propelled to his collection. This year, Small came out efficient and strong, pinning his first
him to states had he won. Monoghan was ousted from the competition after opponent in under two minutes. He was forced into the consolation bracket
being pinned during wrestle-backs. Although his hopes of making the bracket after a close, 3-1 loss by decision in quarter’s, but then cranked out three
in the state tournament would not materialize, his senior year was far from consecutive victories, one by pin, another by major decision, and a third by
uneventful. He lost only two regular season dual meets with a record of 12-2, injury default, that would advance him to the third-place round. Unfortunately,
had an exceptional showing at the Bauerlien Duals with a 4-1 total, and swept he would settle for fourth after a hard-fought 9-4 defeat, but was able to stand
the opposition with a perfect 9-0 run at the Westminster Duals. He finished on the podium at states, unrattled, for the third time in his high school career.
fifth at the Hub Cup and claimed a Frederick County title en route to a 31-7 Small’s senior year was nothing short of extraordinary. He posted a perfect, 14-0
season record. He was honored with a second team All-area nomination by the regular season dual meet record that included a seven-second pin, the fastest of
Frederick News Post and sports a career record of 91 wins and 50 losses, just the season, against Walkersville. He went 3-2 at the Bauerlien Duals and swept
shy of the 100 win mark. the competition with an undefeated showing at the Westminster Duals. He was a
Catoctin was able to nab another top-ten team placement, finishing 9th, finalist at the Hub Cup and wrestled back to place third at the Frederick County
among one hundred seven 1A-2A public high school wrestling programs, up tournament after a loss in semi’s. Also a finalist in the regional tournament and
from ninety-nine schools last year after redistricting. The Cougars propelled placing fourth at states, Small would put together a superb 37-7 season record,
three of its four qualifiers to the medal rounds during the Maryland state winning almost 90 percent of his matches. The Frederick News Post All-area
wrestling championships, held for the third year at the Show Place Arena in 1st team selection is ranked number twelve in the state by the Maryland State
Upper Marlboro, Maryland. And for the seventh time in as many years, the team Wrestling Association, and he tops off a exceptional high school career record of
celebrated yet another individual state wrestling title, boosting the total to nine 130 wins and 46 losses.
(Shane Tiffany 1995, Seth Chilson 2010, Tim Nordan and Charlie Perella 2013, Zachary Bryant, the defending state champion, held the number one seed for
Wayne Wivel and Charlie Perella 2014, Charlie Perella 2015, Zachary Bryant the second year coming into the state championships. The exciting and daring
2017, and Bryant again in 2018). four-time qualifier came away with a pair of fourth-place medals, representing
Dennis Pittinger, the 285-pound senior, would make monumental gains his freshman and sophomore year, and celebrated his first state title as a junior.
during his high school career. As a 182-pounr freshman, Pittinger faced the The persistent 113-pounder made quick work of his first opponent by pinning
obstacle of being in a weight class often dominated by seniors. He won 22 of him in just twenty-two seconds. Another pin in quarter’s and a hard-fought,
45 matches, a winning percentage of 48 percent. After a brief absence during 4-2 decision in semi’s afforded Bryant the opportunity to repeat his previous
his junior year, Pitinger returned to CHS and posted some spectacular stats, success in finals. He did just that. Winning a 6-3 decision against an opponent
including a state tournament bid where he pinned his first opponent in just under that he had been victorious against twice before in the season, the unrelenting
four minutes. A loss in quarter’s pushed him to the wrestle-backs where he, Bryant was crowned Maryland’s 1A-2A, 113-pound state champion for the
again, won by pin. He was poised to celebrate a spot on the podium and secure a second time in as many years, and Catoctin High School’s 9th individual
state medal with one more victory. Unfortunately, he lost by a single point to the state champ. His distinguished season included an unbeaten 14-0 record
eventual third-place winner and was bumped from the contest. His impressive during regular season dual meets, a 9-0 tally at the Westminster Duals, 1st
season included a perfect 14-0 regular season dual meet record, a flawless 5-0 place honors at the Hub Cup, the
Bauerlien Duals total, and a 6-3 showing at the Westminster Duals. He fought county championship, the regional
his way to the final round of the Hub Cup, placing second, and blanked the championship, and, of course, the
competition at the Frederick County championships en route to his first county state tournament. His only loss of
title. He placed second in the regional tournament and qualified for his second the year came at the Bauerlien Duals,
appearance at states. The Frederick News Post All-area 1st team nominee is early in the stretch, where he posted
ranked number eighteen in the state by the MSWA and racked up a winning a 4-1 record. He had a winning
percentage of 88 percent with a season record of 33-7. He wraps up his high percentage of 97 percent, and was
school career with a commendable 81-32 total. honored with a first team bid to the
Ethan Fuss, the 126-pound senior, made his third appearance at the state Frederick News Post’s All-area team.
tournament. No stranger to the big stage and the advanced competition, he Bryant is ranked third in the state
placed fourth as a sophomore. Fuss looked promising with a 10-2 victory by the Maryland State Wrestling
in prelim’s, but dropped a tough, low-scoring, 5-2 match in quarter-finals. Association. He finished the season
After winning two consecutive matches in the lower bracket, including one by with a near-immaculate 38-1 record
pin, which guaranteed advancement to the medal rounds, something strange and a career total of 143 wins and
happened. During the match that would have thrust him to wrestle for third 18 losses, tying Coach Schildt’s 143
place had he won, Fuss was unexpectedly and unjustifiably disqualified from the career wins and firmly in third place
tournament, leaving the fans confused and in disbelief. The referee had clearly for all-time wins at Catoctin High
lost control of the match, evident by his failed attempts to slow the wild pace of School.