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Falcon Invitational: Arundel edges Walkersville and Curley

Writer's picture: Lem SatterfieldLem Satterfield

Arundel crowned ninth-ranked senior Luca Brown (144), 15th-ranked sophomore sibling Matteo Brown (150) and 19th-ranked junior Pierce Read (215) among seven wrestlers who placed within the top four of their weight classes to win last weekend’s Falcon Invitational at 34th-ranked Winters Mill.


Senior Seth Renton (126) placed second, with third-place finishes from 23rd-ranked sophomore Tyler Tablada (106) and 205-pound junior Monassah Ojaomo (285) along with a fourth-place effort from 19th-ranked senior Cole Figueroa (138) as the 32nd-ranked Wildcats (259 points) overcame 21st-ranked runner-up Walkersville (245) and the 16-team field.


Arundel is looking for a return to power under coach Rob Connolly and assistant Jeff Blachly, having wrestled as teammates for and become Class 4A-3A state champions under former Wildcats' coach Buddy Hepfer.


Connolly was an unbeaten 160-pound Class 4A-3A state champion at 35-0 as a senior in 1998, when the Wildcats earned the Class 4A-3A state tournament crown.


Blachly weighed just 195 as a runner-up at 275 pounds in '98, and only 212 in 1999 when earned the Class 4A-3A crown with an 8-4 decision over Magruder's Juan Reyna at 275 pounds.



An Anne Arundel County tournament runner-up who placed third and fourth at regions and Class 4A-3A states, Luca Brown won his crown by medical forfeit over Walkersville’s seventh-ranked junior Rhys Ferguson, who is 25-0 and has placed third and second in Frederick County, fourth at regions and fifth at states.


Luca Brown’s record stands at 26-1 with 17 pins after going 6-0 with four pins and a technical fall at Winters Mill and following the Wildcats’ 43-33 upset dual meet victory over 17th-ranked Anne Arundel league rival Crofton on Wednesday.


“I feel like we’re not only getting better and better,” said Luca Brown, who earned his 100th career victory by technical fall over Crofton’s Garin Chappell and has 106 wins for his career. “Our team has been consistently putting in the work in practice, and we brought it together this weekend. I feel like we’re back on track and ready to make a run for a dual meet title this year.”

Luca Brown’s lone setback of the season was by 6-4 against Richard Montgomery’s eighth-ranked junior Isisah Womack, who was named the Outstanding Middleweight Wrestler for defeating Brown in the finals of December’s Parkville Tournament.


Womack returned from St. Frances of Baltimore to a Rockets’ program where, as a freshman, he placed third in the Montgomery County tournament before winning a regional title and placing fifth at the Class 4A-3A state tournament at 113 pounds.


Isisah enjoyed success at St. Frances last season, finishing first at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament to become the Panthers’ first ever MIAA champion, and fourth in the Maryland Independent Schools State Tournament.


At Winters Mill, Matteo Brown improved to 24-2 after going 6-0 with two technical falls, a pin and a 5-0 championship victory over Winters Mill junior Landon Buchman, who was third in Carroll County and fourth at regions.


Matteo also owns an overtime victory over Montgomery Blair’s 15th-ranked senior Daniel Wu, and has placed third at counties and regions and fifth at states.


“I feel that I was starting the journey of getting better,” Matteo Brown said. “This is only the beginning of where I’m headed for the rest of the season.”

A third place finisher at counties and regions last year, Read is 20-5 after having gone 6-0 with three pins, a technical fall and a 4-1 title match win over Winters Mill’s Victor Tejada.


A member of the Wildcats’ once-beaten Class 3A state championship football team, Ojaomo owns a victory by fall over fourth-ranked senior Khalil Regan of Archbishop Curley, who was fourth at last year’s MIAA and private schools states.


Walkersville


Runner-up Walkersville crowned 19th-ranked senior Jack Birth (157), who ran his record on the year to 23-0 by going 6-0 with four pins and a technical fall.


Birth earned his 100th career victory with a fall in 2:53 of his semifinal bout with Jason Acevedo of Winters Mill, and his 101st career win on a pin in 3:51 of his title-bout with 15th-ranked junior Connor Flickinger, a regional champion who was fourth in the Montgomery County tournament.


“Getting 100 career wins feels great,” said Birth, who was named Outstanding Upper Weight Wrestler. “It’s a testament to the four years of hard work. I’m grateful for all of my coaches, but the job is not finished.”


Runners-up for the Lions were seventh-ranked junior Rhys Ferguson (144), Jake Beaumont (132) and 14th-ranked seniors Gino Dolan (190) and Wyatt Weinrich (285), with fourth-place efforts from 21st-ranked sophomore Max Birth (165) and sophomore Isaac Hassett (120).


Beaumont (23-2 record) went 5-1 with three technical falls and a semifinal fall in 1:42 over Montgomery Blair’s 13th-ranked senior Jaden Cheung, who placed third at last year’s Class 4A-3A states after becoming a Montgomery County and Class 4A-3A South Regional champion, and third and fourth at regions as a freshman and sophomore.


