Middletown -- 2A State Dual Meet Champions

The defending MPSSAA 2A State Dual Meet Champions, No. 12 Huntingtown, were set to face a new kid on the block in No. 6 Middletown in the state dual finals last Saturday at North Point High School. A year ago, Huntingtown dethroned Stephen Decatur and ended their run of state championships. Meanwhile, Middletown was nestled in the 1A classification and battled South Carroll in the 1A finals, where they finished as runners-up.

Reclassification granted Middletown a reprieve from having to run it back with South Carroll and moved them one slot up into the 2A realm. As early season results started coming in, it was clear that Middletown was going to be one of the best in the state.

Huntingtown, however, had an up and down start to their campaign, falling to Northern Calvert early on. By the time the Iron Horse Duals rolled around, Huntingtown had it together and beat No. 24 C. Milton Wright, 50-28, and No. 26 Stephen Decatur amongst others, but they held onto their early inconsistencies with a loss to No. 17 Linganore.

Saturday’s final came down to the wire with Middletown claiming the 2A state title with a 36-31 victory after forfeiting the final slot at 175 pounds.

“They did an amazing job,” said Middletown coach Chad Strube. “Proud of all the hard work they put in and the fact they went after bonus points. We have lost on bonus points at states too many times and they know the importance of getting them and not giving them up. The kids worked very hard and really deserved the win. Couldn't ask for a better group of hard-working individuals and excited to see what they accomplish at the individual state championships.”

For a minute there it looked like Huntingtown might pull it out. It was 24-12 in favor of Middletown when the rotation landed on 132 pounds and 13th ranked Will Stewart came out for the Hurricanes and swept Bailey Jenkins up in a furious 19-2 technical fall.

No. 17 Logan Boyle provided a big boost at 138 when he came out ahead of No. 9 Brodie Burdette, 14-9, and closed the gap farther with unexpected points. A 24-20 deficit was turned into a 25-24 advantage for Huntingtown after top-rated Landen Vercoe (144 pounds) posted a 15-0 tech of No. 5 Ryker Keeney.

After watching Huntingtown win six out of seven in the middle, Middletown answered with a three-match streak of their own where they not only took back the lead but clinched the win.

“We knew the middle matches were going to be tough and the guys did a great job fighting and not giving up bonus points,” said Strube. “We just told the guys to stay focused and that everything was still going as planned. The team did a great job with it. The captains (Carter, Nathan, and Tobias) kept everyone focused on the overall goal and that we were still right on track to win the state championship.”

At 150 pounds, 16th ranked Xavier Ford dropped a 16-3 major decision on Ayden Leader. No. 14 Tobias White gained an upset win for his squad with a 4-1 overtime outcome versus No. 9 Ezekias Perez at 157. After White put his win in the book, it was 31-25 with the Knights back out front.

They would keep it that way when No. 9 Carter Canale secured a 17-2 tech fall against Ralp Garner to push the count to 36-25 with one match left where Middletown forfeited.

“Knowing we had Carter Canale and Nathan Hollis ready to secure pins in the last two matches helped us stay focused on the matches at hand,” Strube said. Interestingly, Hollis did not appear in either dual, as the matches were in hand when his turn came up so the Knights forfeited instead of running him out there. The Knights jumped out to an 18-0 edge after putting up three pins in a row from No. 12 Zach Landis (190 pounds), Aiden McDonald (215), and No. 11 Landon Hofgesang (285).

“The guys were prepared for the match and knew they needed to go for pins in those matches,” remarked Strube. “They got the job done early on and we stayed focused on the plan.”

The Hurricanes came back with three straight of their own but only collected 12 points on three major decisions from Parker Arigo (106 pounds), No. 4 Owen Hayden (113), and No. 13 Kyler Kiessling (120). Hayden was oh so close to a tech of No. 20 Gus Smith with his 15-1 score.

No. 8 Liam Soe picked up a pin at 126 pounds for Middletown, 2:52, over Mason Stewart, which lands us at 132 and where we began our retelling of the events.

The Knights downed No. 21 La Plata, 47-32, in the semis. Huntingtown came back to take down C. Milton Wright, 39-38. The big match in the La Plata match came at heavyweight when No. 2 Sima Saavedra stuck Hofgesang in 59 seconds.

Middletown grapplers used pins for seven of their eight wins against La Plata with the other coming on Burdette’s tech fall. Picking up the sixes were – Landis (175), McDonald (215), Parker Brown (106), Smith (113), Cam Bowman (120), Soe (126), and Sam Sword (144).

“La Plata was a good match”, Strube continued. “They are a tough team. They really got us ready for Huntingtown in the finals. They tested a lot of our guys and really got them in the zone. We were able to get the lead early on and went ahead and forfeited our last three matches to prevent any potential injuries before the finals.”

Huntingtown did not have that pleasure as they were in a dogfight with C. Milton Wright. As we mentioned up top, the Hurricanes beat the Mustangs 50-28 at Iron Horse.

After the first five matches of this semifinal, C. Milton Wright had come close to that point total while holding Huntingtown off the board for a 27-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Mustangs they would not add enough additional points to reverse the original outcome.

