Kilner makes Cavalier History

Fourth-ranked senior Liam Kilner of The Heights knew he was onto something big entering Saturday’s 165-pound final of Maryland Independent School’s States at third-ranked McDonogh.

Kilner just wasn’t quite aware of the magnitude of what he was on the verge of accomplishing because Cavaliers’ coach, Joe Breslin, hadn’t really told him.

But Kilner made history as the Cavaliers’ first-ever state champion, doing so with an 8-5

title-match victory over McDonogh’s third-ranked junior Dominic Manna

“As far as being the first state champion for The Heights, I wasn’t aware for sure if that was gonna be the case,” said Kilner, a four-time runner-up in the WCAC conference who had placed fifth, sixth and eighth at states in three previous seasons. “I wasn’t sure until I heard my coach tell [a Legacy Wrestling reporter] after the match. I appreciate my coach not emphasizing that, because there might have been more pressure on me. Every bit of nervousness I can get away from, the better.”

A week removed from winning the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament, Manna was the tournament’s No. 1 seed ahead of the second-seeded Kilner.

Kilner scored the first takedown for an early lead on Manna, whom he held off for the milestone triumph.

“This was my first time facing [Manna,] so a major emphasis for this tournament was to focus on scoring my points,” Kilner said. “I wasn’t too concerned about what he was going to hit or what his attack was going to be, and that mentality worked out to my advantage.”

Kilner reached the finals following pins in 61 seconds and 2:41 in addition to winning his semifinal bout by 4-2 decision over Bullis’ fifth-ranked sophomore Soshiant Ahanj-Elias, who wrestled back to finish third at states for the second straight year.

Kilner has a long history with Ahanj-Eliias, against whom this year he has earned a pin and a 13-2 major decision while also losing, 13-12, on another occasion.

“Soshiant Ahanj-Elias, who I wrestled in the semifinal match, is a close friend of mine, and he’s also someone I’ve trained with a fair amount at Bullis,” Kilner said. “There is a fair amount of history between us. That was our fourth time facing each other over this past season. I improved to 3-1 against him, so that was a huge win for me.”

Breslin was concerned about the Kilner/Ahanj-Elias matchup based on their familiarity with one another.

"Liam Kilner and Soshiant Ahanj-Elias are friends, workout partners, and wrestling rivals. They had been battling it out all season at 165, with Liam in the lead 2-1 in their matchups. Naturally, this was reflected in the seeding in National Preps at the time of the MIS seeding meeting, and Liam and Soshiant were seeded No. 1 and No. 2 respectively at the seeding meeting for Maryland Independent States, with Dominic Manna below them. However, McDonogh protested the seed after the fact on the basis of Manna's 4-0 victory from last season over Soshiant at 157,” Breslin said.

“Somehow, this protest, when brought to a vote, resulted in an eleventh-hour seeding change. Now Manna was seeded above both Kilner and Ahanj-Elias, despite Kilner's more convincing record at 165 against common opponents. This unfortunately resulted in Soshiant being forced to face Kilner in the semi-finals at states, while Manna had the easier side of the bracket. Kilner's semifinal match against Soshiant was epic and finals-worthy, coming down to a last second takedown. Meanwhile, the finals' match against Manna was considerably less challenging for Kilner than the epic struggle with Soshiant Ahanj-Elias. Soshiant deserved better.”

Kilner’s record on the year is 37-11 with 25 pins and five technical falls. Among Kilner’s victories are those by fall and 5-2 decision over Jackson Reed’s senior Alex Ouzts, and by technical fall over Gilman’s 13th-ranked junior Sawyer Peck.

Ouzts is top-ranked by Legacy Wrestling in the D.C.-area ratings and a defending champion in the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA). Peck was an MIAA runner-up to Manna.

Armed with a 3.7 grade point average, Kilner plans to wrestle in college, although uncertain where that will happen.

“It’s taken me about 13 years of wrestling to get to this point,” Kilner said. “I’ve just taken it one match at a time. I have no words to describe how I’m feeling, other than to say that it feels great.”