Marriotts Ridge crowns three champions at Class 3A East Region wrestling tournament
Feb. 27—With a spot in states on the line, a trio of Marriotts Ridge wrestlers kept their postseason journeys alive, clinching Class 3A East Region championships Saturday at Westminster.
The top two finishers in each weight class advanced to next weekend's 4A/3A state tournament.
Arya Habibi (113 pounds) maintained his strong postseason after being crowned the Howard County champion last weekend. The senior coasted to a regional title and clinched a berth in states. He defeated Reservoir's Andrew Dolezel by major decision, 10-0, in the finals.
Habibi wasted no time setting the tone in his match with several early takedowns to build the advantage.
"It's amazing there's no feeling like it," Habibi said. "Just happy to have this opportunity after taking a year off last year."
Building on the success of his teammate, Atley Turner (120) was the second Mustang to earn a regional championship. Like Habibi, Turner was aggressive early on, building a sizable lead before tallying a victory by fall at 3:36 over Nicholas Bakhtiar of River Hill. Both lower weights, Habibi and Turner often match up during practice helping each other grow.
"I'm just really happy that I got to share this beautiful moment with my boys and I can't wait to make more memories with them at states," Turner said.
The third Mustang regional champ was Tyler Bury (152). Facing a tough challenge with Zachary Bellamy of Centennial, Bury grew stronger as the match progressed. With the momentum on his side after the opening two periods, Bury earned a victory by fall 26 seconds into the final period.
"I'm just here to have fun with it," Bury said of his mentality entering states. "I just want to go enjoy the experience while I can and make the most of it."
Centennial, Atholton, Reservoir and Westminster crown a pair of regional champions
Building on their success from the Howard County tournament, Centennial's two most consistent wrestlers continued to impress. Despite only being a freshman, Calvin Kraisser (132) once again looked like a veteran. After being crowned a county champion last weekend, Kraisser pinned Braden Vacca of Westminster 30 seconds into the second period.
Two matches later, Nicholas Shapiro (145) claimed his regional championship. From the opening seconds, Shapiro dictated the pace of the match with a pin 58 seconds into his bout over Ty Streib of Westminster.
Bellamy (152) and Noah Whipkey (160) also secured trips to states next week with second-place regional finishes.
For Atholton, both Ricco Goss (160) and Omar Palmer (195) extended their seasons and picked up regional championships. Goss, also the Howard County champion, battled with Whipkey for the opening two periods notching several takedowns. However, in the final minute, Goss took complete control securing a victory by fall at 5:34.
Just like his teammate, the sophomore Palmer also earned a victory by fall at 3:52 over Sahith Mada of Mt. Hebron. Palmer and Goss are two of the four Raider wrestlers that will advance to states along with Jonathan Maslan (106) and Cameron Burt (138).
Like Centennial, two of Reservoir's most consistent wrestlers showcased strong performances. Sebastian Meza (126) earned a regional championship with a decisive 10-8 victory over Xavier Maccherone of Howard. Meza and Maccherone both exchanged several takedowns, but Meza secured one final takedown to secure the victory.
"It's a great feeling, coming into this tournament I had the mentality that I was going to win," Meza said. "I was prepared, I just fought hard and took it."
The Gators' other champion came in the most exciting match of the afternoon. Dylan Wiegert (182) and Connor Kolarek of Westminster were neck and neck throughout the match. Trailing 4-3 with less than 30 seconds remaining, Wiegert maneuvered to an advantageous position to notch a late takedown for a 5-4 victory.
"It was 4-3 and I knew the match definitely wasn't over it yet," Wiegert said. "So, I just went in 4-3 and I knew that I couldn't lose. That was my mentality, there's no way I'm losing this match. He went for a throw, I kept heavy hips in and came out on top."
Runor Agarin (285) and Dolezel also clinched berths to states for the Gators with second-place regional finishes.
