Old Mill senior RJ Duncan pinned Bel Air freshman Owen Reilly at 1:47 of their 285-pound championship bout and was among nine Patriots who finished within the top four of their weights and 12 within the top six to overcome runner-up Whitman to win last weekend's Grapple At The Brook Tournament at Springbrook.
Runners-up were sophomore Logan Johnson (113) and junior Tristan Sudama (106), with junior Xxavien MacKell (215) placing third, and juniors Keon Gavin (120) Dominick Hurley (165), seniors Omar Khan (126) and Deven Perry (190), and sophomore Tre Martini (157) all being fourth as the Patriots (212.5 points) held off the Vikings (188.5).
There were also fifth place finishers in juniors Dekhi Church (132) and Noel Norman-Williams (175), as well as a sixth place finisher in junior Ruben Salas (150) for the Patriots, whose 19th-year coach Jim Grim guided the program to Class 4A-3A state tournament titles in 2003 and 2007.
“The wrestle-backs are so important in wrestling tournaments,” said Duncan, a 6-foot-4 defending Class 4A-3A state champion who improved to 25-0. “We motivated each other by saying, ‘If you lost in the championship rounds, keep your heads up and don’t give up.’”
Duncan pinned his quarterfinal opponent, Nayenecke Ituka of Gaithersburg, in 2:11 before winning his semifinal against Clarksburg junior Aiden Navarro-Norris by 17-1 technical fall. Navarro-Norris pinned Ituka for third place.
Ranked No. 3 overall as a 285-pounder in the Legacy Wrestling Maryland High School Rankings, Duncan became the Patriots' 35th individual state champion but only the second at heavyweight since Roy Carter in 1983.
A defending Class 4A-3A East Region tournament champion and an Anne Arundel County tournament runner-up, Duncan is also the Patriots’ first Class 4A-3A state champion since 2011 when 140-pound champion Salaman Riddel defeated LaPlata’s Daniel Brannon, 4-2, to complete a 33-1 season.
Duncan can become the Patriots’ first two-time 285-pound or heavyweight state champion, joining six other repeat title-winners in Chuck Sturm (1982, 1983), Charlie Royer (1984, 1985), Greg Wise (1988, 1989), Chris Combs (1997, 1998), Adam DeCosmo (2000, 2001) and Greg Saumenig (2006, 2007).
“I’ve thought about that, and it really sounds like a great goal and accomplishment,” Duncan said. “But I’ve got to take it one match at a time and that’s all about putting in the work. If I get there, then I get there.”
Duncan and Patriots (23-2) visit Anne Arundel County League rival South River on Wednesday at 5pm in the hopes of avenging a 43-27 loss as runners-up in last month's LaPlata Duals.
Duncan finished last season with a record of 20-2, his last loss coming via 1-0 decision to then-Chesapeake sophomore Delmar White in the county championship bout.
But a few days later, White suffered a season-ending injury in advance of the following week’s regionals, after which Duncan commenced his run for the regional and state crowns.
A 6-foot-2 junior and the second-ranked 285-pounder ahead of Duncan, White has transferred to Archbishop Spalding. There could be a rematch between Duncan and White during a dual meet at Spalding on January 23.
Old Mill's 35 Individual State Champions
(Three-time champ)
Ron Vaughters, 2009, 2010, 2011
(Two-time champs)
Chuck Sturm, 1982, 1983
Charlie Royer, 1984, 1985
Greg Wise, 1988, 1989
Chris Combs, 1997, 1998
Adam DeCosmo, 2000, 2001
Greg Saumenig, 2006, 2007
(One-time champs)
Doug Lombard, 1978
Randy Box, 1979
Roy Carter, 1983
Dan Youngblood, 1985
Ron Howard, 1987
Billy Boyce, 1988
Gary Baker, 1989
Brad Buckley, 1990
Brent Layman, 1991
Brian Layman, 1991
Marc Procaccini, 1992
Todd Hultgren, 1993
Ken Seavey, 1993
Jason Bryant, 1994
Mike Dileonardi, 1995
Paul Hultgren, 1995
Adam Dayton, 2001
Ethan Brown, 2007
Salaman Riddell, 2011
RJ Duncan, 2023
Nine-Time Tournament Champions
1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2007, 2009
3-Time Dual Meet Champions
1998, 2000, 2009
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