With a district tournament title and runner-up finishes in region and state tournaments under their belt, the Chantilly Chargers enjoyed one of the school’s best wrestling seasons ever.
On Saturday (March 1), Chantilly placed second in the Virginia High School League Class 6 state competition in Virginia Beach with three individual champions and 165 points. The Grassfield Grizzlies of Chesapeake won with 192.5 points.
Chantilly’s individual champions were Michael Santos at 106 pounds, Carter Shin at 130 and Tyler Dekreaker at 138. All three athletes went 4-0 in winning their championships.
Santos had two pins, with a semifinal decision and a major decision in the title match. Shin dominated with two pins and two technical falls, and Dekraker had one pin and three technical falls.
Chantilly also had three third-place finishers: Ezekiel Keel at 126, Adonis Iparraguirre at 150 and Benjamin Weader 165. Dennis Meza Velasquez was fifth at 190.
A few days earlier, Chantilly had five champions in finishing second in the 6D North Region tournament. Prior to that, the Chargers won the Concorde District crown with seven champs and two wrestlers placing second.
Santos, Shin, Dekreaker, Keel, Weader, Evan Ross (144) and Meza Velasquez (190) won district crowns. Andrew Krajic (132) and Todd Lett (175) finished second in their weight classes.
Also at the state tournament, the Fairfax Lions placed fourth, with champions Kross Cassidy at 165 and Harry Maltese at 215. Each was 4-0. In addition for Fairfax, Roman Wurtembert was fourth at 132, Johann Jose fifth at 103 and Makai Nguyen sixth at 106.
The 6D North Region champion Westfield Bulldogs placed sixth in the state, led by individual winner Merritt Clinton at 175 with a 4-0 record. Also for Westfield, Brendan Sholders was third at 132, Carson Easlick fifth at 138 and Dylan Gwyn sixth at 144.
Winning a region championship at 190 pounds was Hayfield’s Ethan Osburn with a 4-0 record.
Finishing second individually from Fairfax County schools were Hayfield’s Cristian Rojas at 106, West Springfield’s Adam Husseini at 113, Robinson’s Troy Kang at 120, South Lakes’ Aiden Sanders at 150 and Mount Vernon’s Ashley Freeman at 215.
