Photo by Bill Green Sammy Halbert, left, took the lead and won the Expert Singles finals with Jared Mees, center, finishing second. At right is Matt Weidman. Purchase this photo

At La Trappe Creek on the Eastern Shore, the Warren, Ohio resident caught a bunch of little perch. Did he haul in any giant fish?

"Almost had one," Gedeon said.

At the Fritchie Classic, however, Gedeon wasn't about to let the big one get away.

Holding his lead over stellar racers Sammy Halbert and Matt Weidman, Gedeon won the Expert Twins main event at 87th running of the Fritchie Classic at The Great Frederick Fairgrounds on Saturday.

It was the second Fritchie main event checkered flag for the 28-year-old Gedeon, with the last one coming in 2007.

Halbert, sponsored by Fredericktown Yamaha, won the Expert Singles final by fending off second-place Jared Mees and third-place Weidman in the day's most thrilling race.

Mees -- the Fritchie Classic defending champ -- couldn't run the Expert Twins main event because his bike broke in a Dash for Cash earlier Saturday. But Gedeon would have his hands full competing with Halbert and Weidman, who have both made names for themselves on the Grand National circuit.

Weidman was last year's AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year, and Halbert has proved he can win Grand National races. Those two -- along with Mees -- are often in the top five at national races.

Gedeon's faced those guys before, so he knew what he was up against Saturday.

"A good start definitely helped here, especially when the track brushes off like it did," said Gedeon, who rode a Harley XR750. "It gets hard and slippery, there's not much traction. You have to really ride easy, you can't blast wide open. I like this place."

And this year, racing in Frederick fit in perfectly with his plans. Gedeon went on his fishing trip Wednesday, then got up 5 a.m. Saturday and headed for Frederick to compete.

"I think that's what helped me out. I took a vacation with my uncle and went fishing on the Eastern Shore," Gedeon said. "This is on the way home."

Gedeon's a tig welder, but he still finds time for racing. As he showed Saturday, he can hang with big names like Halbert and Weidman. He ranks third in the Hot Shoe Series Expert Twins standings behind first-place Halbert and Mees.

When asked about his season, Gedeon said, "Kind of on and off. I've got to get my act together, I've got to keep doing this all the time. I've shown I can beat them and be up there in the top, so I've got to keep it consistent."

He's won events in Barberville, Fla. and Norwalk, Ohio. But three weeks ago, he hurt his arm in a wreck at Dayton, Ohio.

"You've got to get beat up to know if you want to do it or not," Gedeon said.

Halbert was second and Weidman was third. Fourth-place Cory Texter and Ricky Marshall rounded out the top five.

"Dan got the jump. We got up into second and were trying some different lines," Halbert said. "We closed in on him a couple times. Almost passed him once, but he had the edge on us tonight. Overall, a first and a second, we're pretty happy."

That first-place showing in the Expert Singles race didn't come easy, not with Mees and Weidman chasing so close behind.

"Jared rode well, he made me work for it," Halbert said. "I passed him once, and he got me back. And I passed him back and held it to the finish."

Just to add to the excitement, Weidman also briefly led, looking for another triumph following his win in the Dash for Cash.

"But as soon as I got out in front of them, it seemed like my tire started going away and just stopped working for me," Weidman said. "I just couldn't make another pass and I just followed them."

Halbert, a 21-year-old from Washington state (he resides in Ohio for the summer), has been having a career year. Top Five finishes are commonplace, and he got his first Grand National Twins victory in June at Bulls Gap, Tenn. He's also the current Hot Shoe Expert Twins points leader, and he's second in the Expert Singles standings behind Mees.

Halbert's brother Jethro and him were both recently involved in a crash at Dayton. Halbert got a little banged up, but his brother is sidelined with a broken wrist and ankle.

Sammy thought his brother might be racing again in a month. Fast recoveries must run in the family. Sammy Halbert wrecked at Frederick in 2004, leaving him with a severely sprained neck, torn ACL and contusions.

"And we raced four days later," he said.

Jeremy Higgins of Bergen, N.Y. won the Pro Singles race, beating second-place Corey Crawford and third-place Brody Miller.

Evan Baer of Mechanicsburg, Pa. won the Pro Twins race, beating second-place Cory Strickler and third-place Garret Wilson.

NOTES -- Kenny Coolbeth, who holds the No. 1 ranking on the Grand National circuit as a Twins rider, was pre-entered for the Fritchie Classic Singles race but did not show up.