Not only did Einstein's second-ranked seniors Stone Yuen (132) and Isaac Ogulnade (215) win their second straight Class 4A-3A state titles on Saturday, but they were joined on the victory podium by 11th-ranked senior Josh Ogunlade (190) at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.
Their accomplishments make the Ogunlande's the Titans' first-ever sibling state title winners, marks the first time their program has produced three champions in one season, and comes a year after Yuen and Isaac Ogunlade earned a milestone first pair of state titles during the same season at Einstein.
"I'm grateful to be able to be a member of this wrestling community in Montgomery County and Maryland at large," said eighth-year Titans coach Oscar Salazar, a 2009 graduate of Einstein. "It's amazing to be able to work with such hard-working, coachable kids who are the foundation of this tremendous moment in history and the legacy of Einstein wrestling."
Yuen and Ogunlade became the second and third Titan wrestlers to repeat as state champions, joining current Churchill coach Tim Lowe, who became the program's first state title winning wrestler with back-to-back crowns in 1999 and 2000, the former at 130 pounds in the Class 2A-1A, and the latter at 135 pounds in the Class 4A-3A.
The Ogunlades were born nine months apart, with the 6-foot Isaac being older than the 5-foot-7 Josh.
The siblings were encouraged to wrestle as freshmen by their older brother, Clifford Carter, a 26-year-old former football player who graduated from Blair High and Towson University but who never wrestled.
"Throughout my coaching career, I've looked up to a lot of different coaches within our state and specifically within our county, and I saw what they were able to do with kids who never wrestled before and were stepping onto the mats for the first time as freshmen," Salazar said. "That was the inspiration and the motivation that anything is possible. With the correct coaching it's possible to create champions, and now that I'm further along in my coaching career, it was a goal of mine to create champions, and the last couple of years that's been a dream come true. I owe that all to my wrestlers, because without them, I'm nothing."
Bearing witness to the trio's accomplishments was tournament referee Mike Endler, the coach who twice provided state championship guidance for Lowe while at the helm at Einstein.
“To be able to be matside and bear witness to this is really amazing," Endler said. "Stone and Isaac have joined Tim Lowe as being the only two-time state champions, and that's an awesome club."
Endler also introduced Salazar to wrestling at Sligo Middle School.
“At Sligo, during physical education, if you wanted to learn how to do wrestling, Coach Mike Endler would show you. That’s when I first got onto the mat and learned a little bit about wrestling,” Salazar said. “From there, as a ninth-grader, I had so much fun doing it, I was at Richard Montgomery and said I might as well try out for the team. So, who knows, maybe if it wasn’t for Coach Endler, none of this would be happening the way that it has.”
Yuen was the first of the trio to compete in his title bout, this after defeating his first three opponents by 78-second pin, 22-5 technical fall and 15-11 semifinal decision over 14th-ranked senior Ethan Makle of Bethesda-Chevy Chase, a Class 4A-3A South Region champion who finished third in the Montgomery Tournament and third at states.
“I didn’t feel as if I wrestled that great throughout the tournament. For example, I was sloppy in that semifinal match,” said Yuen, who is headed for Bloomsburg University. “There were a lot of things that played into that, but I won, and there are no excuses. But it’s not how you start, but how you finish.”
Next up for Yuen was a title match with fourth-ranked sophomore Mike Groszkowski of Annapolis, who entered with a record of 40-1 as an Anne Arundel County and Class 4A-3A East Region champion.
But Yuen was on his game, building a 10-0 lead before yielding a late reversal during a 10-2 major decision victory.
“I knew I had to show up for six hard minutes,” said Yuen, whose record on the year is 40-0. “I absolutely cooked [Groszkowski] in that championship match, winning by a 10-2 major. This feels great.”
Yuen added his second consecutive state championship to his third straight crowns in the county and regional tournaments, this, after being a state runner-up as a sophomore.
Yuen had a record of 14-2 as a freshman when a thumb dislocation prematurely ended his season in advance of the county tournament.
Josh was next, rolling over his first couple of opponents by technical falls of 17-2 and 15-0 before scoring an 11-3 major decision in his semifinal bout with 14th-ranked junior Chris Millard of South River, a Class 4A-3A East Regional champion and third place finisher in Anne Arundel County.
Josh Ogunlade's title match was against Urbana’s fifth-ranked senior Vince Corso, a four-time Frederick County champion entering with a record of 45-1 who had placed first and fourth at regions and fourth last year at states.
An overtime takedown against Corso secured an 8-5 decision victory for Josh Ogunlade, whose record improved to 38-4.
“I hit him with a high crotch, shucked the leg and pushed him over,” said Josh Ogunlade. “I knew he was tired, so I had to keep on going and pushing him. It feels fantastic, and something I’m amazed with now that it’s happened. I believe in God and I’m faithful and I got it done.”
Josh had already earned his first county, regional and state titles, improving on his second and fourth place finishes at counties and after having placed fourth and sixth at regions.
Isaac Ogunlade then added his second straight state title to those he won in the county and regional, this after being inspired by his brother’s performance.
“Josh’s performance gave me energy,” Isaac Ogunlade said. “It was truly exhilarating to watch Josh win.”
Isaac Ogunlande's championship match was a clash of defending Class 4A-3A state champions with top-ranked Bowie senior Jamil Morrow, who entered with a record of 36-1.
A winner of three Prince George’s County titles after having placed third once, Morrow went 37-0 last season and was on pace to become the third Bulldog wrestler to win a pair of state titles.
Isaac Ogunlade won his first match by fall in 1:54, and his second by 13-2 major decision over Arundel’s 17th-ranked junior Pearce Read, an earlier 19-4 loser by technical fall to Morrow who was also a runner-up in the Anne Arundel and regional tournaments.
Ogunlade won his semifinal 19-3 technical fall over 11th-ranked senior Gasper Romero of Great Mills, a champion in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference who was third at regions and finished fourth at states.
“I knew [Morrow] was pretty good,” Isaac Ogunlade said. “I’ve been tech-falling everyone through counties and regions until now.”
With their bout tied at 1-all in the second period, Ogunlade scored a takedown for a lead of 4-1 in an eventual 4-2 decision victory.
“He took a shot, and I was able to push his head down and get behind him,” said Ogunlade, who earned his 100th career win. “I had been watching [Morrow,] and I felt as if his [takedown] shots weren’t that effective because they weren’t being set up by hand-fighting.”
Isaac Ogunlade went 34-1 last season, winning his state title with an overtime, 3-1 decision over previously unbeaten senior Dominic Queen of North Point. A third-place finisher at 182 pounds as a junior, Queen slipped to 42-1.
“I went up in weight from 190 where I won it last year to beat a guy who was the defending champion at a higher weight,” said Isaac Ogunlade, who went 26-13 as a sophomore, placing fifth at counties, second at regionals and sixth at states. “This proves that I’m a legitimate state champion, and that when I won it last year that it wasn’t a fluke. Stone is a great teammate, and we have a great coach who guides us.”
Einstein's two-time state champions
Tim Lowe
Stone Yuen
Isaac Ogunlade
Einstein's eight individual state champions
Tim Lowe 1999
Tim Lowe 2000
Matt Butler 2002
Stone Yuen 2024
Isaac Ogunlade 2024
Stone Yuen 2025
Isaac Ogunlade 2025
Josh Ogunlade 2025
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