Wrestling: Loudoun County Ready for Postseason After School's Best Ever Regular Season

By Dan "Stall Warning" Sousa
Viva Loudoun Editor
Leesburg (Jan. 31, 2013) - The Loudoun County High School wrestling team started off the 2012-13 season with their annual "Blue and Gold Night" inter-squad wrestle-offs and it has been just solid "Gold" ever since as the Raiders head into postseason on the heels of the school's best ever regular season campaign including a first ever Dulles District Duals championship.

The Raiders take to the mats Saturday at Loudoun Valley High School to defend their Dulles District tournament title, and they will roll into Purcellville with a school-record 35-6 dual meet mark, and tournament trophy's brought back home from three different states.

Two of Raider Leaders: Logan Smith and Matt Sun

"Going 35-6 with a grueling schedule takes a toll on the wrestlers," said Loudoun County coach Joel Caruso. "We have had a great season. It's been a great team effort."


Caruso wanted the challenging regular season to get his Raiders ready for the postseason which they have high hopes for after winning the Dulles tournament in 2012 and taking fourth in the tough Region II meet.

"Iron sharpens iron. Winning tournaments in three different states gets the guys prepared mentally, emotionally and physically," said Caruso, who as one of the leaders of the year-round Rangers wrestling club has helped bolster the sport not just in Leesburg but across the county.

The experienced Raider line-up is led by outspoken leader Logan Smith at 138 pounds, who is 51-2 this season and 141-18 overall in less than three seasons as he did not wrestle for the Raiders his freshman year. Smith has his sights set on a state championship this season; a difficult task in the competitive VHSL AA classification.

He relishes the leadership role: "All the guys look up to me as a leader and a captain so I have to set the example."

Smith is one of three County athletes ranked in the Top 10 in the state in AA heading into postseason including junior Brian Monroy (43-10 at 120) and another junior Hunter Day (48-3 at 160).

The Raiders emotional leader may not be ranked -- although Caruso thinks he should be -- but senior Matt Sun at 126 pounds, who is 38-8, and fires up his teammate with his intensity.

"He is so focused, you can just see it in his eyes," said Caruso.

Sun explains his focus this way: "I like to set the bar high for everybody else as well. I want all my opponents to remember my face. Every match is six minutes so I go at it hard."

The same focus and intensity in the eyes can be said of Caruso who lives and breathes the sport and his fire for wrestling surely sparks the Raiders to do their best. And there are no "off days" in the Raiders musty wrestling room.

"He's just killin' us the entire time at practice," said Smith with a smile.

The Raiders, after their regular season title and last year's tournament title, will be favorites this weekend and every school will be shooting to take down a wrestler in blue and gold.

"There is definitely a target on our backs. We just need to stay focused on our goals," said Smith.

Smith, Day and 220-pounder, sophomore Kyle Schlue are all seeded No. 1 Saturday but the Raiders real depth shows with seven other wrestlers seeded No. 2 including Monroy (120), Sun (126), senior Jose Rodriguez (132), sophomore Luke Rivera (145), sophomore CJ Mills (152), junior Mitchell Stevens (170) and senior Alex Reader (182).

The Raiders could have had other wrestlers seeded higher but injuries have taken their toll.

"We are not looking down and our motto is we won all three individual tournaments this year without at least one of our starters in place ... we have to believe!," said Caruso.

Sun for his part is thankful to be on the mats at this point in the season as he missed the postseason in both his sophomore and junior years with concussions.

Day credits the Raiders success with offseason training, a must now for serious wrestlers.

"What are you doing when your opponent is doing nothing," said Day.

The hard work has paid off across the board for the team with the historic regular season.

"This is the best team we've had in the history of the school and I'm happy to have the privilege to be on it," said Day. 

County's record run includes 12 of 13 starters -- the Raiders do not field a 285 pounder -- and the lone wrestler not over .500 is Alexis Young at 106. The sophomore is notable as one the rare female athletes wrestling varsity in the state of Virginia.

Raider Nation: County's 2012-13 Wrestling Line-up

106 So Alexis Young 12-31
113 JR Andrew Moreno 37-13
120 JR Brian Munroy 43-10
126 SR Matt Sun 38-8
132 SR Jose Rodriguez 30-16
138 SR Logan Smith 51-2
145 SO Luke Rivera 27-16
152 SO CJ Mills 38-18
160 JR Hunter Day 48-3
170 JR Mitchell Stevens 30-10
182 SR Alex Reader 36-9
195 SR Cory Dickey 34-16
220 SO Kyle Schlue 38-11


A Recap of a Record Season

Max Horz Tournament: First of 3 Tourney Team Wins!

Loudoun County got their season off to a flying start with a 9-1 record at the Hedgesville Duals and then a tournament win in West Virginia at the Max Hortz Invitational.

Both senior Logan Smith (138) and junior Hunter Day (160) were 14-0 over the first two weekends. Also off to hot starts were junior Andrew Moreno (113) at 11-4, Monroy (120) at 13-2,  Sun (126) at 9-2,  Mills (152) at 12-3, and Stevens (170) at 9-3.

Smith and Day were both first at the Hortz Invitational with Smith taking MVP honors. Reader (182) and senior Cory Dickey (195) were runner-ups. Monroy, Sun and Mills all fought back for third place finishes.

The Raiders then hosted their own Duals and for a great cause as well with the first annual "Duals for Warriors" at Loudoun County with money raised benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project.

