Laurel advances to Division II dual meet finals with win over Woodbridge

Laurel’s Reggie Ferdinand goes for the pin in his 106 pound match to seal his team’s semifinal win over Woodbridge. Photo by Mike McClure

After Laurel handed Woodbridge its only loss of the regular season with a 40-36 home win on Jan. 21, the two western Sussex teams seemed destined to meet again in the post-season. Second-seeded Laurel held on to third-ranked Woodbridge, 33-30, last Saturday in Smyrna to advance to the Division II state dual meet tournament’s championship.

Laurel’s Nathan Moore (120) won by forfeit to open the meet. The Bulldogs’ Kade Wootten (126) held a 6-1 lead over Woodbridge’s Tre’Vaughn Gorham through one, led, 11-2, after two, and won by decision, 13-6, to make the score 9-0.

The Blue Raiders’ Andrew Amalfitano (132) put his team on the board with a win by technical fall, 19-2, with 55 seconds remaining in the third period.

Laurel took a 24-5 lead as Ezekiel O’Hara (138) won by fall with 38 seconds left in the second, Kenyen Littleton (144) had a win by forfeit, and Ian Messick (152) added a 12-5 win.

Laurel’s Kade Wooten, top, looks to flip over Woodbridge’s Tre’Vaughn Gorham during the 126 pound match, which was won by Wooten, 13-6. Photo by Mike McClure

Woodbridge’s Tre’Aughn Gorham and Laurel’s Landen Messick were scoreless through the first two periods of their 157 pound match. Down 1-0 in the third, Gorham scored three points on a takedown for the 3-1 win.

Noah Jackson (165) earned an 8-4 win over Steven Cornish, and James Jones (175) recorded a pin with 15 seconds left the second period to move Woodbridge within seven (24-17).

Next up was a rematch of Laurel’s Kymani Roberts and the Raiders’ Jenel Sterile in the 190 pound match. Roberts sealed his team’s win with a pin in the first matchup. Sterile led, 3-0, after one and 5-2 after two, and held an 11-5 lead in the third. Roberts made a takedown at the buzzer to tie the score at 11-11 before scoring three points with three seconds left in the one minute overtime for the victory.

Woodbridge moved within one with two matches left following a 5-0 win by Jack Wanzer (215) and a pin by Te’Quan Smith (285) with 55 seconds left in the first period.

Laurel’s Reginald Ferdinand (106) sealed the win with a pin with 1:34 left in the second after holding an 8-1 lead in the first. The Raiders’ Cooper Kerrick (113) earned a 12-2 win by major decision in the final match to bring his team within three (33-30).