What would you consider domination in a high school sport? Five State Championships in a row?

The Stephen Decatur High School wrestling team has just accomplished a massive feat by winning their fifth team state championship in a row.

“We had a really tight team even though there were injuries and changes in the lineup the guys stuck together, fought, practiced hard and they went out there and wrestled,” said Coach Josh August when asked what brought this team to the state championship and led them to winning it.

On Saturday February 10, 2024, at North Point High School, the Stephen Decatur wrestling team defeated Damascus. This victory capped off a 14-0 season and took the Seahawks to their fifth team state championship in a row. Not only did they win the match, but they dominated it, scoring a point total of 50 to Damascus’ 22.

This win was nothing new to many of the senior members on the team. Many of them won their fourth state title in a row with the team. Getting to the final and even winning was expected and was the standard for the entire team.

“We’ve seen what it takes for a team to win states before so going into the season we wanted to get to that point again and compete for another state championship,” said senior wrestler Gavin Solito.

Starting in their 2018-19 season, wrestlers have dominated the mats every match for five years. Many think it would have been six if the 2019-20 season was not canceled due to COVID-19.

To dominate something is to exercise full control or influence over someone or something. The Decatur Seahawks can confidently say they have dominated the state in wrestling. There are many crucial factors that go into winning a high school state championship in any sport, especially a team sport.

Wrestling is a team sport and an individual sport at the same time, the wrestlers wrestle by themselves to earn the team points. From top to bottom, from the coaches to the wrestlers to the JV team, the team must be a whole and push each other every day during practice.

The big question everyone wants to know is if they will be able to continue their dominance into the 2024-25 season and win a sixth state championship in a row.

“These coaches know what they are doing by now so if the kids buy into the coaches there is always a chance,” Solito said, when asked if he thinks the team can continue its dominance into a sixth state championship in a row.

Added Junior wrestler Juan Hinojosa, when asked about winning next year: “If everybody works hard this off-season and in the room during the season it’s definitely a possibility,” he said.

Having the right coaches and mentality on the team will set the Seahawks up perfectly next year to give them the opportunity to continue their dominance in the state of Maryland and capture another team’s state championship