Cardillo's Pin Secures Another Hayfield Title

It's not often that a wrestler can head into the final of a tournament knowing exactly what ramifications his match will have on his team's fate.

But that was the situation presented to Hayfield 189-pounder Calvin Cardillo at the Virginia AAA Northern Region championships last night. And with the public address announcer repeatedly updating the crowd at Centreville on one of the region's tightest team races in years, it was impossible for the senior to ignore.

With his team trailing Robinson by three points, Cardillo pinned Washington-Lee's Russell Dawson 1 minute 18 seconds into the final to lift Hayfield to its sixth title in eight years.

"I used it as fuel. The coaches were trying to pump me up," said Cardillo, who earned the tournament's outstanding wrestler honor. "I was like: 'Good. It's senior year, my last match here. Let's get it done.' "

Hayfield finished with 160.5 points, ahead of second-place Robinson (157.5) and third-place Langley (154.5). Each of the three teams held the lead at some point during the finals.

"I've never seen it come down to the last few matches like that," Hayfield Coach Roy Hill said. "I guess that's good for our region."

Ryan Mikula (125), Lee Carsten (152) and Matt Jones (171) took home titles for Robinson. In a rematch between two state title favorites, Jones edged out Eric Monday of Madison, 2-1. The matchup had been brewing since December, when Jones won their first meeting, 4-1.

"This go-around was much tougher. The entire tempo of the [match] went up to a whole new level," said Jones, a three-time regional champion. "Each time you wrestle the same person, they're going to get better and better and better."

Langley had two champions in Michael Bowman (103) and David Helmer (130). Bowman kicked the night off with a 5-4 victory over Hayfield's Alan Kwong. Nearly tilted to his back three times during the third period, Bowman managed to stave off Kwong and escape just before the final buzzer to secure the victory.

Fairfax's Adam Fitterer won his second straight Northern Region title at 140 pounds, arguably the tournament's toughest weight class. Fitterer, who returned from a month-long collarbone injury last week, earned a 2-1 decision over Lee's Mike Rushin.

AAA Northern Championships One More Go-Around: In the 189-pound semifinals, Hayfield's Calvin Cardillo beat previously undefeated Mike Waters of Centreville, with whom he split two matches last season. The Right Moves: West Springfield's Daniel McCluskey, who moved down to 112 for the postseason, earned the most falls award, pinning three opponents in a combined 8 minutes 54 seconds.