In his own gym, Kaden Bryan (285) of Westminster put on one of the most dominant performances in the final match of the day. Bryan pinned Agarin 1:20 into the match with a pair of takedowns before ultimately securing the regional championship with a win. Ryder Eckenbarger of Westminster (138) built an early advantage after two periods and secured the regional championship with a victory by fall 44 seconds into the final period over Burt. Bryan and Eckenbarger will be joined in the state finals by Vacca (132), Streib (145) and Kolarek (182).
Mt. Hebron, Howard, River Hill each earn one regional title
One of the three Mt. Hebron wrestlers in finals, Sam Gordon (220) faced one of the toughest challenges of the day. Gordon matched up against Hakim Antoine from Wilde Lake, who won the Howard County championship last weekend. Gordon was the aggressor in the match with a 5-2 decision victory over the county champion. Bassem Qassem (170) and Mada (195) earned second-place finishes to keep their seasons alive. Antoine will be the Wildecats lone participant at states next weekend.
The Lions' lone regional champion came in the opening bout of the finals. Sean Myers (106) set the tone early in his match with Maslan but waited for the right time to strike. Inching closer to a regional championship, Myers secured a victory by fall at 5:42. Maccherone (126) will join Myers at the state finals next weekend.
Riding high off his county championship victory last weekend, Dylan McCullough (170) of River Hill continued to dominate. Asserting a large advantage after the opening period, McCullough turned it on in the second earning a pin 35 seconds into the period. Alongside McCullough, Bakhtiar (120) will continue wrestling at states next weekend.
In his own gym, Kaden Bryan (285) of Westminster put on one of the most dominant performances in the final match of the day. Bryan pinned Agarin 1:20 into the match with a pair of takedowns before ultimately securing the regional championship with a win. Bryan will be joined in the state finals by Vacca (132), Streib (145) and Kolarek (182).
Westminster and River Hill have girls regional champions
In the three girls regional final matches, the Owls crowned a pair of regional champions, while the Hawks had one. For Westminster, Caroline McCann (120) showcased her quickness with three takedowns to earn a 6-0 decision victory over Isabelle Flynn (River Hill). McCann's regional championship excited the home crowd, as her teammate Hannah Cunningham (125) built on the momentum in the ensuing match.
Trailing for much of her match, Cunningham fed off the energy of her teammates and the home crowd, flipping the script. She tallied a victory by fall at 5:02 over Skylar Zook of Reservoir, who earlier seemed poised to win the match.
The final girls match of the day saw Ava Flynn (170) advance to states for the Hawks. In a methodical match against Jakelin Martinez of Westminster, Flynn saw her moment and notched the one takedown she needed to earn the 2-0 decision victory.
Championship finals:
106: Sean Myers (Ho) pinned Jonathan Maslan (A), 4:43; 113: Arya Habibi (MR) major dec. Andrew Dolezel (Re), 10-0; 120: Atley Turner (MR) pinned Nicholas Bakhtiar (RH), 2:36; 126: Sebastian Meza (Re) dec. Xavier Maccherone (Ho), 10-8; 132: Calvin Kraisser (C) pinned Braden Vacca (Wes), 2:31; 138: Ryder Eckenbarger (Wes) pinned Cameron Burt (A), 4:44; 145: Nicholas Shapiro (Cen) pinned Ty Streib (Wes), 1:01; 152: Tyler Bury (MR) pinned Zachary Bellamy (C), 4:27; 160: Ricco Goss (A) pinned Noah Whipkey (C), 4:34; 170: Dylan McCullough (RH) pinned Bassam Qassem (MH), 2:35; 182: Dylan Wiegert (Re) dec. over Connor Kolarek (Wes), 5-4; 195: Omar Palmer (A) pinned Sanith Mada (MH), 3:52; 220: Sam Jordan (MH) dec. Hakim Antonie (WL), 5-2; 285: Kaden Bryan (Wes) pinned Runor Agarin (Re), 1:20
