Northeast sophomore Beau Schmidt has three career losses, all of them coming by narrow decision against state champions.
Schmidt lost last year's 132-pound Class 2A-1A state championship bout, 5-2, in March to Stephen Decatur senior Logan Intrieri.
This season, Schmidt has lost, 3-2, to Centennial's two-time Class 4A-3A state champion junior Calvin Kraisser, as well as, 4-2, to defending Class 2A-1A state champion sophomore JoJo Gigliotti of South Carroll.
Gigliotti is ranked No. 1 by Legacy Wrestling at 132 pounds, Kraisser, No. 3 at 144 pounds, and Schmidt, No. 2 at 138 pounds behind top-ranked senior Carter Nogle, a two-time Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Maryland Independent Schools champion.
Schmidt is 32-2 with 20 pins and six technical falls after having earned his second straight Anne Arundel County title last weekend at Broadneck.
"It feels good being a two-time county champion because I worked really hard over the past two weeks for it," said Schmidt, who is also a returning regional champion. "Now my record right now is 32-2 with my only losses being to two-time state champion Calvin Kraisser and state champ Jo Jo Gigliotti."
Schmidt is coached by Chris Dyke, a 2003 Northeast graduate who won two each of county and regional crowns and placed third and fourth at states.
"Beau's journey is a testament to his character and drive. With a career record of 61-3, his losses are by decision against state champions like Logan Intrieri, Calvin Kraisser and Jo Jo Gigliotti," said Dyke, the Eagles' coach since 2012. "This showcases his willingness to face the best. Beau is not just a great wrestler, but he's also coachable and hardworking. Beau understands that to become the best, you have to challenge yourself against the best."
Schmidt reached last weekend's county finals following a technical fall and a pin in 4:39, according to the official brackets.
"First match at counties I teched my guy, 17-2, in the first period," said Schmidt, who turns 16 on February 28. "The second match I tech-falled my opponent, 16-1 even though the brackets say I pinned him. I saw that the referee clearly waved it off as a tech-fall, and I feel like a tech-fall looks better than a pin."
Schmidt won his title bout, 5-3, over Arundel junior Luca Brown, who transferred from private school state power Mount St. Joseph.
"In the finals, I was up, 5-0, on Luca Brown and rode him out for four minutes when I should have just kept cutting him. Then he got a nice takedown," Schmidt said. "I got called for stalling and gave up another point. I wasn't stressed because the match didn't feel as close as the score may indicate."
Dyke's former assistant last year was Maurice Flemming, a 2008 Northeast graduate who won two each in county, region and state crowns at his alma mater.
Flemming transferred from Gilman, where he earned Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and private school state titles, placed as high as fifth at National Preps, and finished third in the National High School Coaches Association Tournament.
Like Dyke, Flemming is complementary regarding Schmidt's skills.
“Beau wants to be great and that’s what makes coaching him so easy," Flemming said. "Beau is a wrestler every coach would love to have on their team.”
Schmidt could meet yet another state champion at next weekend's Class 3A-4A East Regionals at Old Mill in Northern-Calvert junior Drew Montgomery. Montgomery won last year's Class 4A-3A title after being a runner-up as a freshman.
"My focus now is to be a two-time regional champion and then a state champion," Schmidt said. "I will be working just as hard if not harder than I already have over these next two weeks to win both of those tournaments."
Schmidt faced Kraisser in a 144-pound semifinal of December's Adam Janet tournament at Gilman, whose two-time Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association champion, Tyson Sherlock, edged Kraisser, 3-2, in the title bout.
"Coach and I knew Kraisser and Sherlock were at 144, and I was weighing about 140 pounds," Schmidt said. "But I wanted to be in the best bracket to make me better, so I stayed at 144 for that tournament."
Schmidt said he lost to Kraisser on a last-second takedown after having had a lead in the match.
"Calvin and I were scoreless at 0-0 in the first period, then I chose the bottom and got a reversal for a 2-0 lead and almost caught him on his back," Schmidt said. "I think I could have gotten two swipes, but I didn't. Then he escaped and I still led, 2-1, in the third before he took me down with 18 seconds left to win it."
Schmidt lost a dual meet 138-pound match to Gigliotti which was tied at one point.
