Bullis crowns three champs at Fall Brawl; Huntingtown and Loyola claim two titles
There were not a lot of Maryland’s top guns in the field of the Maryland State Wrestling Association’s Fall Brawl at the McDonogh School on Sunday. But there was lots of depth as most of the brackets were littered with state ranked talent.
There were no team affiliations at this event as it was an Open Preseason Tournament, but we will associate the wrestlers with the school they attend. The Bullis grapplers led the way with three of them claiming top honors, including nationally ranked defending private school state champion, Salah Tsarni (No. 11 at 165lbs by Sports Illustrated).
Tsarni won his gold up at 175lbs where he defeated Pennsylvania’s Chase Amspacher (Spring Grove), 7-2, in the finals. Two tech falls and a major decision landed Tsarni in the final bout. Tsarni’s major came in the semis, 14-3, over Winters Mills’ three-time state placer, Chris Gaeng. Gaeng came back to take third.
Tsarni’s sophomore teammate, Noah Tucker, locked down the 165lb title with a 4-1 win over Huntingtown’s Blake Ashley, who is a three-time state placer (all 4th). Interestingly, Tucker placed fourth in the private school states last year.
Bullis’ third champ was three-time state placer and runner-up last year, RJ Bucknor, who downed Arundel’s Luca Brown, 6-3, at 144lbs. Brown was fourth in the 4A/3A states.
Loyola’s two champions were both in the lower weights in two-time state and National Prep placer Jayden Jackson (120) and two-time state placer (4th both times), Josh Hale (138). Jackson, who was second in the state last year, used five tech falls to secure his crown including one in the finals, 18-3, over Pennsylvania’s incoming freshman, Carter Kinard.
Hale defeated two multi-time public school state placers for his glory. In the finals, two-timer Seth Crawford (Brunswick) was blanked with an 8-0 major decision. A closer encounter was endured in the semis with three-time placer and one-time silver medalist, Andrew Dolezel (Reservoir) before pulling out a 4-2 win. Dolezel placed fourth after forfeiting to former state placer Cooper Cammarata (Tuscarora) in the consolation finals.
Southern Maryland saw four wrestlers, including two from Huntingtown (Owen Hayden and Landen Vercoe), reach the top rung of the podium. Hayden, who was fifth in the state as a freshman last year, captured the 106lb gold with a 10-2 major decision of McDonogh’s highly decorated incoming freshman, Josh Naylor. Hayden used two tech falls and a pin to reach the finals.
Vercoe was third at states last year and surprised defending state champion Stone Yuen (Albert Einstein) in the 132lb finals, pulling off a 9-6 upset win. Yuen was second in the state two years ago. Vercoe is a sophomore like Hayden and posted two pins and a tech en route to the finals.
Ethan Valdisera was a freshman state champion for St. Mary’s Ryken last year (beating Loyola’s Jackson) but has taken his skills to Calvert for his sophomore year. Valdisera claimed the 113lb bracket with a 17-1 tech fall of Virginia freshman Bryson Galofaro. Galofaro pinned Eleanor Roosevelt’s 4A/3A state runner-up Austin Hayes in the quarters, 2:41. Hayes bounced back to place third.
Leonardtown’s AJ Kuntz was third in the state a year ago and secured the 157lb championship here over Delaware state champion, Dustin Elliott (Sussex Central), 4-2. Elliott is a three-time state placer.
Two Frederick County grapplers locked down titles, Walkersville’s Rhys Ferguson (150) and Urbana’s Vince Corso (190). Ferguson placed fifth in the state last year after seeing his freshman campaign end early due to injury. Ferguson downed McDonogh’s seventh place state finisher, Dominic Manna, 5-1.
Corso placed fourth in the state last year and is now a two-time placer. He too, defeated a McDonogh foe to win his finals bout, 7-4, over Giuseppe “JJ” DiMonte. DiMonte was sixth in the state as a freshman and was off to a better start last year before succumbing to an injury.
Bowie’s state champion Jamil Morrow (215) posted an 11-3 major decision victory over North Harford’s Holden Young. Morrow was third in the state as a sophomore.
The final champion from Maryland is a recent transfer to the St. James School in Hagerstown, Michael Holmes. Holmes was a two-time state placer at West Nottingham Academy (7th both times). The junior defeated Parkside’s Colby Jones. 12-7, to take home the wall chart at 126lbs.
The heavyweight champ hails from Virginia, Sam Casolini (Bishop O’Connell). Casolini was in a three-way Round Robin affair that also involved Curley’s state placer Khalil Regan, who he beat on an injury default. Both wrestlers registered tech falls of Xavier Higginbottom (MD).
