South River wrestling had already captured the team title before a single finalist lifted a finger.
Chesapeake trailed considerably heading into finals. Save for 126-pound Michael Greenstreet and, much later, Xander Dodds at 215, the Cougars’ finals didn’t pan out as they hoped.
But that’s not how South River wanted to win anyway. After falling just short in the Class 3A duals state finals seven days ago, the Seahawks craved redemption and wanted it to be earned.
And earn it they did.
To help boost South River to its 207-point triumph, every Seahawk who competed in the finals emerged as a county champion: Jackson Peeples (106), Trent Shipley (113) and Aidan Healey (190). Heavyweight Busayo Balogun also claimed third in the consolation match earlier, as did Ethan McWaters at 150.
“They’ve grown so much. We didn’t have necessarily the best night for us yesterday [in the first rounds], and they came together to grind today,” South River coach John Klessinger said.
Accepting their wins came at a cost to the younger Seahawks: a reminder that this would really be their last accomplishment together as a team.
“It’s exciting, but,” Shipley said, “we’re going to miss our seniors.”
The Seahawks advance at least eight wrestlers to the 4A/3A region tournament next weekend, including fourth-place Ethan Burger (126), Pete Laye (132) and Brent Phillips (157). There could be more depending on how points with other region teams shake out.
“We got kids who placed top four who, on paper, shouldn’t place. We had kids in the top six that came in with losing records,” Klessinger said. “They used their preparation to their advantage because they worked hard.”
It was imperative for the Seahawks to keep preparing as if nothing had happened last week. Peeples bore the brunt of last week’s finish, having been the wrestler who needed a pin to secure a team win.
He didn’t leave the option on the table this time. Peeples corralled Chesapeake’s Mason Szczeszek into a two-minute, 14-second pin.
“You just stay confident and trust in practice. I forget about states,” Peeples said. “I tried to have fun. Go out and wrestle hard.”
Shipley’s pin at 113 wasn’t the quickest of the night — but if speed took the podium, he would.
“I tried not to hold myself to any kind of standard. Like, there is a standard,” Shipley said. “But, just wrestle.”
Broadneck’s Branden Whyte-Taylor (120) — one of four Bruins to win between coed and girls finals — snapped up his pin in 1:53. Only at 126 did time slow down.
But in the third period, Greenstreet knew letting Michael Queen go didn’t matter. The Cougar had won.
The Falcon wrangled free and handed Greenstreet only his second defeat: a 6-5 decision, the first of the day.
The trend of hard-fought titles continued. At 132, Arundel’s Cole Figueroa practically hog-tied Glen Burnie’s Noah Akers into a near-fall. The Arundel crowd might as well have filled the whole gym for the loud screams that poured from that section. Akers tilted his shoulders off the ground, Figueroa didn’t sweat it. He tacked another three points .
When the third period expired, the Wildcat rose with his 13-4 win and stood alone in the center of the mat. He tilted his chin toward the glow of the spotlight like the rays of the first sunlight in days.
For two periods, 137-pound Beau Schmidt of Northeast had Arundel’s Luca Brown locked and keyed. Up 5-0 in the third, the Eagle didn’t seem to be losing ground — until Brown wrenched him back by his legs for a takedown. Schmidt couldn’t shake Brown off his back, and spent the rest of his victory beneath the hulking Wildcat until the whistle called for a 5-3 decision. Schmidt emerged and shook his fist in relief.
But more pins did come.
It seemed as if Broadneck’s Linx Lawless could’ve easily pinned Cavell Morris of Meade at 144. Up 2-1, only the Mustang’s flailing leg signaled movement through two periods. But in the third, Lawless wasn’t just content with an escape point and a 3-1 decision. The Bruin flayed Morris and kept his grip tight until he could collect his pin.
Austin Combs was not so in control.
The unbeaten Bruin clashed his very different style against Crofton’s Jacob Speed to a near deadlock in two periods — until Combs launched and flipped Speed midair for a lead-changing takedown.
Speed let Combs escape in the third and took his shots. For the most hairline of seconds, he wrapped the Bruin in position to pin — but Combs fooled him.
“I felt him setting it up, and I made a mental error of trying to bait him to going into it, because I felt I could easily roll over top it. And it turned into a little bit more of a sticky situation,” Combs said.
The Bruin rolled him for a takedown, and ultimately, the 6-3 decision.
“I try not to look at the wins,” Combs (41-0) said, “and I don’t look at the kids I’m about to wrestle. I try to go out and destroy each kid I wrestle with, no matter who it is.”
