C. Milton Wright received two falls each from juniors Mitchell Nguyen (126/132) and Devin Sweeney (157) as well as seniors Hayden Goscinski (175/190) and Joel Tufts (215) on the road to winning the Class 2A North Regional Duals crown at 25th-ranked Sparrows Point on Thursday night to improve their record to 18-5.
Fifth-ranked junior Kane Desch (113/120) had a fall and a 15-0 major decision as the Mustangs hammered the host Pointers, 41-33, in the title match following a 45-27 semifinal victory over Owings Mills.
The Mustangs advanced into Saturday’s 2A state dual meet semifinal against 27th-ranked Damascus of Montgomery County in a classification which boasts fifth-ranked defending champion Stephen Decatur.
The 13th-ranked Nguyen had falls in 46 and 88 seconds, Tufts had pins in 58 and 72 seconds, Goscinski decked his rivals in 65 seconds and 1:47, and Sweeney finished his opponents in 69 seconds and 4:35.
In defeating the Pointers, the Mustangs vanquished a program which, last year, earned its fifth Baltimore County tournament title in six years and its third straight.
Last year's Pointers won a regional duals crown and were Class 2A state runners-up to Stephen Decatur, this, after having earlier beaten Stephen Decatur and eventual Class 3A state dual meet champion South River.
Desch is a two-time Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference champion and two-time regional runner-up who was fourth in states last year. Desch has a record of 33-3 with 18 pins and three technical falls.
Goscinski was an UCBAC runner-up with a record of 30-3 with 18 pins and a technical fall, and Nguyen is an UCBAC champ who was fifth at regions and has a record of 27-4 with 16 pins.
Tufts is an UCBAC champ, regional runner-up and sixth place state finisher who is 27-6 with 22 pins and a technical fall. Sweeney is 31-6 with 19 pins and three technical falls, having placed third at UCBACS and regions and fifth at states.
Also contributing for the Mustangs are sophomore Jaxon Simms (165/175) and senior Joshua Osuagwu (285), the latter of whom is a first-year wrestler who is committed to play football at Stonehill College.
Simms is an UCBAC champion and fourth-place regional finisher with a record of 29-9 with 20 pins, and Osuagwu is 21-9 with 14 pins.
Seventh-year coach John Thornton is a 1999 graduate of C. Milton Wright, where the 6-foot-2 former state champion went 37-0 as a senior.
Thornton had a career record as a wrestler of 114-21 at C. Milton Wright, twice earning county and regional titles. Thornton’s Maryland crown was actually his second state title coupled with the one he earned as a freshman in Virginia. Under Thornton, the Mustangs were UCBAC and region champs in 2020, and regional finalists in four straight seasons in 2018, 19, 20 and 22.
This year's Mustangs may be Thornton's best since that which would have competed during 2020-2021 were it not denied that season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That Mustangs squad would have returned among 13 starters three-time state champ James Riveira (126) and state title-winning teammate Staki Gourgoulianis (120) for their senior seasons. Riveira was 37-0, and Gourgoulianis, 37-1.
Others who would have experienced their junior seasons were regional runner-up Demetrius Gourgoulianis (106) and third-place regional finisher Carter Goscinski (138), with regional runner-up Juan Ortega (132) and fifth-place finisher Logan Dvorak (182) being denied his senior seasons.
Thornton also believes he would have coached seventh-ranked Josh Strong, now a 150-pound senior returning private schools state runner-up at St. Mary's Ryken.
"Basically, we were returning 13 of 14 starters including two state champs, five state qualifiers and incoming experienced freshmen Josh Strong and Hayden Goscinski, who is now our team captain," Thornton said. "That team had at least five or six guys on it who would have been state placers. But this year's team may be more balanced. I think we have at least that many guys who could place at states this year, and they are better spread throughout our lineup."
SEMIFINALS
C.M. Wright, 45, Owings Mills 27
106 – Downey (CM) p Tiskona, 3:35
113 – Desch (CM) p Beck, 5:00
120 – Baltisar (OM) d Lane, 10-7
126 – Nguyen (CM) p Goode, 1:28
132 – Doofere (OM) p Cox, 1:26
138 – Roche (CM) d Morgan, 7-5
144 – Peters (CM) p Morgan, 5:06
150 – Simpson (OM) d Lobianco, 4-3
157 – Sweeney (CM) p Roberts, 4:35
165 – Creig (OM) p Simms, :33
175 – Goscinski (CM) p Korie, 1:47
190 – Aluemh (OM) d Herseck, 9-6
215 – Tufts (CM) p Savore, 1:12
285 – Bryan (OM) p Oshuwaga. 4:55.
FINALS
C.M. Wright 41, Sparrows Point 33
106 – Wunder (SP) p Downey, 1:48
113 – Rossi p Sherly, :23
120 – Desch (CM) maj d Whisner, 15-0
126 – Dorsey (SP) d Layne, 9-0
132 – Nguyen (CM) p Shoo, :46
138 – Weber (SP) d Roche, 8-0
144 – Gaylin (SP) d Peterz, 16-7
150 – Fary (SP) d LoBianco, 10-3
157 – Sweeney (CM) p Wofford, 1:09
165 -- Cooper (SP) p Lorence, 1:16
175 – Simms (CM) p Barys, 1:52
190 – Goscinski (CM) p Olussawen, 1:05
215 – Tufts (CM) p Anuszewski, :58
285 – Oshuwaga (CM) p. Denison, :22
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