14U Boys Reaches Finals Again! Best ever?

Day one’s dominance gave way to grit and determination on Friday in Wesley, Florida on the final day of the 14U Freestyle National Duals. Maryland cruised to easy victories during Thursday’s preliminary pool and rode that momentum to a trouncing of Minnesota in their opening match of the Gold Pool on Thursday Night.

For the two wins they gained in the Gold Pool on Friday morning to advance to the National Championship final, the Marylanders had to dig deep. They came from behind to beat Michigan Blue, 42-28, in their first match. That may sound like a comfortable win, but it was not guaranteed until the next to the last match of the dual.

The Iowa entry saw them take a lead, then fall behind, tie it, fall behind again, then gain a final advantage in a dual came down to the final bout, with our guys prevailing, 39-32, to reach the gold medal match opposite Pennsylvania Blue, who was the only team to beat Maryland at these duals. They won the Greco Roman match, but Maryland came out ahead of a tiebreaker and won the whole thing with PA taking sixth.

PA PROVES PESKY, AGAIN

The Freestyle final went off the rails early and once Pennsylvania took the lead, they never relinquished it. Brody Brown got them off to a nice start with a 10-0 technical fall of Leo Wheeler at 115 pounds. Maryland took the next two bouts for what would be a short-lived amount of time out front, 10-4.

Esaias Perez (No. 7 at 105 in Mat Scouts MS Rankings) used an Assassin to end Jagger Locke’s time on the mat at 1:41 with his pin. Justin Wildy, Jr. flattened yet another 126-pound foe in lightning quick fashion turning the lights out on Hunter Kapitula in 41 seconds.

In a reversal of the GR outcome and the beginning of the end, Blake Kirby stuck Brody Clemons in 1:10 at 132 pounds. Marco Hutcherson teched Logan Hartzell at 140 pounds to give the lead back to Pennsylvania where it would stay. Two more tech falls pushed the PA lead up to 11 at 21-10.

Parker Wynn avenged his Greco loss to Benjamin Corvin at 225 pounds, coming out on the right side of a 9-5 count. PA’s Brock Taylor (No. 3 at 70) lost to Carter Townsend in GR at 75 pounds but gained a Freestyle tech, 12-2. Gavin Solito beat Joey Myers at 80 pounds, then it was PA’s turn to win again with Liam Reeves (No. 4 at 80) edging Ethan Encarnacion, 3-2, in their 84-pound match.

After that back-and-forth, PA had gained a point on MD and was up by 12, 30-18. No. 2 Korbin Kiessling (88) and Luke Briggs (92) put up consecutive tech falls and Caleb Tsikerdanos (No. 9 at 95) defeated Bronsyn Baxter at 96 pounds to get within four of Pennsylvania, 33-29.

Three bouts remained but Nathan Kasak mad it hard on the final two Marylanders after throwing up a 10-0 tech versus Edward Encarnacion III at 100 pounds. At 37-29, two pins or a pin and a tech could win it. Two techs would tie it and if PA scored in either, they would gain an additional team point, so two pins was the best way things could play out.

And….it almost happened for Logan Brickley in his 105-pound showdown with Ryder Ascherl (No. 9 at 100). At the end of the first period, Brickley looked like he had stuck his rival, but it seems the ref may have forgotten about the whole touch fall thing in FS, and no pin was awarded.

A pin there makes it 37-34 going into the last match, but Ascherl is nationally ranked and, therefore, no slouch. In the end Brickley, who is unranked, beat Ascherl, 6-5, (he also beat him in GR). Unfortunately for Team Maryland that clinched PA Blue’s win as the tally was now at 38-32.

The max you can gain in a match is five. Gaining five and PA losing a team point for something crazy would leave it at a tie. Daniel Corbin made all that irrelevant rather quicky with his 10-0 tech in 45 seconds over Logan Noonan to close to the dual and arrive at the 42-32 final.

