#1 Beat #2, #2 Beat #3, #3 Beat #1

Lem Satterfield
9 hours ago
4 min read

The past 10 days have been a roller coaster ride for top-ranked Archbishop Spalding, including last night’s 42-25 MIAA “A” Conference dual meet victory over second-ranked Mount St. Joseph.

In succession, the Cavaliers lost last week’s MIAA dual meet, 34-30, to third-ranked McDonogh before drilling fifth-ranked conference rival Loyola, 52-10, and defeating the runner-up Gaels, 260.5-to-226, for their second consecutive War On the Shore Tournament crown.

But after edging McDonogh, 37-30, on Wednesday, the Gaels looked to ride that momentum with the Cavaliers enduring lineup problems.

Among them was the absence of top-ranked junior Eli Gabrielson (126), a two-time War On The Shore champion who transferred from South Carroll where he was first in the Carroll County, regional and Class 2A-1A state tournaments.

“We had to be creative tonight,” said 24th-year coach Mike Laidley, whose Cavaliers dethroned 13th-ranked Gilman for last year's MIAA Tournament crown before tying the Greyhounds for the Maryland Independent/Private Schools' title.

“Over the weekend, Eli Gabrielson got sick and was out of the lineup today. Our 175-pounder [14th-ranked] Spencer Ferguson was told yesterday he has a torn ACL and Ryder Kolat is returning from injury at 150 pounds but has not wrestled a match yet this year so having three starters out we had to get creative.”

Being “creative” led to redemption for senior Eli Chesla, a second-ranked 120 pounder who failed to place at War On The Shore after winning last year at 113 pounds.

Chesla rose in weight to face fifth-ranked 126-pound sophomore CJ Votta. Chesla’s come-from-behind fall in 2:41 was the Cavaliers’ third victory in the first four bouts for a 15-3 lead in the match.

Votta nearly pinned Chesla in the first period, demonstrating skills which earned him third and fourth place finishes at last year’s MIAA and Maryland Independent/Private School’s State Tournaments.

“I knew he had big move potential, and right when the match started, I got put to my back which put me in a five-point hole,” said Chesla, a returning runner-up at MIAAs and private school states.

“I took a breath going back to the center and reset, mentally. From there I chipped away. I just kept wrestling in all positions and I ended up scoring three takedowns plus the pin in the second period.”

The Gaels won four of the next five bouts for a 25-18 lead with five matches remaining. The run ended with a 157-pound forfeit to the Gaels’ top-ranked sophomore Brooklyn Pickett, a champion in both the War On The Shore and private schools state tournaments.

Prior to Pickett, the Gaels received an injury default victory by top-ranked senior Jake Tamai (132) over fourth-ranked sophomore Isaac Cicchetti, a 14-3 major decision by top-ranked junior Tyler Stephens (144) over second-ranked junior Quentin Bailey, and a fall in 2:24 by fourth-ranked junior Conner Allison (150) over sophomore Will McDonogh.

Tamai is a returning MIAA champion and private schools state runner-up, Stephens was second and second, and Allison, sixth and fourth.

The Cavaliers had received a 4-1 decision by second-ranked junior Taina Fernandez (138) over ninth-ranked junior Ben Scheiner, who was third-place at War On The Shore and an MIAA runner-up and fourth place finisher at states last season.

Coming off last weekend’s championship at the Girls’ War On The Shore, Fernandez is a four-time Super 32 title winner and two-time World Champion who is top-ranked nationally among girls at 140 pounds.

The Cavaliers swept the last five matches, starting with an 86-second fall by top-ranked senior Zane Leitzel (165). Leitzel is a repeat War On The Shore champion and returning title-winner at MIAAs and private schools states.

The Cavaliers also received pins by 14th-ranked sophomore Luke Winkler (190) and 16th-ranked junior Michael Byrne (285) in 4:54 and 5:02, respectively, along with narrow decisions from 15th-ranked junior Josh Taylor (175) and ninth-ranked junior Luke Barulli (215).

Taylor earned a 4-3 win over 17th-ranked freshman Max Solis, and Barulli, a 1-0 overtime victory against junior Jonah Selassie. Barulli’s win put the match away, mathematically, 36-25, with one bout left.

“Zane Leitzel was prepared to wrestle Brooklyn Pickett at 157, and I’m sure everybody wanted to see that match,” Laidley said. “But we knew we had to cover 165 and 175, so we bumped up and captured nine points, which probably was the difference in the match.”

The Cavaliers had won two of the first three bouts for a 9-3 lead, getting a 91-second fall from sixth-ranked freshman Lane Gowl (106) and 6-3 decision from top-ranked sophomore Charlie Mutschler (120) over sixth-ranked freshman Nathan Mathis.

A returning third- and second-place finisher at MIAAs and private school states, Mutschler rose from 113 pounds where he was first at War On The Shore. Mathis was fourth at War On The Shore at 120.

At 113 pounds, the Gaels had received a 6-1 decision by James’ Wright over Cavaliers’ sophomore Grayson DeCosmo.

“We made some adjustments to our lineup and wrestled a complete match from 106 to 285,” Chesla said. “The energy in that dual meet made it really exciting. It felt great to beat a quality squad, especially with a couple holes in our lineup.”

No. 1 Archbishop Spalding 42, No. 2 Mount St. Joseph 25

106: Lane Gowl (AS) p. Alessand Barrios, 1:31 (6-0, AS)

113: James Wright (M) d. Grayson DeCosmo, 6-1 (6-3, AS)

120: Charlie Mustchler (AS) d. Nathan Mathis, 6-3 (9-3, AS)

126: Eli Chesla (AS) p. CJ Votta, 2:41 (15-3, AS)

132: Jake Tamai (M) inj default over Isaac Cicchetti (15-9, AS)

138: Taina Fernandez (AS) d. Ben Scheiner, 4-1 (18-9, AS)

144: Tyler Stephens (M) mj. Quentin Bailey, 14-3 (18-13, AS)

150: Conner Allison (M) p. Will McDonogh, 2:24 (19-18, M)

157: Brooklyn Pickett (M) by forfeit (25-18, M)

165: Zane Leitzel (AS) p. Kaden Tyler, 1:26 (25-24, M)

175: Josh Taylor (AS) d. Max Solis, 4-3 (27-25, AS)

190: Luke Winkler (AS) p. William Ennis, 4:54 (33-25, AS)

215: Luke Barulli (AS) d. Jonah Selassie, 1-0, OT (36-25, AS)

285: Michael Byrne (AS) p. Jacob Condon, 5:02 (42-25, AS)