O'Connell Finishes Second to DeMatha in Wrestling

All three diocesan teams turned in some excellent results at the 2006 WCAC Wrestling Championships held Feb. 4 at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington.
In the nine-team tournament, O’Connell placed second, Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria fourth and Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax sixth. As usual, Maryland’s DeMatha Catholic High School won the team title.
PVI senior quad-captain heavyweight Dan Matheny was the lone diocesan grappler to come away with the gold medal. Matheny received a first-round bye, courtesy of being the top seed. The senior won his semifinals match by pinning Ireton senior Fred Wenger. He then pinned DeMatha's Rion Robinson in the championship match.
"I pinned him in the third period to improve my overall season record to 11-3,” said Matheny. “Coach Welcher (PVI’s head coach) has taught me to be more patient this season. He taught me not to rush things and to be patient and to wait for the move to open up."
Diocesan silver medalists included:
Paul VI senior quad-captain (215-pounder) Josh Gadell won his first match by pinning Gonzaga College High School in Washington sophomore Alex Villa and then won his second match by pinning Ireton sophomore Pat Ryan.
In the championship match, Gadell lost a tough 5-4 [Double OT] match to DeMatha junior Wil Wilman. After six complete and seven complete minutes, the match was tied 4-4. In the final 30 second period, Gaddell was in the "up" position. Wilman was able to record an escape to win the match.
Paul VI junior Alex Soltis (189 pounder) won his first match of the day by pinning Our Lady of Good Counsel in Wheaton, Md., sophomore Brian Kapuscinski (in the fastest time
of the day, merely 20 seconds). Soltis recorded his 20th pin of the season] and then won his semifinals match by decisioning St. Mary's Ryken High School in Maryland senior Will Zimmerman (5-4).
Soltis dropped a tough 4-3 decision to DeMatha senior Scott Miller in the championship match.
Matheny, Gaddell and Soltis also were standouts for the PVI football team this season.
O'Connell senior co-captain Mike Tato (152) won his first match by pinning Good Counsel junior Alex Lee and then won his second match by pinning St. Mary's Ryken senior Dan Langford. In the championship match, Tato lost a tough 5-3 decision to DeMatha senior De'Alonzio Jackson.
O'Connell junior co-captain Drew Carpenter (135) pinned PVI junior Kevin Kodadek and Gonzaga junior Nick Caffes. In the championship match, Carpenter lost a tough 10-6 decision to DeMatha senior Reggie Parker.
O'Connell junior John Curtin (145) won his first match by pinning St. John’s College High School freshman Erik Didion and then decisioned Ireton senior Alex Vergara (10-4). In the championship match, Curtin dropped an 8-3 decision to DeMatha junior Nate Cortes-Peck.
O'Connell freshman Kyle Mason (103) won his first match by pinning Ireton freshman D.J. Phillips and then pinned Good Counsel freshman Edwin Holandez. In the championship match Mason lost an 8-4 decision to McNamara freshman Andrew Bannister.
O'Connell freshman Nam Dunbar (112) won his first match by pinning Good Counsel sophomore Brian Collins and then pinned Ireton junior Andrew Murray. In the championship match Dunbar lost a 6-0 decision to DeMatha senior Jonathan Faringer.
O'Connell freshman Jonathan Carpenter (119) won his first match by recording a 17-2 "tech fall" versus St. Mary's Ryken sophomore Kevin Schmidt and then recorded a 4-0 decision versus DeMatha sophomore Eric Walter. In the championship match, Carpenter lost a tough 7-4 decision to Good Counsel junior Matt Arnsberger.
Ireton junior Tim Dean (171) won his first match by pinning St. John’s sophomore Frank Sawyer and then pinned Gonzaga junior Andrew Skoda. In the championship match, Dean lost a tough 3-0 decision to DeMatha senior Joe Eden.
Diocesan bronze medalists included:
Paul VI junior Mike Schierer (112) pinned McNamara sophomore Greg Dion in the quarterfinals before dropping a 17-0 "tech fall" decision to DeMatha senior Jonathan Faringer. In the third-place match, Schierer pinned Ireton junior Andrew Murray.
O'Connell junior Tom Baxter (160) recorded a 21-10 "major" decision versus Ireton sophomore Brian O'Donnell in the quarterfinals before dropping a 15-0 "tech fall" to DeMatha sophomore Mike Aggugia. In the third place match, after "wrestling back", Baxter once again defeated Ireton's O'Donnell by the much closer score of 9-8.
O'Connell sophomore Eric Kurtzke (125) won his first match by pinning Paul VI freshman Donald Baumgart. In the semifinals, Kurtzke dropped a tough 5-2 decision to Good Counsel junior Daniel Hawvermale. In the third-place match, Kurtzke recorded an impressive 13-6 decision versus DeMatha sophomore Mike Munno.
O'Connell freshman Mitch Brown (130) received a bye in the first round, before dropping a tough 8-5 decision to St. Mary's Ryken junior David McClain in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Brown recorded a 7-5 decision versus Good
Counsel senior Kevin Arnsberger.
Ireton senior Alex Vergara (145) won his first match by recording a 7-3 decision versus Good Counsel junior Matt Obordo and then dropped a 10-4 decision to O'Connell junior John Curtin in the semifinals. In the third-place match, Vergara recorded an impressive 9-2 decision versus St. Mary's Ryken junior Pierce Autry.
Ireton sophomore Peter Spoehr (189) defeated St. Johns junior Jonathan Kallevang in the quarter-finals by "default." In the semifinals, Spoehr was pinned by DeMatha senior Scott Miller. In the third-place match, Spoehr recorded an 8-6 decision versus St. Mary's Ryken senior Will Zimmerman.

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