3A/4A EAST REGION Strong showing from 12 teams
Arundel advances 6 to next weekend’s state tournament
East is beast — at least in 3A/4A.
The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association 3A/4A East regional tournament at South River on Saturday lived up to expectations as one of the toughest in the state, and the representation of schools atop the podium proved it.
The depth of the region was tested as wrestlers from 12 teams won titles — only Annapolis and Marriotts Ridge had more than one champion, and each had just two.
Anne Arundel County tournament champion Arundel led all teams by having six grapplers place in the top four to advance to next weekend’s 3A/4A state tournament at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro. Old Mill, Manchester Valley and Leonardtown have five apiece; Annapolis, South River, Hammond and Marriotts Ridge each have four; and River Hill and Mt. Hebron have three. Several other teams have two or fewer.
Four wrestlers kept their perfect seasons intact and won titles — Atholton senior David Panda (126 pounds), Marriotts Ridge seniors Ethan Bohan (152) and Will Vaxmonsky (160), and Severna Park junior Ty Broadway (220).
Ten girls also won titles in the first-ever girls regional tournament.
Panda (36-0) won his second straight region title by sticking River Hill junior Jonah Richardson (38-7) in a rematch of the Howard County finals match that Panda won in overtime. Panda left no doubt this time, as he secured two first-period takedowns, another in the second and then locked up a near-side cradle that flattened Richardson to the mat in 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
“Today I went all out. Last week I didn’t really maintain my weight perfectly, so that really messed me up. But this week, I got all my stuff down, my mental game was ready, and I came for him,” he said. “He came for me last time and I’m not going to lose to a kid I know I can beat. That’s it.”
Bohan (35-0) and Vaxmonsky (42-0) both had dominating victories in their respective finals matches.
Bohan took it to Arundel senior Trevor Gagnon (36-3) and turned a 2-0 lead after one period into an eventual 11-1 major decision. He had two cradles for near-fall points in the bout.
“I think after the near-side cradle in the second period, I used it and I knew I could use it to my advantage. I didn’t get the pin, but five points works for me too,” Bohan said. “This year I’m winning states. That’s all there is to it.”
Vaxmonsky didn’t need all six minutes to defeat his Arundel opponent, junior Jaydon Bowden (24-7). The senior built a 5-0 lead in the first period and used an arm bar to get his 102nd career pin in 3:35.
“I think it’s just a different mindset this year,” Vaxmonsky said. “In past years I’ve been happy with what I’ve done and everything but this year going in, Ethan and I are looking to finish. We’ve gotten so close a couple of times but we haven’t achieved our goals of winning state championships. We’ve been working our butts off together in the room to get each other better and get step-by-step closer to getting to that goal.”
Broadway (39-0), a runner-up in the region last season, was never in doubt this time against Manchester Valley senior Grant Warner (44-3) as he scored five points in the first period, four more in the second and then 10 in the third en route to a 19-7 major decision. Broadway scored seven takedowns in the bout.
Hammond junior Jabari Pinkney (42-3) won the 106-pound title with a 10-5 win over Manchester Valley freshman Travis Green (43-4). Pinkney, who lost in the finals of the Howard County tournament last weekend, secured five takedowns to beat the freshman from Carroll County that was also a runner-up last weekend at his league championships.
Annapolis junior Frank Antonelli (16-3) set the tone early and dominated Leonardtown senior Sean Vosburgh (36-3), a region champion and state finalist a year ago, to win the 120-pound championship. The Mount Saint Joseph transfer who won the Anne Arundel County tournament scored an early takedown and took the 2-0 lead into the second period. An escape and another takedown made it 5-0, and after a second injury time for Vosburgh allowed Antonelli choice of position, he scored a reversal to build a 7-0 advantage.
A third-period reversal gave him a major decision and the shutout.
Annapolis senior Kyle Leming (22-6), another Anne Arundel County champion, followed up his big weekend with another one, as he pinned all three of his opponents to capture the 195-pound title. Leming pinned South River junior James Purnell in the semifinals in a county finals rematch and then stuck Hammond junior and No. 1 seed Linus Sekedjah (35-9) in the first period of the championship bout with a lateral drop.
A runner-up at the Anne Arundel County championships last weekend and at last year’s region tournament, Arundel junior Caleb Chaves (23-3) won the latest rematch with South River senior and county champ Isaac Barber in the 132-pound semifinals, 11-9, and kept the momentum going into his finals match with Leonardtown senior Brian Bieshelt (37-4). Chaves got the first takedown in the opening period and then answered a third-period escape with a quick double-leg takedown. An additional escape by Bieshelt in the third was all he could muster and Chaves won, 4-2.
Old Mill sophomore Jackson Cohenour (25-8) was the No. 1 seed at the Anne Arundel County tournament but was pinned three times en route to finishing sixth. He came into the regional tournament as the No. 8 seed but put it all together and won the 145-pound title in dominating fashion, pinning Leonardtown junior Finn Eskeland (35-8) in 4:54.
South River sophomore Nolan Lunsford (37-4) captured the 113-pound championship by shutting out Old Mill sophomore Elijah Mills (29-11), 7-0. A runner-up at the Anne Arundel County tournament, Lunsford built a 5-0 lead in the first period, rode Mills out for the second and reversed him early in the third.
River Hill junior Mike Crisitello (27-5) knocked off Old Mill junior and No. 1 seed Caron Tull (32-5) in the championship match at 138 pounds. Crisitello, who won the Howard County tournament, traded escapes with Tull in the second and third periods and then got the only takedown of the bout in overtime to win a 3-1 decision.
Manchester Valley senior Adam Mattson (40-2) shut out Arundel junior Val Pryor (16-3) in his 170-pound championship match. Mattson methodically buried his opponent with a first-period takedown, a two-minute ride in the second and then an escape and another takedown in the third for a 5-0 victory.
In the first-ever girls’ regional tournament, 10 individuals won titles.
Meade’s Bao Tram Bui advanced as the only 106-pounder, and Paris Towns (112) pinned Wilde Lake’s Hannah Ehrlich. Manchester Valley had two winners — Summer Shackelford (122), who pinned Reservoir’s Delaney Kilcarr, and Katie Martin (132), who was the only one in her bracket.
Reservoir’s Camila Mendez (127) pinned Westminster’s Lockslea Mayers in 2:30; Leonardtown’s Sara VanRyswick (138) pinned River Hill’s Ava Flynn in 1:35; Severna Park’s Shannon Briggs (152) stuck Wilde Lake’s Jazmone Holmes in 5:49; and Glen Burnie’s Jasmine Geris (180) advanced as the only individual in her bracket.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
CONSOLATION FINALS
GIRLS FINALS