Madison wins third straight

Bel Air's top-ranked junior Madison Birth has been on a tear over the past three weeks, having placed third against boys at 113 pounds in last month's Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference before winning her third straight title in the North Region and Girls State Tournaments at 115 pounds.

A transfer from Havre de Grace who is on pace to become the first female to become a four-time state champion, Birth ranks as the most accomplished wrestler in a deep and rich family legacy that includes her male cousins as well as her father, Scott, and her uncles, Chris and Matt, a trio of Birth siblings who competed for Bel Air High.

Birth went 4-1 with a pin and a major decision at the UCBACs, among her victories there being a 4-3 decision over Harford Tech senior Brayden Pruski as well as a 6-5 decision over Patterson Mill freshman Gavin Jones in their third-place bout.

Birth's semifinal, 9-7, loss at UCBACs was to Havre de Grace freshman Isaiah Chase Washington, an UCBAC runner-up and Class 2A-1A South Region champion who placed sixth at states. Pruski was a Class 2A-1A South Region runner-up, and Jones, a fourth-place finisher in the Class 2A-1A South Region.

Birth has gone 5-0 with four pins and a technical fall during her run for regional and state crowns, starting with a 47-second fall in her regional final against Eastern Tech freshman Josephine Gamero and culminating with her 19-3 state title match technical fall over third-ranked Perryville junior Saphira Hamill.

In succession during her run to her third consecutive state tournament crown, Birth earned pins in 1:56 over Tuscarora's eighth-ranked sophomore Ava Cruz, 2:33 against Arundel's 10th-ranked sophomore Olivia Cambio and 86 seconds with Richard Montgomery's fifth-ranked sophomore Laila Womack before defeating Hamill.

"If you go out there and your mindset is just to wrestle someone, and it doesn't matter who they are," Madison Birth said. "You don't care who you're wrestling, it's a fight, and it's anyone's match."

At Bel Air, Madison's uncle, Chris, was a Class 2A-1A state champion in 1989 and placed third at the Class 4A-3A states as a senior in 1990. Her father, Scott finished third at Class 4A-3A states as a junior in 1991 before winning that classification as a senior in 1992. Matt graduated in 1995 as a Harford County Tournament title winner and a second-place finisher at regions.

Madison has transferred to Bel Air after two seasons at Havre de Grace, where her two older brothers, Conner and Ethan, also wrestled for the Warriors. Ethan graduated in 2023, having placed second at states in Greco-Roman wrestling and third at states in freestyle.

Conner graduated from Havre de Grace last spring with 108 victories after being a regional champion who placed second, third and fifth in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference (UCBAC).

"I started off not knowing if I was going to make friends at Bel Air, and then I made friends and it was fine, and I was so much happier," Madison Birth said. "Then it got to wrestling season, and I worked hard, and I was able to place at the UCBACs. And now, we're here in the states after working so hard, and I was able to win again."

Madison’s cousin, Max, completed this season as a 16th-ranked 190-pound junior at Walkersville who has placed first, second and third in three appearances at the Frederick County Tournament, and finished fifth twice in the Class 2A-1A West Regionals.

Max’s older brother, Jack, graduated from Walkersville last spring with 110 career victories after placing first, third and fourth in the Frederick County Tournament, and second and fifth in the Class 2A-1A West Regionals.

Jack recently completed his season as the starting 184-pounder for Shenandoah University, an NCAA Division III program in Winchester, Virginia.

"Tonight was great," Madison Birth said. "Everyone came out to see me."