Several days before Christmas, the Raiders started off their Dulles District title campaign with wins over Woodgrove and Briar Woods, and then went 5-1 at the Appalachian Duals at Skyline High School with a win over host and ranked Skyline and several AAA schools.

Yo Adrian! These Raiders are contenders!

There was no rest over the holiday break as the Raiders went to Collingswood, N.J. for a tournament and made it worth the drive with a team title. County sent six wrestlers into the finals: Sun (126), Smith (138), Day (160), Reader (182), Dickey (195) and Schlue (220).

It was an emotional win for County s the Raiders trailed with tow weight classes to go and Dickey and Schlue both came through with falls to secure the victory.

2013 dawned with the Raiders already bettering their mark of 20 dual wins in 2011-12 with a sweep over Loudoun Valley, John Champe and Tuscarora in a Dulles District tri-meet. Raiders only gave up a combined 38 points on the three matches wrestled on Jan. 3.

Raiders take Rumble in the Jungle

Loudoun County made it three titles in three states with a win in early January at the Rumble in the Jungle at Edison High School in Fairfax County. The Raiders led the 25-team event from the start and never looked back.

The win was powered by placing 10 wrestlers in the quarters, eight into the semifinals and three into the finals. The end result: an impressive 50-point win, scoring 205 points to host Edison's 145.

"There were a lot of lessons learned over the weekend and we still have work to do before we go into our next individual tournament, the district championship," said Caruso after the Edison tournament.

Place winners at Edison: Moreno (113) 2nd, Monroy (120) 2nd, Sun (126) 3rd, Smith (138) 2nd, Mills (152) 6th, Day (160) 3rd, Stevens (170) 3rd, Reader (182) 5th, Dickey (195) 4th, and Schlue (220).

By the time Loudoun County went to the Kettle Run Duals on Jan. 12 it was evident that the Raiders were building something special as the team went 5-0 with Sun making a splash, beating the third-ranked wrestler in the state in AA.

By this point in the season, County was able to boast of eight wrestlers with records of 30+ wins two other wrestlers about to hit the milestone.

Loudoun County's toughest weekend of the year came Jan. 18-19 at a dual tournament at Archbishop Spaulding in Maryland where the Raiders fell to the private power hosts, ranked No. 2 in the D.C. area at that time, as well as a loss to South River, ranked No. 9.

The Raiders saved the best for last, beating Dominion and Potomac Falls on Senior Night to wrap up the school's first ever Dulles District Duals title and it also marked the first time that the Raiders were able to get the better end of the Panthers in a dual match. The previous year County had gotten edged by Potomac Falls in a match that would have given them the championship.

"We wanted it big time this year," said Smith. "After falling short vs. Potomac Falls last year, we knew were were capable of winning the title this year."

Raiders Season to Remember
*Dulles District Regular Season Champions
**Overall dual meet record of 35-6

Highlights
Nov. 30-Dec. 1 - Went 9-1 at Hedgesville Duals in West Virginia
Dec. 7 - Won the Max Hortz Tournament in West Virginia
Dec. 15 - Went 3-2 at own Raider Duals for Warriors
Dec. 19 - Beat Woodgrove, Briar Woods in Dulles Dual
Dec. 21 - Went 5-1 at Applichian Dulas at Skyline
Dec. 27 - Won the Collingswood Christmas Tournament in New Jersey
Jan. 3 - Beat Champe, Loudoun Valley and Tuscarora in a Dulles Tri
Jan. 5 - Won the Rumble in the Jungle Tournament at Edison HS
Jan. 9 - Beat Heritage, Park View in Dulles Dual
Jan. 12 - Went 5-0 at Kettle Run Duals
Jan. 18 - Went 4-2 at Cav Duals
Jan. 22 - Beat Potomac Falls, Dominion in Dulles Dual

Scores
11.30 W Loudoun Valley 65-9
11.30 W Jefferson County WV 69-6
11.30 W Fairmont SR WV 42-24
11.30 W Hedgesville WV 58-24
11.30 L Eastern View 30-33
12.1 W Hedgesville "B" WV 71-3
12.1 W Hidden Valley 56-18
12.1 W Berkeley Springs WV 60-12
12.1 W East Fairmont WV 47-24
12.1 W North Marion WV 40-26
12.15 W Clarke County 61-18
12.15 W Falls Church 56-20
12.15 L Warren County 33-37
12.15 L Paul VI 29-39
12.15 W St. James 61-6
12-19 W Woodgrove 47-18
12-19 W Briar Woods 57-18
12-21 W North Stafford 45-30
12-21 W Jefferson Forest 58-21
12-21 W Lake Braddock 43-33
12-22 W Centreville 48-21
12-22 W Skyline 47-21
12-22 L Franklin County 12-56
1-3 W Champe 63-10
1-3 W Loudoun Valley 49-16
1-3 W Tuscarora 56-12
1-9 W Heritage 64-6
1-9 W Park View 63-18
1-12 W Kettle Run 43-20
1-12 W Colonial Heights 52-23
1-12 W Spotsylvania 78-6
1-12 W Osbourn Park 72-6
1-12 W Dinwidde County 45-28
1-18 W Arundel MD 49-12
1-18 W Oxford PA 50-10
1-19 W Old Mill MD 49-14
1-19 W Mount Saint Joseph 34-27
1-19 L Archbishop Spaulding 13-56
1-19 L South River MD 9-52
1-22 W Potomac Falls 38-24
1-22 W Dominion 61-16