8 South Carroll boys win individual titles
Hammond, Broadneck, Sparrows Point and Bel Air also win tournament crowns
Just a week after winning the Class 1A state duals championship, No. 2 South Carroll put its dominance on display again during Saturday’s Carroll County Tournament finals at Westminster.
With more than half of the top seeds in the coed division, the Cavaliers headlined the event with eight individual champions with another — Bella Garrity (110 pounds) — capturing a crown in the girls division.
“Between this and states, this is what you prepare for all year,” South Carroll senior Michael Pizzuto said.
Pizzuto won the 145-pound coed title after dominating Manchester Valley’s Blake Ray, earning an 18-3 technical fall, in the championship match. He finished Saturday as one of three Cavaliers who finished their careers as four-time county champions, sharing the honor with teammates Gage Owen (138) and AJ Rodrigues (160).
Grayson Barnhill (106), Evan Owen (113), JoJo Gigliotti (120), Rylan Moose (182) and Manny Rodrigues (195) also captured coed titles for the Cavaliers, who outscored Man Valley (179 points) to win the coed team title with 228 points. Westminster (80), Francis Scott Key (79), Winters Mill (75), Century (74) and Liberty (69) followed in the team race.
In the girls team race, Francis Scott Key won the title with 126 points, edging Manchester Valley (118), Winters Mill (112), Westminster (31), South Carroll (16), Century (0) and Liberty (0).
The Mavericks crowned six individual girls winners — Faith Day (100), Layla Lagunas (105), Summer Shackelford (120), Bella Canby (125), Chloe Chwang (130) and Katie Martin (155). Bradyn VanDervoort (126), Jake Boog (170), Cru Boog (220) and Derek Martin (285) joined Travis Green, who defeated South Carroll’s Anthony Rodrigues in the 152-pound final, 11-2, to remain undefeated, as Man Valley’s individual coed champions.
“Just a great day all around for our program, very proud of their effort,” Man Valley coach David Dodson said. “Just hope we can build off this momentum.”
Liberty sophomore Dylan Ohler captured the 132-pound title for his second straight county crown. He beat South Carroll’s Angelo Marchany, 6-0, in the championship match.
“It feels good coming back and proving myself,” Ohler said. “I just wrestled how I liked to wrestle and didn’t force anything.”
In the girls tournament, Francis Scott Key’s Caroline Cruickshank (115), Keira Cooper (135), Mackenzie Koon (140) and Emily Arboleda (190) won individual titles to pace the Eagles to the title.
Winters Mill’s Kimora Harrid (145), Joyce Mbeboh (170) and Roan McCauley (235) won individual girls championships as well.
Hammond wins first Howard championship since 2006
Hammond coach William Yeo got a sense in the offseason this year’s group could be special, seeing many Golden Bears wrestling year-round, developing their skill set.
That all came to fruition Saturday at the 53rd Howard County Tournament, as the Golden Bears secured the county team title with 232 points, edging second-place Glenelg (182) and third-place Oakland Mills (160). Reservoir (154) and Marriotts Ridge (130) rounded out the top five. It’s Hammond’s first county tournament title since 2006.
Beyond their team success, No. 14 Hammond crowned five individual county champions: Cody Johnson (113 pounds), William Terry (126), Joseph Munyaneza (145), Jinan Khan (182) and Raynard Kanu (285). Jeffrey Acheampong (106) and Jonathan Neypes (152) were also finalists.
“It’s validation for all of the work that they’ve done,” Yeo said. “It’s validation for the sacrifices that the coaches have made, the parents have made, our athletic director has made, the school has made. It really validates everything that we’ve been preaching to them and it’s a great ending to the county season.”
Kanu was the first Golden Bears grappler up in the finals, matching up against fifth-seeded Nathan Faulkner of River Hill.
Despite being the sixth seed in the tournament, the coaching staff told Kanu he’d win the whole week leading up to counties. Trailing 2-1 in the third period, Kanu reversed Faulkner’s takedown attempt and scored one himself to take a 3-2 lead he maintained the rest of the way.
Johnson was Hammond’s second county champion, with the No. 4 seed facing No. 2 seed Rocky Alabaddi of Marriotts Ridge. A close 2-1 match entering the final period, Johnson executed a takedown and two nearfall points to secure the 6-1 victory, as the Hammond faithful chanted “Cody, Cody, Cody.”
One of the evening’s best matches between Terry, the top seed and second-seeded Sam Vissers from Reservoir, came soon after. Vissers took a 4-3 lead early in the third period on an escape. However, Terry immediately bounced back, executing a quick takedown to retake a 5-4 lead, fending off Vissers’ late escape attempts.
“Go, you need to score at all costs,” Terry said of his mindset in the final period. “I knew I needed a takedown, so I just went for it. I wasn’t thinking, I just went for it.”
Munyaneza, one of the Golden Bears’ two top seeds, faced off against the No. 2 seed Jose Lazo from Reservoir. Munyaneza took control from the jump with multiple first-period takedowns, ultimately closing out the 8-2 decision victory.
Khan successfully defended his county title, beating Oakland Mills’ Brighton Barker, 7-2. He was promptly mobbed by teammates in celebration, closing out a successful county season for the Golden Bears, who will look to channel that momentum into regionals and states.
“A feeling of relief just washes over you and you look out to the crowd and realize you won the tournament,” Khan said. “I know my teammates wanted to see a good match out there, so I just went out there and wrestled my hardest giving the people what they want and it ended up a really strong win.”