Glenelg pins down five titles
3 Anne Arundel wrestlers claim 4A-3A East crowns; Harford teams struggle
There was no team title awarded at the 2A-1A South regional wrestling tournament at River Hill on Saturday for the first time, but it was no secret that Glenelg was the top team based on its number of champions.
The Gladiators pushed six into the finals and had a tournament-high five winners — Logan Gwin (113 pounds), Drew Sotka (152), Jacob Jones (160), Max Sotka (170) and Sam Alsheimer (182). The latter two won their second straight regional crowns.
“It’s really great. You’re in the room with the guys all year, it’s a long season and we’ve been working hard,” said Max Sotka, who beat Southern-AA’s Averum White via tech fall, 19-4, in the final. “So it’s really nice to see — not just for me — that the hard work is paying off.”
Marriotts Ridge had three champions in Austin Manwiller (106), Ethan Bohan (120) and Austin Cestone (195), who won his second straight title, while La Plata also had winners in three consecutive weight classes: Marco Frederico (132), Alex Blake (138) and Mike Bellerose (145).
River Hill’s Will Henrickson (126) and Kai Uecker (285) won titles in their own dramatic fashion in their home gym, while Hammond’s Loic Tueguo (220) became the school’s first regional champion since 2013.
Max Sotka and Alsheimer, who won their region titles last year as part of the 3A/4A East region, dominated their brackets to earn No. 1 seeds for next week’s state tournament.
Max Sotka, who lost in the county final and scored just one point in that defeat, racked up points in a hurry. The returning state finalist said he used the county final as fuel but added that he made sure not to let the loss linger in his head.
Alsheimer, meanwhile, locked up three cradles in the second period to build a 9-0 lead and rolled to an 11-2 victory over River Hill’s Zach Wasilewski in a rematch of the county finals.
Gwin pinned Thomas Stone’s Adam Roberts in 1 minute, 24 seconds. Jones controlled his championship bout against Southern-AA’s Josh Merkle from start to finish to win an 8-2 decision.
Drew Sotka secured a takedown in the final seconds to beat Oakland Mills’ Dylan Watt, 4-2, in a rematch of the county tournament consolation finals. Sotka won that meeting, 1-0, with a late escape.
Manwiller broke wrestling’s No. 1 rule last week by missing weight for the second day of the county tournament and was forced to default the county championship match. He said he controlled his weight much better this week, and the result was a 6-2 finals victory over River Hill’s Eric Robinson. The wrestlers had split their prior two matches this season, but Manwiller has now won the last two.
Bohan dominated La Plata’s Owen Butler in his finals match, winning a 7-0 shutout, while Cestone pinned his three opponents in 0:29, 0:24 and 1:17.
In what was another rematch of the county finals, Henrickson squared off with Oakland Mills senior Kyle Farace, a threetime state finalist who was hungry for revenge.
The result, however, was even more lopsided in favor of the Colorado transfer. Henrickson, who won the first meeting, 8-7, built a 6-1 lead before pinning Farace in 2:33.
Uecker saved the most exciting finish for last. The fourth-seeded senior pinned topseeded Justin Andrews of Hammond to reach the final and then overcame a late 3-1 deficit against Southern-AA’s Joey Miller in the championship. He tied the bout with a takedown and then beat the final buzzer for the fall.
4A-3A EAST TOURNAMENT: Broadneck advanced seven wrestlers to the state championships. They include three regional finalists and 126-pound champion Nick Schardt.
“It’s great having that experience and getting some good seeds in the state championships,” Broadneck coach Reid Bloomfield said. “They’ve worked hard and they’re peaking at the right time. We had some tough goes earlier in the year, matches we felt we could have done better in, and we knew we were heading in the right spot and we’re peaking exactly where we want to be peaking, so I’m proud of the kids.”
Schardt was one of three champions from Anne Arundel County. He took his title on a pin in 2:43. Schardt, a junior, is making his third trip to the state championships.
“I need to focus a lot more this year and go have fun more and stop thinking, stop putting so much pressure on myself at the tournament,” Schardt said. “I need to just go out and let it fly.”
South River’s Isaac Barber won the 113-pound title on a 5-3 decision. He is a sophomore going to the tournament for the second time.
“I think I have a good chance of winning,” said Barber of his chances at the state championships. “I’m one of the (top seeds) of my region, so I’ll have an easier way, I guess to put it, than (I would getting seeded) fourth.”
Old Mill’s Jason Smith claimed the 182-pound title on a 6-1 decision.
“(Leonardtown’s Steven Bieshelt) beat me before,” said Smith, who went to the state tournament last year. “I just needed to come back strongly. I had a better gameplan this time. … Hopefully I can get to the finals and beat everybody on my way.”
2A-1A EAST TOURNAMENT: Titles were hard to come by for Harford County’s contingent Saturday at Snow Hill High School.
Patterson Mill senior Hunter Crowley was only one of six Harford finalists to come home with a crown, winning the 182-pound title by pin.
Crowley, who pinned his first two opponents, needed just 1:06 in the final to put away Gabe Dennis of Snow Hill.
“As quickly as possible is preferable,” Crowley said. “We’re going out to dinner, so I didn’t want to sweat.”
Crowley took Dennis down just inside the first minute and then finished it off.
At 170, Fallston junior Christian Wilson was beaten by major decision, 9-0, by Evan Mansfield of Snow Hill.
“I came here expecting to place third because I was seeded the number three seed. I upset the numbe-two seed, which is pretty exciting and I didn’t bring it my full in the first place match, but I’ll see him at states, right?” Wilson said.
Havre de Grace senior Alex Lloyd faced a familiar opponent in the 138 final — Silas Filliaux of Rising Sun. Filliaux beat Lloyd for the second time in a week, winning a 12-2 major decision.