HS Boys - 106
1st Place Match
Owen Hayden (Rampage Wrestling Club) won by major decision over Jacob Naylor (Eagle Wrestling Club) (Maj 10-2)
3rd Place Match
Damian DuChez (Capital Wrestling Club) won by decision over Kayden Reid (Manchester) (Dec 6-0)
HS Boys - 113
1st Place Match
Ethan Valdisera (Southern Maryland Wolfpack) won by tech fall over Bryson Galofaro (Scanlan wrestling academy) (TF 17-1)
3rd Place Match
Austin Hayes (Team Takedown) won by decision over Becket Geary (St. Mary`s Wrestling Club) (Dec 6-3)
HS Boys - 120
1st Place Match
Jayden Jackson (Loyola) won by tech fall over Carter Kinard (American Dream Wrestling Club) (TF 18-3)
3rd Place Match
Bently Schmidt (PAC Panthers) won by decision over Brendan Tobin (Loyola) (Dec 4-3)
HS Boys - 126
1st Place Match
Michael Holmes (Saint James School) won by decision over Colby Jones (McDonald Wrestling Academy) (Dec 12-7)
3rd Place Match
Ryker Keeney (FCMC) won by decision over Aiden Arnold (Honey Badgers) (Dec 7-1)
HS Boys - 132
1st Place Match
Landen Vercoe (Rampage Wrestling Club) won by decision over Stone Yuen (Headhunters) (Dec 9-6)
3rd Place Match
Mason Comegys (Eagle Wrestling Club) won by fall over Braxton Bohinc (Unattached) (Fall 2:19)
HS Boys - 138
1st Place Match
Joshua Hale (Unattached) won by major decision over Seth Crawford (Warhawks) (Maj 8-0)
3rd Place Match
Cooper Cammarata (Adamstown) won by forfeit over Andrew Dolezel (Headhunters) (FF)
HS Boys - 144
1st Place Match
Rj Bucknor (Capital Wrestling Club) won by decision over Luca Brown (Headhunters) (Dec 6-3)
3rd Place Match
Leo Foreman (Team Takedown) won by major decision over Dillon Estabrook (Unattached) (Maj 13-3)
HS Boys - 150
1st Place Match
Rhys Ferguson (Unattached) won by decision over Dominic Manna (Headhunters) (Dec 5-1)
3rd Place Match
Alex Hynes (Headhunters) won by major decision over Jonathan Sexton (Warhawks) (Maj 13-3)
HS Boys - 157
1st Place Match
Aj Kuntz (Leonardtown) won by decision over Dustin Elliott (McDonald Wrestling Academy) (Dec 4-2)
3rd Place Match
Seth Karpulk (Steller Trained Wrestling) won by decision over Matteo Brown (Headhunters) (Dec 3-1)
HS Boys - 165
1st Place Match
Noah Tucker (Germantown Wrestling) won by decision over Blake Ashley (Rampage Wrestling Club) (Dec 4-1)
3rd Place Match
Logan Brown (Germantown Wrestling) won by decision over Jack Birth (FCMC) (Dec 4-0)
HS Boys - 175
1st Place Match
Salah Tsarni (Capital Wrestling Club) won by decision over Chase Amspacher (Mayfield Mat Academy) (Dec 7-2)
3rd Place Match
Christopher Gaeng (Headhunters) won by fall over Max Birth (FCMC) (Fall 1:31)
HS Boys - 190
1st Place Match
Vincent Corso (Urbana Hawks Youth Wrestling) won by decision over Giuseppe Di Monte (McDonogh) (Dec 7-4)
3rd Place Match
Jacob Endzel (Warhawks) won by fall over Xavier Nichols (Headhunters) (Fall 0:51)
HS Boys - 215
1st Place Match
Jamil Morrow (Unattached) won by major decision over Holden Young (Monkton) (Maj 11-3)
3rd Place Match
Evan Gavin (Southern Maryland Wolfpack) won by fall over Derek Owumi (Saint James School) (Fall 2:14)
HS Boys - 285
Round 1
Sam Casolini (Unattached) won by tech fall over Xavier Higginbottom (Beat the Streets Baltimore) (TF 18-3)
Round 2
Kahlil Regan (Archbishop Curley) won by tech fall over Xavier Higginbottom (Beat the Streets Baltimore) (TF 19-2)
Round 3
Sam Casolini (Unattached) won by injury default over Kahlil Regan (Archbishop Curley) (Inj. 0:00)
Comentários