Depth lifts Bel Air to UCBAC championship

Savion Ricketts came back to the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference wrestling championship with a vengeance.

The Bel Air senior overpowered C. Milton Wright’s Hayden Goscinski for much of Saturday’s 170-pound final, shutting him out in an 8-0 victory by major decision. Ricketts heard the final buzzer sound, shook his opponent’s hand and walked off the mat, sagging his shoulders in joyous relief after achieving the win that eluded him a year ago.

“I needed that win. I really wanted to place first last year,” Ricketts, now 33-7 overall, said of his 2022 finals loss to Rising Sun’s Mason Testerman. “It didn’t happen so I’ve just been training for this . ... My head is pretty high. But it’s regionals now and that matters even more, so I gotta win there, too.”

The difference-maker for top-seeded Ricketts on Saturday? He worked the neutral position well, staying predominantly in the center of the mat. Ricketts said he noticed Goscinski looking to throw him around, so he was adamant about keeping his hips beyond arm’s length.

“I think [170] is a great weight class for him,” said 30-year Bel Air coach Craig Reddish. “He’s really good on his feet. He’s just peaking at the right time.”

Reddish hoped to leave Saturday’s UCBAC finals improving off last year’s 1-8 finish in individual finals.

Although his group did win the team trophy with 230 total points — besting Rising Sun’s 211 and C. Milton Wright’s 205 — the Bobcats similarly lost one of six individual finals. Ricketts was Bel Air’s lone individual champion. However, the team’s overall depth powered it to the top spot.

“We pulled out the title with all our wrestlers placing and earning points, so that’s rewarding when everyone contributes,” Reddish said. “I think they’re all close [individual] matches to begin with. Some we were underdogs or we weren’t favored. It’s the finals you have to go get it ... These are pressure times. You got to do what got you there and that’s just keep wrestling.”