Perry Hall and Sparrows Point Tie @ Baltimore County Championships (1 of 2)

For the second week in a row, your intrepid reporter witnessed yet another tournament race end in a tie. A week after Archbishop Spalding and Gilman came to a draw in the MIS race, Perry Hall and Sparrows Point did so with the Baltimore County Tournament tally on Saturday at CCBC Essex. Both posting 157 points.

“Coming in, by the seeds, I thought we’d be fifth or sixth,” Perry Hall coach Doug Yoakum explained. “We had a lot of our guys outwrestle their seed. I kinda thought Franklin was going to walk away with it. We had a lot of our unknowns step up big time.

“Of course, Victor with a title and then Kavanagh, big-big-big win for him. That guy was a two-time county champ he just beat, so maybe he gets in the rankings this week, maybe?. It was a good team effort. I’m very proud. I thought we had a much better dual team, so all around it’s just a good day for us.”

Perry Hall just cracked the Legacy Team rankings coming in at No. 34 after a run to the state duals that came with a 4A North Region Crown. Sparrows Point is unranked due to an up and down season that saw them fail to win their region in the state dual series for the first time in years. One of their dual losses this year was to Perry Hall.

The Gators saw both of their finalists complete the journey to the top position of the podium. No. 1 Victor Marks-Jenkins’ title run was a foregone conclusion at 175, while unranked Justin Kavanagh’s was a surprise given he was facing two-time county champ, Andy Burton of Hereford.

Marks-Jenkins is ranked 26th in the country by Sports Illustrated at 175lbs and cruised to his third consecutive Baltimore County Championship with three pins, two in the first period, and then in the second, 3:27, over Owings Mills’ Kelvin Alumanah. The junior’s fall in the finals provided Perry Hall the points needed to pull even with Sparrows Point.

“It’s cool. I just couldn’t pin him for a little bit, but I got him in the end,” Marks-Jenkins said. “It’s just another match, man. It’s just whatever. Honestly, the entire time I was thinking, he’s very sweaty and very flexible. I could have teched him in the first period, but I couldn’t get the pin in the first period. I had to break him a little bit.”

Kavanagh and Burton are both juniors. For an idea of how unlikely it was for Kavanagh to win his bracket, look at last year's 132lb field where Burton was crowned champ and Kavanagh failed to place. Burton was seeded No. 1. Kavanagh was the three seed and upended second seeded Josh Gray (Franklin) with a second period fall, 3:34, in the semis. In the finals, the Gator ground out a 5-1 win over Burton.

“Last year I had a depressing loss in the quarters, then in the consis, I popped my shoulder out and was out for the rest of the season,” recalled Kavanagh. “So, all offseason long, I would just grind in the room. Making sure I was ready for this moment, and I was, and I conquered it. What’s next? I have regionals next week and states in two weeks. This was just a warmup. It’s going to be tough to come back (in the team race) but I know we can do it.”

Placing fourth for Perry Hall were Hegan Chhantayal (106) and Aiden McCain (285). Fifth place finishers were Adam Ferrante (132), Clayton Hosier (150), and Jordan Young (190). Justin Vu was sixth at 113 for the Gators.

There was an outside chance of an outright victory for Perry Hall, but it would have required a monumental upset from the unrated McCain over Overlea’s No. 12 Chimemezue Akuwugwe. Alas that was not in the cards, and it was destined to be a tie as McCain fell to Falcon, 4-1, in their consolation final.

Going into the final round, it was Owings Mills atop the standings with 140 points. Perry Hall was second with 135 and Sparrows Point was one behind them with 134.

The Pointers five finalists and four champions were what powered them to the top realm of the heap as only two more of their guys reached the podium, Gabe Dorsey was fifth at 126 and William Schoo came in sixth at 138. At 132, Ryan Whisner was seeded second and placed second.

The Points’ four champs were No. 8 Wyatt Rossi (106), No. 13 Brandon Wunder (113), Chase Carnahan (120), and No. 5 Russell Fary (157).

Rossi, a sophomore, locked down a second title by decking Hereford’s Connor Cline in 56 seconds. Rossi’s crown last year was won on a pin of the Gator’s Chhantayal.

“I wrestled him a little while ago,” remarked Rossi. “Same result, but I teched him last time. I had to go out there and get the team points this time and I just did my thing.”

Wunder stood in the number two spot last year after falling to Eastern Tech’s No. 18 Brayden Polly in the 113lb finals, 4-2. Back at 113 again, this year, Wunder made the final step up with a 12-0 major decision of No. 25 Owen Shelley (Catonsville).

“Going out there I was just thinking I have to execute and do my job, you know, be a team player,” offered Wunder. “Get as much points for the team as possible. That was my main goal. (I made) a lot of improvements. A lot of hard work went into it, I put a lot of time in during the offseason. I just never wanted to feel like how I did last year, so I fixed it.”

Carnahan stepped on the mat at the same time as his sister, Ariana, did at 110lbs on the girl’s side. Both were the third bout in the running order.

Ariana raced through her match with Western Tech’s Leian Wright, posting a 13-1, major decision, then hustled over to the boys’ mat to cheer on Chase as they became the first brother and sister to win championships at a Baltimore County Tournament when Chase got by Catonsville’s Drew Eveleth, 10-7.

“I’ve been working hard in the room, nonstop,” Carnahan said. “I’ve just been on the grind since I was four years old, and it feels great. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I’ve known him since I was little.

“But I took care of business. I think we’re winning now. We got three champions so far, two more in the finals. I think we got it.”