Jack Birth placed third at counties as a sophomore, and fourth at counties and fifth at regions as a junior. Max Birth placed third last year at counties and fifth at regions.


Beaumont has placed fourth at counties as a freshman, second at counties and third at regions as a sophomore, and third at counties and regions last season.


Archbishop Curley


Archbishop Curley’s Regan (285) was joined on the championship podium by 25th-ranked freshman Evan Kaliakoudas (113) and 17th-ranked junior Bailen Boutz (190), the latter of whom was a third-place finisher at last year’s MIAA tournament.


Regan went 6-0 with a pin and a technical fall to improve his record on the year to 31-3. Regan’s last two victories by decision – the first by 7-4 in a semifinal over Ojaomo to avenge an earlier loss by fall, and the last by 3-2, overtime decision to defeat Weinrich, returning county runner-up.


Kaliakoudas’ record on the year is 26-3 after going 6-0 with three pins and a 17-7 championship bout victory over Winters Mill’s Lazarus Munson.


Boutz has a record on the year of 29-5 after going 6-0 with three pins, including a 10-8 semifinal victory over Hereford’s 12th-ranked junior Adam Keever, who was third at counties and regions last year. Boutz won his title match, 16-2, over Dolan, a fourth-place finisher at counties.


Severna Park


Severna Park crowned two champions in freshman Brody Clark (120) and seventh-ranked junior Michael Queen (126), the latter having placed first and second in the Anne Arundel County Tournament, first and second regions, and third at states.


Clark went 6-0 with a pin, two technical falls, and narrow decisions of 4-3 over Poolesville’s Racer Anderson, 3-0 in overtime of his semifinal with Hereford’s Dan Casey, and, 7-1 for the crown against Rockville’s 22nd-ranked senior Finn Dunston.


Queen is 29-2 following a 6-0 run that included two each in pins and technical falls. Queen had a fall in 2:58 of his semifinal with Poolesville sophomore Ethan Dimmerling, who was third in the Montgomery County and regional tournaments. Queen won his title match by 15-0 technical fall over Renton.


Montgomery Blair


Montgomery Blair’s 138-pound champion, Wu, improved his record on the year to 23-3 by going 6-0 with two pins and a technical fall as well as an 11-8 championship win over ninth-ranked senior Nate Taylor of Francis Scott Key. Taylor placed third in Carroll County and was a runner-up at regions and states.


Wu reached the finals after earning a 10-5 quarterfinal victory over 21st-ranked senior Baltimore County champion Brayden Polly of Eastern Tech, and a 15-8 semifinal decision over 17th-ranked sophomore Oscar Davis of Archbishop Curley. Davis won third place by medical forfeit over Figueroa, a returning county champion and Class 4A-3A East Region runner-up.


Winters Mill


Winters Mill’s fifth-ranked senior Chris Gaeng (165) ran his record to 21-0, being a returning county champion and regional who placed third at Class 2A-1A states.


Gaeng went 6-0 with three falls comprising those in 43, 49 and 50 seconds. Gaeng won his semifinal, 13-7, over Max Birth, and his title bout, 18-11, over Poolesville’s 12th-ranked senior Shimma Wexler, who placed third in Montgomery County and fourth at regions.


Eastern Tech


Eastern Tech junior Chase Ullman (132) won his title bout by fall in 1:27 over Beaumont, having been a third-place Baltimore County tournament finisher who placed second at regions and sixth at states.


Ullman went 6-0 with two pins and four technical falls, improving his record on the year to 10-1. Among Ullman’s falls was one in 75 seconds over Winters Mill’s 21st-ranked junior Colton Wasmer, who placed second in Carroll County’s tournament.


Hereford and Patterson Mill


Also earning titles were Hereford sophomore Connor Cline (106) and Patterson Mill junior Jonathan Fletcher (175).


Cline went 6-0 with falls in 45, 75 and 82 seconds, the latter in his title match with Frederick junior Amir Bakari. Cline was fourth in the Baltimore County and regional tournaments.


Fletcher ran his record to 20-2, going 6-0 with four pins and a technical fall. Among Fletcher’s victories was a 2-1 decision over Sherwood senior Brendan Heyer, who was fourth in the Montgomery County and regional tournaments.


Falcon Invitational at Winters Mill


1 Arundel (259)

2 Walkersville (245)

3 Archbishop Curley (225)

4 Winters Mill (202)

5 Francis Scott Key (191.5)

6 Poolesville (163.5)

7 Hereford (141.5)

8 Montgomery Blair (138.5)

9 Frederick (136)

10 Severna Park (116.5)

11 Patterson Mill (115)

12 Eastern Tech (105)

13 Rockville (101.5)

14 Sherwood (74)

15 Howard (60)

16 Southern-AA (49.5)

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