Scrappy Saints win 8th in a row

This was uncharted territory for St. Christopher's.

The championship round had moved to the 189-pound division, and the Saints still hadn't clinched their VISAA wrestling title.

Two third-period takedowns later, Mark Burlee was swarmed by teammates and the Saints began celebrating their eighth consecutive state wrestling title, a 5.5-point victory over Bishop O'Connell. Unlike previous years, this one was far from assured.

Coach Frank Kiefer said his wrestlers battled through injury and adversity this season, as well as making selfless individual sacrifices. He pointed to Jackson Freeman, a 215-pounder who wrestled in the 285-pound division to help create depth in the lineup.

"Jackson probably gave up an individual championship at 215 for the team," Kiefer said.

Freeman finished in second place, defeated by Blue Ridge's John King in the day's final match.

Three Saints wrestlers also took home individual gold - all while adjusting their styles to what the team needed.

Ted Gottwald, who won the 160-pound division and took home outstanding wrestler honors among upperweights, locked up a victory against Fork Union's Daniel Burke. He continued to fight for bonus team points by going for the pin in the final seconds. Gottwald won 7-2 as a fatigued Burke was able to fight off the pin.

Tyler Spangler was the Saints' first champion. The 125-pounder cruised to an 18-1 technical fall against Jazz Rozier of Cape Henry and capped off a 37-0 season.

"I didn't really think about it, it just happened," Spangler said of his perfect record. "It's awesome that it did."

But it was Burlee's victory in the 189-pound class that clinched the title. Up against Nic Mirenda of Cape Henry, Burlee took a 2-0 lead before getting reversed in the first period.

Taking a 4-3 margin into the final minute, he produced two takedowns - the second ensuring victory.

"I knew I'd need a second takedown to make sure I won," he said. "I really wanted to win it for our team."

In an individual sport, the Saints stay close as a team to motivate each other at tournaments.

"Wrestling is so intense that they're always in the gym fighting and getting better," Kiefer said. "It takes two to create a champion, and we have a lot of training partners behind this."

After the awards were given, the teammates passed around the trophy - which they ensured will stay at St. Christopher's for an eighth consecutive year.

Team scores and key: 1. 265.5 St. Christopher's (StC); 2. 260 Bishop O'Connell (BIOC); 3. 194 Liberty Christian Academy (LCA); 4. 187 Cape Henry Collegiate (CHC); 5. 181 Woodberry Forest (WF); 6. 145.5 Paul VI (PVI); 7. 136 Episcopal (Epis); 8. 130.5 Norfolk Academy (NA); 9. (tie) 102.5 St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (SSSA), North Cross (NC); 11. 100 Hargrave Military Academy (HMA); 12. 89 Bishop Ireton (BI); 13. 84 Norfolk Collegiate School (NCS); 14. 76 Collegiate (Coll); 15. 75 Blue Ridge (BR); 16. (tie) 62 Bishop Sullivan Catholic (BSC), Virginia Episcopal (VES); 18. 60 Covenant (Cov); 19. 59 Roanoke Catholic School (RCS); 20. 52 Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MC); 21. 51.5 Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA); 22. 44 Potomac School (Pot); 23. 31 Peninsula Catholic (PC); 24. 11.5 Massanutten Military Academy (MMA); 25. 10 Benedictine (Ben); 26. 8 Fishburne Military School (FMS); 27. 3 Norfolk Christian (NC)
CHAMPIONSHIP

103: Will Mason (CHC) d Taylor Whitt (NA), 10-8
112: Bryan Whitt (NA) p. Jacob Ramos (BIOC), :39
119: Kyle Mason (BIOC) d. Scott Cunningham

(CHC), 10-4
125: Tyler Spangler (StC) tf. Jazz Rozier (CHC), 18-1
130: Nam Dunbar (BIOC) d. Kaison Tanabe (Pot), 7-6
135: Jonathan Carpenter (BIOC) d. Rennie

Merhige (StC), 10-3
140: Bobby Burg (WF) d. David Wesley (StC), 6-4
145: Sam Law (CHC) d. Loren Phillips (StC), 7-4
152: Jason Luster (BR) p. Stephen Cosgrove

(NCS), 1:10
160: Ted Gottwald (StC) d. Daniel Burke (FUMA), 7-2
171: Mitch Brown (BIOC) d. Chuck Carlton (PVI), 3-2
189: Mark Burlee (StC) d. Nic Mirenda (CHC), 8-4
215: Everett Epstein (SSSA) d. Ethan Hagner

(LCA), 5-3
285: John King (BR) d. Jackson Freeman (StC), 8-2
CONSOLATION
(Local competitors)
119: Joe Daniels (VES) d. Brown Massie (Coll), 5-0
135: Don Baumgart (PVI) d. Michael Blair (Coll), 9-2
215: Sammy Ojjeh (PVI) d. Chris Gill (StC), 3-1