The Hawks grapplers have just finished the toughest schedule any team has faced. Coach Hill using his philosophy of "to be the best, you have to wrestle the best", had the wrestlers facing the top teams in the nation, the mid-Atlantic Region, and in the state! Led by Seniors Kyle Burnham, Dave Martinez, Mike Delaney, Andrew Robarge, Josh Kunz, Louis Pavia, Gideon Youn, and Matt Brown, the team has met these challenges head-on. This year's Hawks are one of the strongest teams ever fielded by Hayfield, with many of the wrestlers ranked in the state and the region: Junior John Villaneuva (2nd in the State and 1st in the Region), Mike Delaney (4th in the State and 2nd in the Region), Sophomore Ronnie Mills (6th in the State and 1st in the Region), Andrew Robarge (5th in the State and 4th in the Region), Louis Pavia (2nd in the Region), Junior Chris Bowling (3rd in the Region), Kyle Burnham (4th in the Region), Dave Martinez (5th in the Region), Junior Mike Maternick (6th in the Region). Providing further depth for the Hawks are Seniors Gideon Youn (130 pounds) and Matt Brown (135 pounds), Junior Eric Olson (Heavyweight), and Freshman Jonaham Romero. The first weekend in December, the Hawks were scheduled to wrestle in Sandusky, Ohio but the heavy snowstorm forced them to stay home. They were able to wrestle in the NOVA Classic, the traditional opening tournament in Northern Virginia. They took 2nd Place, with medal winners including:
The second weekend in December saw the Hawks travel to the Eagle Invitational at Colonial Forge, where they faced some of the toughest teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Despite illness and injuries to several key wrestlers, the Hawks took 13th Place, with great performances by:
The following weekend (December 21 & 22) there was no let up for the team. The Hawks traveled to the University of Delaware to compete in the Winter National Championships -- better known as the Beast of the East. Although no individual Hawk placed in the tournament, the Hawks placed 31st among of a field of 81 of the top teams in the nation! With only a short break for Christmas, the team competed the next weekend at the Herndon Capitol Classic. There they wrestled the top teams in Virginia. Mike Delaney won the championship at 215 pounds, and the Hawks took 5th Place overall:
Dave Martinez's incredible 11 second pin was the fastest pin of the tournment! The Hawks finished the Winter Holidays by wrestling in the Battlefield Duals at Colonial Forge High School on 4 January. As usual, they wrestled some of the top ranked teams in Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Once again the Hawks were hampered by illness and injuries. Several wrestlers had to move up to a higher weight class, to cover holes in the line-up. Despite forfeiting several individual matches each time the team wrestled, they still took 7th Place. Along the way, they beat Science Hill High School (ranked 4th in Tennessee) and Nitro High School (ranked 7th in West Virginia). On January 10th, the Hawks traveled to southern Pennsylvania to participate in the inagural Octorara Duals. There they met tough competition from eastern Pennsylvania and New York. As was the case for most of the previous meets, the Hawks were missing key grapplers due to injury or illness. This gave several junior varsity wrestlers the opportunity to wrestle on the varsity team. The Hawks finished the tournament with a 4 - 1 record and took second place. January 18th, saw the Hawks roaring on the scene with a full squad for the first time this season! They handily beat Patriot District rival Annandale 54 - 14 and host team Mount Vernon 60 - 12. However the true test for the Hawks was against 6th Ranked Chantilly. With the highest score ever earned by the Hawk wrestlers, they easily crushed Chantilly 74 - 3! Eight Hawks pinned their opponents, in a total time of 18 minutes and 58 seconds, for an average time of 2 minutes and 42 seconds per pin. Stand-out wrestlers for the day were Senior Kyle Burnham with three pins in a total time of 4 minutes and 17 seconds and Junior John Villanueva with three pins in a total time of 6 minutes in 40 seconds. Kyle Burnham also had the fastest pin of 27 seconds, while Juniors John Villanueva and Chelston Char followed with a 40 and a 41 seconds pins respectively! Four days later the Hawks continued their rampage through the Northern Region. In a rare Wednesday night double dual at home, the Hawk grapplers faced Patriot District opponents, T.C. Williams and Lake Braddock. Once again, the Hawks lived up to their reputation as a powerhouse, beating T.C. Williams 59 - 9 and Lake Braddock 71 - 3! The Mat Hawks won 25 of the 28 individual matches, while pinning their opponents 15 times. Five wrestlers pinned their opponents in both matches. Junior Chris Bowling had the quickest pin of 29 seconds, followed closely by Junior Eric Olson (35 seconds), Senior Mike Delaney (36 seconds), and Sophomore Ronnie Mills (37 seconds). The Hawks out-scored their Northern Region opponents in their last five matche 318 - 41! On 29 January, the Hawks faced 5th Ranked Langley in their last home match of the season. Once again they rose to the occasion and totally dominated the Saxons. Six of the Hawks pinned their opponents, but the real news of the night was the three upsets that the Hawks staged. Previously unranked 119 pounder, Freshman Jonahan Romero beat 7th ranked John Fitzgerald 21 - 12, while previously unranked 130 pounder, Senior Gideon Youn beat 7th ranked Lord Walker 9 - 5. The upset of the night, however was at 125 pounds. Senior Louis Pavia, ranked 8th, pinned 4th ranked Steven Leitao in 1:19! Final score was Hayfield 54, Langley 18. The next weekend saw the Hawks participate in the first annual Hammer Tournament at Grace Brethren Christian School in Clinton, Maryland. In what was to be a tune-up before the District Tournament, the Hammer Tournament was best described by Coach Hill, who called it "brutal". In addition to meeting district rival Robinson, they met two nationally ranked teams -- Virginia powerhouse Great Bridge (ranked #1 in Virginia) and Walsh Jesuit of Akron, Ohio, as well as two strong prep school teams. The format was round robin, with each wrestler having an opportunity of wrestling five matches. Many Hawks faced three or more nationally ranked opponents. Although the Hawks did well, there were no upsets except when Junior John Villaneuva (145 pounds) beat Hunter Davenport of Great Bridge 6 - 4. Davenport was the top ranked 145 pounder in Virginia and 26th in the nation. Senior Kyle Burnham (160 pounds) had a 12 second pin. The Hawks were back in action on 5 February for their final regular season matches. In a quad at West Springfield, they met JEB Stuart High School, and Patriot District opponents West Potomac and West Springfield. The Hawks easily handled JEB Stuart 69 - 12 and shut out West Potomac 75 - 0. Although West Potomac only showed up with three wrestlers, the Hawks beat all three, two of which were upsets. At 152 pounds, Senior Andrew Robarge (ranked 4th in the Region) beat 3rd ranked Ahmnon Barnet 8 - 2, while 171 pounder Mike Maternick (ranked 8th) pinned 7th ranked Andrew Payne in 4:59. The Hawks' third dual of the night was against West Springfield, who they beat 47 - 24. The Hawks finished Regional dual meet competition with a 9 -0 record, having outscored their opponents 563 - 95!!!
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