At the recent WCAC Wrestling Tournament, all three diocesan schools turned in some excellent results. Ireton's Mark Wu (215 pounds) came within a whisker of being named the tournament's MVP. It was won instead by DeMatha's Mike Rowe (140 pounds).

The annual event was held Feb. 5 at St. John’s High School in Washington. The order of finish was: 1) DeMatha - 254 team points; 2) Bishop Ireton - 169; 3) Good Counsel - 119; 4) Bishop O’Connell - 116.5; 5) St. John’s - 110; 6) Paul VI Catholic — 102; 7) McNamara - 84.5; 8) St. Mary's Ryken - 51; 9) Gonzaga – 47. Four diocesan athletes placed first in the prestigious tournament.

Wu was one of the few wrestlers that recorded three consecutive pins at the tournament. The Ireton senior pinned St. John’s in 1:31, St. Mary's Ryken in 20 seconds and finally pinned Paul VI's Doug Gadell in 1:02 in the championship match.

"Mark has done a great job this entire season. He was very focused for all three of his matches," said Ireton associate head coach Don Dight.

Ireton's Kwinten Brown (130) also won the "gold" medal for the Cardinals. The senior pinned St. John’s in 1:30, McNamara in 5:54 and then decisioned his DeMatha opponent in the finals 1-0.

"I really needed it and I really wanted it," Brown said. "The key was keeping the match close and controlling ‘neutral’ and controlling ‘bottom.’ I'm also proud of the entire team."

O'Connell's Kris Park (145) won the lone "gold" medal for the Knights. The senior pinned St. Mary's Ryken in 1:11, pinned Ireton's Sean Hellmuth in 2:33 and then pinned St. John’s in 1:35.

"I was very focused today and I paced myself real well," Park said.

Paul VI's Anthony Soltis (152) won the lone "gold" medal for the Panthers. Soltis decisioned McNamara 9-3, pinned O'Connell's Mike Tato in 2:51 and then recorded a "major" decision of 13-5 versus St. Mary's Ryken in the championship match.

Stated PVI head coach John Welcherm, "Anthony has a lot of intensity, speed and strength. He wrestled real hard throughout the entire tournament."

Six diocesan student/athletes placed second overall in the prestigious tournament.

Ireton's Nick Dight (140) pinned St. John’s in 1:16, pinned Paul VI's Conrad Andrews in 3:27 and then lost a 20-5 "tech fall" to DeMatha's Mike Rowe in the championship match. Rowe was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler and was an All-Met selection in 2004 as well as in 2005.

"I came out aggressive and didn't let down in the first two matches," Dight said. "In the final match, Rowe is a very tough wrestler. I fought very hard to stay off of my back."

O'Connell's Kyle Hastings (160) pinned St. John’s in 2:46, decisioned Gonzaga 7-5 and then lost a tough double overtime 9-6 decision to DeMatha in the Championship bout.

In the championship bout, Hastings led 5-0 after the first period was in the books. DeMatha's DeAlonzio Jackson roared back and took a 6-5 lead but Hastings later recorded an escape to knot the score 6-6. No one scored in the first one-minute overtime period. In the second overtime period [of merely 30 seconds duration] - Hastings made the decision to commence the double overtime period in the "down" position. The Knight senior was unable to escape and eventually lost 9-6 - after giving up three "back points."

"Kyle made the right decision [to go into the "down" position]. He was essentially out. He made a "cut," but it wasn't a clean cut [in attempting to escape during the double overtime]" said coach Carpenter.

"I should have had this match but I screwed up" said a disappointed Hastings. [Had the Knights won this match, they would have placed third overall and knocked Good Counsel down to fourth overall].

O'Connell's Shane Hayre (171) pinned Ireton's Ian Barber in 3:16, decisioned DeMatha 7-6 and then lost a "major" decision to Good Counsel in the Title match.

Stated O'Connell head coach Bill Carpenter "Shane tried real hard out there. He gave it his best effort."

O'Connell's Drew Carpenter (119) pinned Paul VI's Kyle Martin in 38 seconds. He defeated Ireton's Darius Vakili via a "major" decision 15-4 and then lost 6-1 to DeMatha in the championship match.

"The loss to DeMatha was very disappointing," Carpenter said. "I didn't finish my moves when I had the chance." Carpenter also runs cross country for the Knights. "Cross Country definitely helps me in wrestling regarding the endurance" said Carpenter.

Paul VI's Doug Gadell (215) received a quarterfinal bye and then pinned O'Connell's Mike DePasquale in 33 seconds in the semi-finals. In the title match, Gadell was pinned by Ireton's Mark Wu in 1:02.

"This is only Doug's second season of wrestling," said PVI head coach John Welcher. "It's the third time this season that he has lost to Wu. Doug has good techniques and is a smart wrestler."

Paul VI's Dan Matheny (275) pinned O'Connell's Tom Corcoran in 1:03 and then decisioned Ireton's Tenaka Mutumbuka 4-3. In the championship match, Matheny was pinned by St. John's in 39 seconds.

"The St. John’s guy is real good," said Welcher. "The only two losses that Dan has all season are to Joe Harkins of St. John’s."

Five diocesan student/athletes placed third overall.

Ireton's Tenaka Mutumbuka (275) pinned DeMatha in 2:45, lost a narrow 4-3 decision to Paul VI's Dan Matheny in the semi-finals and then pinned McNamara in 4:30 in the consolation finals. The loss to Matheny was Mutumbuka's first setback of the entire season.

Ireton's Alex Vergara (135) pinned O'Connell's David Snell and then lost a tough 7-4 decision to Good Counsel. Vergara then "wrestled back" and decisioned St. John’s 12-10 and finally pinned Paul VI's Kevin Welcher in 34 seconds in the consolation finals.

Ireton's Andrew Murray (103) recorded a 16-4 "major" decision versus St. Mary's Ryken and then was pinned by DeMatha in 1:06. In the consolation finals, Murray defeated Gonzaga 11-8.

O'Connell's Eric Kurtzke (112) recorded a 9-1 "major" decision versus Good Counsel, and then was pinned by DeMatha in 1:01. In the consolation finals, Kurtzke decisioned McNamara 4-0.

Paul VI's Conrad Andrews (140) defeated Gonzaga via forfeit and then was pinned by Ireton's Nick Dight in 3:27. In the consolation finals, Andrews decisioned Good Counsel 6-0.

"We had an outstanding day. Just about everyone in the lineup lived up to where they were seeded. Second place here pretty much validates our regular season second place finish as well," said Ireton associate head coach Don Dight, uncle of Nick Dight. Ireton won every regular season WCAC match with the exception of DeMatha.

Ireton, O'Connell and Paul VI will all participate in the St. Alban’s Invitational in Washington this weekend, the Virginia State Independent Tournament (Feb. 18/19 at Paul VI) and the National Prep Championships (Feb. 25/26 at Lehigh Univ., Pa.).

"At St. Alban’s, we need to wrestle real well. If any of our guys lose their first match - they need to wrestle back" real strong," said Ireton’s Dight.