“I am incredibly proud of these kids,” said 14U Head Coach Jason Kiessling. “If I am being honest, I knew we had a tough hill to climb in Freestyle against PA. However, the kids kept it very interesting. They kept the match within striking distance, and it was a very exciting dual. I just want to put the country on notice and make the rest of the country realize how good Maryland is! We produce top notch talent that often gets poached from other states to take credit for. The wrestling community needs to respect the state of Maryland, and I think we were able to shine some light on that this weekend!”

THE EARLY ONES

In the Michigan Dual, Perez and Wildy, Jr. had a battle for quickest pin as they did a few times during their time in Wesley. Perez came in quicker in this one at 28 seconds. Wildy, Jr. took 33 seconds. Hartzell got in on the pinning party with a 1:48 mark.

Jayden Carter’s pin was huge in the dual as he was losing 10-1 when he tossed Bentley Hawkins to his back and stuck him in 1:37. Kiessling added a tech. Billy Tracey, Tsikerdanos, and Edward Encarnacion III registered decisions.

Maryland took the lead for good versus Iowa after Kiessling’s 12-2 tech versus Sam Smith (No. 9 at 80). Briggs and Tsikerdanos followed up with techs of their own and Maryland went up 36-28. Mac Heysinger kept Iowa alive with his tech of Edward Encarnacion, allowing Brickley the opportunity to seal the victory with his 4-0 decision of Ben Howenstein (105).

Wheeler (115 pounds) and Perez (120) went through high scoring decisions and Wildy, Jr. settled for a tech instead of his usual pin versus Kiptyn Youngblut at 126 pounds.

John Hirsch’s win at 132 pounds was the first in a stretch where Iowa won four of five bouts to end up in the lead with a 22-17 count. The one MD win in those five came right in the middle at 155 pounds when Carter decked Sawyer Hill. Following two more Iowa wins, Towsend (75) picked up a tech and Solito (80) added a decision to the cause.

HOW DID THE KIDS FARE?

Four of our local heroes, Kiessling, Tsikerdanos, Perez, and Wildy, Jr., went 7-0 and were, therefore, named to the All-Tournament Team. Briggs, Brickley, and Wynn were 6-1. Wheeler was the only one with a 5-2 tally.

The Encarnacion’s were both 4-3. Towsend, Clemons, Hartzell, and Carter finished with 3-4 records. Solito was 4-0 in limited action at 80 pounds. His partner in crime, Tracey, was 2-1. Noonan posted two wins and Hart came up with a big win and big performances that don’t show up on the card.

14U Freestyle Duals - Gold/Silver: Pennsylvania Blue vs. Maryland

Weight Summary

115

Brody Brown, PEBL over Leo Wheeler, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:38) )

120

Esaias Perez, MARY over Jagger Locke, PEBL (F 1:41 )

126

Justin Wildy, Jr., MARY over Hunter Kapitula, PEBL (F 0:41)

132

Blake Kirby, PEBL over Brody Clemons, MARY (F 1:10 )

140

Marco Hutcherson, PEBL over Logan Hartzell, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:56) )

155

Michael Brady, PEBL over Jayden Carter, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:35) )

175

Titan Powell, PEBL over Nate Hart, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:23) )

225

Luca Wynn, MARY over Benjamin Corvin, PEBL (Dec 9-5 )

75

Brock Taylor, PEBL over Carter Townsend, MARY (TF 12-2 (3:38) )

80

Declan Solito, MARY over Joey Myers, PEBL (Dec 9-2 )

84

Liam Reeves, PEBL over Ethan Encarnacion, MARY (Dec 3-2 )

88

Korbin Kiessling, MARY over Maddox Plambeck, PEBL (TF 12-2 (3:44) )

92

Luke Briggs, MARY over Marco Plasner, PEBL (TF 12-2 (2:43) )

96

Caleb Tsikerdanos, MARY over Bronsyn Baxter, PEBL (Dec 5-1 )

