Once again it was Danny Seidita leading the way as the George Mason High School wrestling team emerged from the Region B tournament with four wrestlers qualifying for the Virginia state tournament.
Making it look deceptively easy, the Mason junior roared his way to the 119 lb. title with two first-period pins in his first two matches. In the finals, he defeated Ember Gaiten of Manassas Park by a score of 10-3.
Teammates Alborz Alaeddini, Ze’ev Lailari, both juniors, and senior Mike Larcamp will also be traveling with Seidita to the state tournament, each taking third place in their weight classes.
On the way to his third place finish at 135 lbs. Alaeddini defeated the top wrestler in the Region B South section, Amelia County’s Casey Hamilton, twice- first with a 14-5 major decision and then a first period pin in the consolation finals. Alaeddini lost in the semi finals to eventual Region B champion Parth Mehta of Manassas Park.
At 140 lbs. Lailari was knocked from the championship bracket by Strasburg’s Todd Dean but fought back to his third place finish with a 6-4 decision over Mike Albrecht of Cumberland. A reversal with two seconds remaining in regulation time gave Lailari the victory. On his way to the matchup with Albrecht, Lailari beat Clarke County’s John Longerbeam, avenging a loss to Longerbeam in last Saturday’s district championships.
In the heavyweight class Mike Larcamp made quick work of Chatham’s Chance Minter with a fall in his first match but was upset in the semi finals by Frank Miller of Riverheads. He rallied back to his third place finish with two quick falls, one of which was against Josh Speaker of Strasburg in the consolation finals.
In addition to the four qualifiers, Mason wrestlers Max Aifer (103 lbs.) and Keiyon Tyler (171 lbs.) each placed fifth and will be listed as alternates in the state tournament. As a team, Mason accumulated 93 points, good enough to take fifth in the 16 team Region.
The state tournament will be held this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19, in Salem, Va.