Records did not necessarily dictate who was going to win.
Broadneck’s 150, Peyton Miller, carried one loss entering the championships. North County’s Kairyn Hall, who had three, was not thinking about marks. He actually knew next to nothing about his opponent.
All he knew was how bitter taking third place felt last winter and how badly he wanted gold this time.
Twenty-eight seconds would be all Hall needed to bury Miller in the mat. His post-pin celebration lasted longer — in between shaking hands with his opponents, tearing his headgear free, returning euphoric screams to his fist-pumping family and cheering Knights teammates and ripping an emphatic low-five to his coach.
“It felt so well-deserved,” Hall said. “A lot, lot of hours in the room, in the gym, just trying to make sure I can come out here and get everything right.”
At 175, the odds belonged to Chesapeake’s Keanu Furbush. With 30 seconds left, the powerful Cougar mopped the mat with Severna Park’s Nate Kohler — and triggered his downfall. Kohler moved like lightning, and his comeback pin was just as quick.
Old Mill heavyweight RJ Duncan’s triumph was not so speedy. But it was the triumph that mattered, and the singlet he wore while he did it.
His coaches banned him from wearing the black suit; it was bad luck after losing in it. But Duncan’s father changed his mind.
“‘You got to break the curse,'” Duncan (38-1) echoed. “It’s definitely a relief of pressure. But I know I got more tournaments to come, trying to repeat state champ — and become the first Old Mill heavyweight in history to do it.”
Duncan doesn’t allow that pressure to overwhelm his mind. He plays chill music for 10 minutes before his matches, a zen that carried through his mind when Northeast’s Anthony Mzozek tried to deny Duncan the curse-break, and a fall, and launched at him.
“I never thought that somebody would try to lat-drop me, but he’s been watching film,” Duncan said. “He went after it, but I chilled out just so I could catch it at the right time.”
County championships finals (coed)
106: Jackson Peeples (South River) pinned Mason Szczeszek (Chesapeake) (2:14)
113: Trent Shipley (South River) pinned Nikolas Jimenez (North County) (1:22)
120: Branden Whyte-Taylor (Broadneck) pinned Brayden Roberts (Chesapeake) (1:53)
126: Michael Greenstreet (Chesapeake) dec. Michael Queen (Severna Park), 6-5
132: Cole Figueroa (Arundel) maj. dec. Noah Akers (Glen Burnie), 13-4
138: Beau Schmidt (Northeast) dec. Luca Brown (Arundel), 5-3
144: Linx Lawless (Broadneck) pinned Cavell Morris (Meade) (4:55)
150: Kairyn Hall (North County) pinned Peyton Miller (Broadneck) (0:28)
157: Devin Brown (Meade), fft.
165: Austin Combs (Broadneck) dec. Jacob Speed (Crofton), 6-3
175: Nathan Kohler (Severna Park) pinned Keanu Furbush (Chesapeake) (5:27)
190: Aidan Healey (South River) dec. Obina Onyeson (Meade), 4-2
215: Xander Dodd (Chesapeake) dec. Leo Flores (Southern), 7-2
285: RJ Duncan (Old Mill) pinned Anthony Mrozek (Northeast) (2:45)
County championships finals (girls)
100: Jahzara Smith (Broadneck) dec. River Heslep (Old Mill), 8-7
105: Piper Henry (Southern ) pinned Hayley Conwell (North County) (1:43)
115: Grace Ackermann (Crofton High School) pinned Adreyanna Weitzal (Northeast) (4:33)
120: Sophia Hodges (Northeast) pinned Lexi Vosburg (Chesapeake High School) (0:59)
125: Lexy Pabon (Crofton) pinned Lila Nolan (South River High School) (0:24)
130: Isabella Coe (Crofton High School) dec. Callie Serio (Northeast High School), 5-0
135: Alanna Adams (Severna Park) pinned Breyon Thompson (Crofton) (5:55)
140: Cheyanne Hall (Northeast) pinned Chryseis Gindhart (Old Mill) (5:20)
145: Erin Wright (Arundel) dec. Renata Arroija-Guzman (Crofton), 8-5
155: Reese Butler (North County) pinned Katie Huyssoon (Crofton High School) (1:28)
170: Gigi Orellana-Henriquez (Arundel) pinned Lyla Bordas (Old Mill) (5:23)
190: Keshae Cribbs (Old Mill) pinned Jaziah Bond (Northeast) (5:11)
235: Katrina Adhikari (Old Mill), bye