"It was 0-0 after the first period before Jo Jo got a reversal for a 2-0 lead. I got an escape so it was 2-1, Jo Jo entering the third. I picked the bottom position and got an escape to make it 2-2," Schmidt said. "But Jo Jo shot in and we had a scramble. I made a mistake that he picked up on and he scored a takedown to win it, 4-2."
An undefeated former junior league state champion as an eighth-grader, Schmidt is aware of the Eagles’ storied wrestling history, including that of the late Kusick twins, Marty and Mike.
The twin siblings were three-time state champions before graduating in 1995, with Mike being a four-time state finalist, and Marty placing third as a freshman. Flemming and Mike Kusick are tied for the lead among Northeast's wrestlers with 132 career victories, which is a milestone Schmidt hopes to eclipse.
"I came to Northeast High School to make a statement for myself and in my own name," Schmidt said. "I'm on track to break my high school's record for career wins, which my coach told me is held by Maurice Flemming and Mike Kusick."
Marty split bouts with DeMatha’s top-ranked, two-time National Prep champ, Todd Beckerman, handing the latter his only career loss in high school, 8-7, before losing their rematch, 5-3.
Marty routed Oklahoma’s Bubba McCullough, 11-2, to become a National High School champion. At the Nationals, Marty outscored his four opponents by a combined 47-5.
Schmidt improved to 23-0 at 132 pounds by winning last year's county tournament. Schmidt led his county title bout, 13-1, before planting Cole Figueroa of Arundel in 4:58, having reached the finals following a pin and a 12-2 semifinal major decision over eventual third-place finisher Luke Ruel.
Schmidt improved to 26-0 a week later by winning the Class 2A-1A West crown, scoring a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to secure a championship, 3-2 over then-sophomore Caleb Brenneman of Northern-Garrett County.
The score was tied at 1 when Schmidt scored the takedown off a “headlock to a throw-by” for a 3-1 lead. Schmidt then released Brenneman five seconds later for a one-point escape and held him off for the win.
As that region’s fourth seed, Schmidt earned a first-round, 6-0 decision over Camden Yowell of Manchester Valley before winning his semifinal, 5-2, over then-sixth-place state finishing junior Stephen Stottlemeyer of Middletown of Frederick County.
“I always tell Beau that it doesn’t matter what you’re seeded," Dyke said. "In the end, you have to wrestle everybody anyway."
At states, Schmidt won his first bout by 20-5 technical fall, and his second by 6-3 decision. Schmidt earned his semifinal victory, 3-2, over the eventual sixth-place finishing senior Cruz Cespedes of North Harford.
A two-time Upper Chesapeake Athletic Conference champion, Cespedes had pinned defending champion senior Dom Ambrosino of Sparrows Point in 5:22.
Schmidt lost his state championship bout to Intrieri, whose season-ending record of 47-1 included an 11-5 victory over Ambrosino.
"I let my nerves get the best of me in the state finals," said Schmidt, who finished the year with a record of 29-1. "I just froze up and didn't wrestle as well as I could have."
Schmidt's weight class at states was deep, nevertheless. Calvert junior Brian Davis beat Brenneman, 8-6, for third place, and Ambrosino gained revenge by defeating Cespedes, 8-0, for fifth. A year earlier, Davis had placed fifth as a sophomore, beating Stottlemeyer, 4-3, to do so.
As further testament to the depth of that weight class, then-sophomore Dylan Ohler of Liberty, was eliminated after having placed fourth as a freshman.
Among Schmidt’s victories last year was a 3-2 decision over fourth-place Class 2A-1A state finisher Atley Turner of Marriotts Ridge, an 8-7 loser to Cowell in the previous weekend's Howard County tournament finals.
Schmidt also owned a 2-0 decision over Reservoir’s Sebastian Meza, a third-place Howard County tournament finisher who was pinned in 49 seconds by Cowell.
Another quality win for Schmidt was his 3-2 victory over then-Calvert Hall sophomore Griffin Stewart, a third place finisher at last year's private schools state tournament.
“I try to work at the highest capacity at 110 percent so that everyone can look at and see me," Schmidt said. "Hopefully they’ll be influenced to do the same thing. I’m just trying to influence everybody to do well and to make the team better."
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