The future of Maryland Wrestling is seemingly brighter than at any time in recent years. From multiple Olympians to two World Championship level high schoolers, and more grapplers appearing in the national rankings than anytime recently. The work being put in is starting to come to fruit. The youngsters we are about to highlight will build on these footsteps as time moves on.
Three of these rising stars captured crowns at USA Wrestling’s Kids Nationals over the summer, Korbin Kiessling, Logan Brickley, and Esaias Perez.
Kiessling won Freestyle and Greco-Roman crowns in the 12U Division at 67lbs to complete a National Triple Crown effort (Folkstyle gold was secured in the winter). In both finals, Kiessling defeated the same foe, Wisconsin’s Ian Weber. In FS, it was 10-0, in GR the score was 10-4. Furthermore, in FS Kiessling won by technical superiority over all four of his opponents with none of them scoring a point on him.
Brickley also competed in the 12U slate at 82lbs. Brickley pinned Oklahoma’s Manny Payne Jr in the FS finals, 1:51, as part of his three falls and a tech run. In GR, Illinois’ Bryce Wilkinson fell in the finals to Brickley by an 11-1 tech. Two pins and a tech were registered in Greco by Brickley.
Perez also competed as a 12U grappler at 86lbs where he won the FS gold with a 10-0 technical superiority outcome versus South Dakota’s Ben Howenstein. Perez added two more 10-0 techs as he worked his way to the finals. Perez was third in GR.
Tanner McCray-Bey did his work in the 10U brackets at 71lbs at the Kids Nationals, where he brought home silver in both disciplines.
Two wrestlers who will be wearing the orange McDonogh singlet this year also doubled up on All-American statuses at the nationals, Jacob Naylor (14U, 92lbs) and Wes Baumgartner (14U, 119).
Naylor was third in FS and fourth in GR. In addition, at the 14U National Duals, Naylor was named to both the FS and GR All-Tournament teams after posting a 16-0 record across both styles (8-0 in each).
Baumgartner was second in FS and third in GR. At the national duals, he posted 6-2 records in each discipline. At Kids Nationals in FS, Baumgartner defeated soon the be Mt. St.
Joseph grappler Chad Votta. Votta placed fifth in FS and sixth in GR. Votta was named to the 14U duals All-Tournament team with an 8-0 record therein FS and was 6-2 in GR.
Two more 14U Marylanders collected double All-American status at Kids Nationals, Nathan Matthis (102) and Dylan Verceles (71). Matthis was second in FS and third in GR. Matthis was also named to the FS Duals All-Tournament team and posted a 5-3 tally in GR.
Verceles was fourth in FS and fifth in GR. Chase Warm put work in the 14U brackets as well where he captured a silver in FS at 71lbs but did not garner hardware in GR.
Luke Briggs secured awards in both styles in the 12U Division at 63lbs, placing fourth in FS and sixth in GR.
The Encarnacion brothers, Ethan (74) and Ed (92) doubled up on awards, too, with Ethan placing fifth in FS and seventh in GR, and Ed being third in FS and securing silver in GR.
At the MAWA Eastern Nationals four Marylanders reached the top spot on the podium, Douglas Hazel, Dylan Overton, Caleb Tsikerdanos, and Evan Altshuler.
Hazel did his damage in the Midget Division at 93lbs where he took out Pennsylvania’s Julian Altiery, 4-2, in the finals. The other three were all competitors in the Junior brackets.
Overton downed a Pennsylvanian, Mason Kephart, in overtime, 4-2. Tsikerdanos handed a New Yorker, Sebastian Andidere, a 6-0 blanking in his final. Altshuler also beat a New York grappler, Zekial Soltau, 8-3.
Placing second at MAWAs were three from the Bantam ranks, Colton Kirwan (44), Damian Ruiz (52), and Jaxon Shifler (60). Kai Williams-Smith secured a silver at 134lbs in the Midget slate.
Third place awardees were Alexander Tsanev at 70lbs as a Junior grappler. Two Intermediate competitors also placed third, Daerin Curry (85) and Jacob Endzel (175).
We won’t go deeper than fourth place for MAWAs and those wrestlers were Gunnar Woods (52) and Knox Guyer (56) from the Bantam category. Two Midget competitors, Tanner Maxwell (85) and Jake Taylor (134). Four more in the Junior Division – Ryley Herwig (58), Hunter McDonough (62), Troy Plankenhorn (74), and Cole Thomas (82). Dominic Esposito was fourth at 95lbs in the Intermediate brackets.
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