100

Nathan Kasak, PEBL over Edward Encarnacion III, MARY (TF 10-0 (1:42))

105

Logan Brickley, MARY over Ryder Ascherl, PEBL (Dec 6-5 )

110

Daniel Corbin, PEBL over Logan Noonan, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:45) )

Final Score 42-32

14U Freestyle Duals - Gold/Silver: Maryland vs. Iowa

Weight Summary

110

Davis Westendorf, IOWA over Logan Noonan, MARY (F 1:58 )

115

Leo Wheeler, MARY over Alejandro Lee, IOWA (Dec 15-8 )

120

Esaias Perez, MARY over Brooks Dolmage, IOWA (Dec 15-6 )

126

Justin Wildy, Jr., MARY over Kiptyn Youngblut, IOWA (TF 14-3 (3:30) )

132

John Hirsch, IOWA over Brody Clemons, MARY (Dec 11-3 )

140

Eli Shedek, IOWA over Logan Hartzell, MARY (TF 10-0 (1:49) )

155

Jayden Carter, MARY over Sawyer Hill, IOWA (F 1:43 )

175

Hunter Bickford, IOWA over Nate Hart, MARY (Dec 12-6 )

225

Cace Campbell, IOWA over Luca Wynn, MARY (TF 11-0 (1:21) )

75

Carter Townsend, MARY over Beckett Rust, IOWA (TF 12-2 (2:17) )

80

Declan Solito, MARY over Isaac Benedict, IOWA (Dec 11-4 )

84

Beckett Moyer, IOWA over Ethan Encarnacion, MARY (Dec 5-0 )

88

Korbin Kiessling, MARY over Sam Smith, IOWA (TF 10-0 (2:32) )

92

Luke Briggs, MARY over Jamison Theilen, IOWA (TF 10-0 (2:55) )

96

Caleb Tsikerdanos, MARY over Logan Oakes, IOWA (TF 13-2 (2:58) )

100

Mac Heysinger, IOWA over Edward Encarnacion III, MARY (TF 11-0 (2:20))

105

Logan Brickley, MARY over Ben Howenstein, IOWA (Dec 4-0 )

Final Score 39-32

14U Freestyle Duals - Gold/Silver: Maryland vs. Michigan Blue

Weight Summary

105

Brookson Marksbury, MIBL over Logan Brickley, MARY (Dec 10-3 )

110

Anze Williams, MIBL over Logan Noonan, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:56) )

115

Preston Burley, MIBL over Leo Wheeler, MARY (Dec 8-4 )

120

Esaias Perez, MARY over Dominic Gorder, MIBL (F 0:28 )

126

Justin Wildy, Jr., MARY over Blake Adkins, MIBL (F 0:33 )

132

Oliver Lamiman, MIBL over Brody Clemons, MARY (Dec 5-3 )

140

Logan Hartzell, MARY over Cash Perez, MIBL (F 1:48 )

155

Jayden Carter, MARY over Bentley Hawkins, MIBL (F 1:37 )

175

Teague Hancock, MIBL over Nate Hart, MARY (TF 10-0 (0:34) )

225

Luca Wynn, MARY over Forfeit, MIBL (FF)

75

Xavier Ruffin, MIBL over Carter Townsend, MARY (Dec 3-0 )

80

Billy Tracey, MARY over Dominic Bowen, MIBL (Dec 7-4 )

84

Brooks Horwath, MIBL over Ethan Encarnacion, MARY (Dec 5-0 )

88

Korbin Kiessling, MARY over Kayden Rands, MIBL (TF 10-0 (0:51) )

92

Dominik Keomany, MIBL over Luke Briggs, MARY (Dec 2-1 )

96

Caleb Tsikerdanos, MARY over Macklen Marksbury, MIBL (Dec 8-2 )

100

Edward Encarnacion III, MARY over Ryder Hart, MIBL (Dec 6-0 )

Final Score 42-28