In the thick of the battle for a 2A/1A South regional dual spot, as well as a second-place SMAC finish, the Calvert Cavaliers needed to summon their best effort in last Thursday’s meeting with Westlake. Simply put, they didn’t. So, heading into Leonardtown on Tuesday night the Cavaliers needed some sort of a boost to bounce back from last week’s lethargic performance. Lucas Hornick was just the man for the job. 

Hornick, who suffered a knee injury against Thomas Stone on the season’s first night, made a triumphant return to the mat. The Calvert junior, wrestling at 135 pounds, pinned Leonardtown’s Dan King in 32 seconds to trigger an inspired Cavaliers’ performance in their 45-24 win over the host Raiders.

“I was real nervous coming in,� Hornick said. “All I had to think about was, once you step on the mat all that nervousness is gone. You have to come out there and put it to them or some other guy is going to try to put it to you. You just have to go out and give it your all.�

Calvert (13-2, 8-2) won six of the first seven matches – four by fall – to essentially put Leonardtown (15-6, 7-4) away. And, just a match removed from questioning his team’s heart, Calvert coach Dave Kistler saw a dramatic shift.

“Much more aggressive, we wrestled with an air of confidence. We wrestled like we wanted to win,� he said. “The other day against Westlake we questioned our ability. Unfortunately when you do that, good things aren’t going to happen. Tonight they didn’t question that ability. They just went after it.�

Hornick said: “I unfortunately had to sit on the sidelines and watch [the Westlake] match. It was bad. We should have done better. They are a good team, but I know we can wrestle a lot better. Tonight we had something to prove, that we still have our stuff and we’re ready to go.�

Nathan Jamie (140), Patrick Berry (152), Jeff Tolbert (160), Stephen Cannetella (285) and Cody Slayton (103) all earned pins for the Cavaliers, while Danny Wilkins (125), A.J. Moran (130) and Daniel Brickner (215) each won their respective bouts by decision. It was the type of night Kistler expected to see often from his team this season. But things changed when Hornick, not only a high-caliber wrestler but a team leader, went down.

“ Let’s face it, all year that’s a 12-point swing,� Kistler said. “He came back with a vengeance, too. He was dying to get out there. I don’t even think he let us send him out. He was out on the mat before the ref called the pin in the [previous] match.

“It’s good to have him back in our lineup. He did it in style, too.�

Calvert is scheduled to host Huntingtown Wednesday night, and then conclude the regular season at McDonough on Thursday.

Leonardtown, which has struggled a bit throughout the season with injuries, received pins courtesy of T.J. Schmidt at 189 and Luc Bouchard at 119. Billy Duncanson gutted out a 4-3 decision at 145, while Devin Bohanan fought back from a third-period deficit to nip Jake Ridgeway 12-8 at 171.

“My match was definitely intense,� said Bohanan of his first encounter with Ridgeway. “The kid was really good. It came down to the end. We were both gassed. It could have gone either way. Luckily it went my way.�

The Raiders cap their regular season on Thursday at North Point. After that, the squad has a little more than a week to get healthy and prepare for the SMAC tournament. When healthy the Raiders have proven they can be a major factor in the conference, depending on who shows up.

“This season has certainly been bipolar. We’re either right no our game or we’re really off of it,� Leonardtown coach David Cummins said. “Going into SMAC it’s just going to depend on how good we are. We have several kids that can really be a factor at SMAC and regions and maybe even state if we’re healthy going in. If we’re not then the sophomores and underclassmen, that’s their chance to pick it up.�

Calvert 45, Leonardtown 24
125 Wilkins (C) 10-4 Zielinski
130 Moran (C) 9-2 Campbell
135 Hornick (C) pinned King, :32
140 Jamie (C) pinned Sherman, :37
145 Duncanson (L) 4-3 Maasel
152 Berry (C) pinned Suecz, 1:26
160 Tolbert (C) pinned Reed, 1:07
171 Bohanan (L) 12-8 Ridgeway
189 Schmidt (L) pinned Post, :34
215 Brickner (C) 9-2 Wroblewski
285 Cannatella (C) pinned Payne, 1:19
103 Slayton (C) pinned Gass, 3:23
112 Fritz (L) won by forfeit
119 Bouchard (L) pinned Kelleher, :21