The Hurricanes won seven of the next eight matches to pass the Mustangs on the scoreboard and secure the win with a match left, of which they forfeited to the Mustangs to end with the 39-38 total.

The ride home to Frederick County would be different for the Knights than their previous excursions to Southern Maryland. With the state championship in hand this would be a joyous journey back to the north.

“I'd like to point out all the hard work the guys and coaches have put in to make their undefeated season possible,” Strube added. “All the guys who jumped in and out of the lineup at states and regionals really showed how strong our team depth is. They really showed how tough Middletown is as a team. They all pushed for bonus points this year and not giving up bonus points themselves. Really separated them from other teams winning by over 20 points in all their matches but one in the season. This helped them prepare for the regionals and states, giving them the confidence that they could win.”

1st Place Match

Middletown defeated Huntingtown HS 36-31

190 - Zach Landis (Middletown) over Trevor Depompa (Huntingtown HS) Fall 2:30

215 - Aiden McDonald (Middletown) over Brody Whittinton (Huntingtown HS) Fall 1:51

285 - Landon Hofgesang (Middletown) over Jordan Gray (Huntingtown HS) Fall 0:32

106 - Parker Arigo (Huntingtown HS) over Parker Brown (Middletown) Maj 16-6

113 - Owen Hayden (Huntingtown HS) over Gus Smith (Middletown) Maj 15-1

120 - Kyler Kiessling (Huntingtown HS) over Cam Bowman (Middletown) Maj 10-1

126 - Liam Soe (Middletown) over Mason Stewart (Huntingtown HS) Fall 2:52

132 - Will Stewart (Huntingtown HS) over Bailey Jenkins (Middletown) TF 19-2

138 - Logan Boyle (Huntingtown HS) over Brody Burdette (Middletown) Dec 14-9

144 - Landen Vercoe (Huntingtown HS) over Ryker Keeney (Middletown) TF 15-0

150 - Xavier Ford (Middletown) over Ayden Leader (Huntingtown HS) Maj 16-3

157 - Tobias White (Middletown) over Ezikas Perez (Huntingtown HS) SV-1 4-1

165 - Carter Canale (Middletown) over Ralph Garner (Huntingtown HS) TF 17-2

175 - Brady Arigo (Huntingtown HS) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

Semifinal

Middletown defeated La Plata 47-32

175 - Zach Landis (Middletown) over Eli Williamson (La Plata) Fall 0:36

190 - Jack Whitley (La Plata) over Tyler Byers-Krantz (Middletown) Maj 8-0

215 - Aiden McDonald (Middletown) over Peyton McCauley (La Plata) Fall 3:46

285 - Sima Saavedra (La Plata) over Landon Hofgesang (Middletown) Fall 0:59

106 - Parker Brown (Middletown) over Adam Rybarczyk (La Plata) Fall 1:55

113 - Gus Smith (Middletown) over Bentley Dees (La Plata) Fall 3:01

120 - Cam Bowman (Middletown) over Caleb Hawkins (La Plata) Fall 3:36

126 - Liam Soe (Middletown) over Manny Mendoza (La Plata) Fall 5:49

132 - Deegan Woomer (La Plata) over Bailey Jenkins (Middletown) Maj 12-2

138 - Brody Burdette (Middletown) over Jared Kolker (La Plata) TF 17-2

144 - Sam Sword (Middletown) over AJ Cave (La Plata) Fall 5:00

150 - Owen Hannah (La Plata) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

157 - Brett Wilkinson (La Plata) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

165 - Max Meiser (La Plata) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

Semifinal

Huntingtown HS defeated C. Milton Wright 39-38

175 - Carson Windesheim (C. Milton Wright) over Brody Hayden (Huntingtown HS) Fall 2:43

190 - Asa Colamonaco (C. Milton Wright) over Brody Whittinton (Huntingtown HS) Maj 9-1

215 - Aaron Moccia (C. Milton Wright) over Trevor Depompa (Huntingtown HS) Fall 1:32

285 - Cameron Stepp (C. Milton Wright) over Noah Foreman (Huntingtown HS) Fall 0:41

106 - Lucas Heffner (C. Milton Wright) over Parker Arigo (Huntingtown HS) TF 17-0

113 - Owen Hayden (Huntingtown HS) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

120 - Kyler Kiessling (Huntingtown HS) over Rory Sweeney (C. Milton Wright) TF 15-0

126 - Jacob Cox (C. Milton Wright) over Mason Stewart (Huntingtown HS) TF 20-5

132 - Will Stewart (Huntingtown HS) over Jackson Rix (C. Milton Wright) Fall 1:59

138 - Logan Boyle (Huntingtown HS) over Sean Downey (C. Milton Wright) Fall 1:29

144 - Ayden Leader (Huntingtown HS) over Harrison Sherly (C. Milton Wright) TF 16-1

150 - Landen Vercoe (Huntingtown HS) over Logan Layne (C. Milton Wright) DQ

157 - Ezikas Perez (Huntingtown HS) over Dylan Roche (C. Milton Wright) TF 18-1

165 - Salokhiddin Dusmukhamedov (C. Milton Wright) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf