Dave Ryan/Special to The Dorchester Banner Viking wrestlers celebrated their third-place finish Saturday at the Andy Perez Memorial Wrestling Tournament. Nine teams from the Eastern Shore and Howard County competed at the annual event at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School

CAMBRIDGE — Viking wrestlers opened their season Friday and Saturday with a third-place finish at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School’s annual Andy Perez Memorial Wrestling Tournament.

Andy Perez Jr. was a student at C-SD who lost his life in a motorcycle wreck on July 27, 2007. He participated in wrestling, football and baseball.

The event took place Friday evening and most of Saturday, with nine teams competing in a round-robin format — each wrestler faced every boy in his weight class. In addition to C-SD, there were grapplers from Kent County, Colonel Richardson, Mardela, St. Michaels, North Caroline, Parkside, Delmar and Glenelg Country.

The bleachers in C-SD’s gym were filled with athletes and fans, and the young men wrestled on three mats. North Caroline won the tournament, with Parkside in second, C-SD third, Mardela fourth and Glenelg fifth.

Vikings placing in the top four of their weight classes were: Tajh Mollock, second, 113 pounds; Gavin Garcia, second, 132; Caleb Crain, second, 160; Khalil Harris, first, 182; Rhyheem Johnson, first, 195; and Erik North, fourth, 220.

The Vikings did well, considering the many freshmen and sophomores on the team.

“We’re pretty young. We have a few veterans,” Head Coach Dan Catron said.

Assisted by Jim Crain and Jason Shorter, Coach Catron is preparing his young men for a future on the mats. “We’re learning and growing,” he said.

Senior Caleb Crain is encouraged by what he’s seen. “Our team is young, but it’s looking pretty good so far,” he said.

The Vikings will travel to Wicomico High School in Salisbury today, for a meet starting at 5 p.m. They’ll be at Easton High School on Friday, beginning at 5 p.m.

Dave Ryan/Special to The Dorchester Banner Erik North, far right, placed fourth in the 220-pound class, with a record of 4-4.

Dave Ryan/Special to The Dorchester Banner Rhyheem Johnson earned first place in the 195-pound class, with a perfect record of 8-0.

Khalil Harris was champion of the 182-pound class, with a record of 8-0.

Dave Ryan/Special to The Dorchester Banner Caleb Crain, second from right, finished second with a 7-1 mark in the 160-pound class.

Dave Ryan/Special to The Dorchester Banner Gavin Garcia, second from right, earned a second-place medal for C-SD in the 132-pound class

Dave Ryan/Special to The Dorchester Banner Viking Tajh Mollock, second from right, finished second in the 113-pound class with a 7-1 record from the two-day tournament.