Fary knew he was not going to have a cakewalk to title number three since he was slated to face the guy right behind him in the state rankings, No. 6 Ladaynean “Ty” Simpson of Owings Mills. Fary won a county crown as a freshman at Chesapeake, then transferred to Sparrows Point where he was second as a sophomore to Marks-Jenkins then captured his second crown last year.

Fary was a state champion at 150 in the 2A/1A states last year. Simpson was second at 157 in the 2A/1A brackets setting up an all-star showdown for the 157lb county title in which Fary would come out on top of with a 4-0 shutout.

“I’m happy for myself,” Fary said. “I started working hard the last few weeks. I just appreciate my coaches. They have pushed me so hard (as I’ve come back from injury). I love them. I love my family, they push me. That’s why I can win a county title and do the things I do because of them. I respect Ladaynean, I’ve wrestled him growing up since junior league. He is a hard opponent. He just wrestles hard. He’s strong. I have a lot of respect for that guy.”

When asked about the tie and the redemption of being co-county champs after a tumultuous season, Whisner had this to say.

“It’s crazy how all the wrestling can go on and it’s still a tie,” reflected Whisner. “You think about the points that you left out there. It is what it is, and we move on to next week for regionals. A lot of people wrote us off. I told them that we could kind of make up for it a little bit by coming out here and having a good tournament. I’m proud of our guys. They came out and wrestled hard.”

Owings Mills ended up in third place with one champion out of five finalists. No. 10 Cregg Ngounou captured the 165lb gold with a 14-2 major decision of Lansdowne’s Chase Swiger. It was the senior’s second title in a row.

In addition to Alumanah and Simpson, silver medalists for the Eagles were Mike Morgan (138) and Josh Savoy (215). DJ Toscano was third at 113.

New Town put three wrestlers on top of the podium, Oluwajuwon Omstoso (150), No. 10 Josh Davis (190), and Olusabemi Antalogu (215). Davis was involved in an exciting affair with Franklin’s Chilotam Ezeani that saw Davis toss Ezeani a few times and come close to the fall before settling with a 27-10 technical fall. Davis missed his junior season last year due to a fractured knee cap.

“One of many (titles),” said Davis. “Still got regionals and states, that’s what I’m focused on. It (the title) means a lot. I was supposed to do it last year, but I couldn’t, so I made up for it this year. It feels good. I already knew I was going to win, and I had to follow through.”

Eastern Tech produced two champions, both ranked 18th in the state at their weight classes, Chase Ullmann (132) and Brayden Polly (138). Polly, a senior, put his second title in the book with a 37 second flattening of Owings Mills’ Morgan. Ullmann was third last year as a sophomore and improved to the top spot with a 17-2 tech of the Point’s Whisner.

“It’s crazy,” said Ullmann. “Last year, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to. This year, I came back and got it. I didn’t have as much intensity as I wanted but other than that I feel like I did pretty good.”

No. 3 Amory Hills won a matchup with top five guys in the state, 4-2, over Randallstown’s No. 4 Keon Stewart at 285 for fourth place Milford Mill. Kenwood’s Luca Blythe earned the 126lb wall chart with a 5:42 decking of Franklin’s Joe Silberman.

Team Scores

1-Perry Hall 157

1-Sparrows Point 157

3-Owings Mills 149

4-Milford Mill 144

5-Hereford 128

6-Franklin 101.5

7-New Town 88

8-Catonsville 87

9-Dundalk 81

10-Dulaney 72.5

10-Eastern Tech 72.5

12-Kenwood 66.5

13-Lansdowne 65

14-Parkville 61

15-Randallstown 50

106

1st Place Match

Wyatt Rossi (Sparrows Point) 32-1, So. over Connor Cline (Hereford) 30-6, So. (Fall 0:56)

3rd Place Match

King Whitehurst (Catonsville) 18-9, So. over Hegan Chhantyal (Perry Hall) 28-12, Sr. (MD 22-12)

5th Place Match

Joel Verdier (Dundalk) 35-7, So. over Glenn Lail (Lansdowne) 24-6, Jr. (Dec 6-2)

113

1st Place Match

Brandon Wunder (Sparrows Point) 41-2, So. over Owen Shelley (Catonsville) 29-4, Fr. (MD 12-0)

3rd Place Match

DJ Toscano (Owings Mills) 27-11, Jr. over Robert Richter (Kenwood) 29-12, So. (Fall 1:14)

5th Place Match

Will Witherspoon (Towson) 17-7, Fr. over Justin Vu (Perry Hall) 17-9, So. (Fall 2:07)

120

1st Place Match

Chase Carnahan (Sparrows Point) 24-3, Fr. over Drew Eveleth (Catonsville) 24-4, Fr. (Dec 10-7)

3rd Place Match

Jayden Kautz (Parkville) 30-6, So. over Gavin Hess (Dulaney) 32-6, Sr. (MD 10-2)

5th Place Match

Donovan Austin (Overlea) 27-4, Jr. over Daniel Casey (Hereford) 24-12, Fr. (Inj. 0:00)

126

6th Place - Andrew Barrett of Hereford

1st Place Match

Luca Blythe (Kenwood) 39-4, Jr. over Joe Silberman (Franklin) 32-8, Sr. (Fall 5:42)

3rd Place Match

Richard Vargas (Dundalk) 35-6, Sr. over Sterling Addison (Carver A&T) 31-8, Jr. (Dec 10-7)

5th Place Match

Gabe Dorsey (Sparrows Point) 17-9, Sr. over Andrew Barrett (Hereford) 17-21, Sr. (Fall 2:32)

132

1st Place Match

Chase Ullmann (Eastern Technical) 20-1, Jr. over Ryan Whisner (Sparrows Point) 36-7, So. (TF-1.5 4:32 (17-2))

3rd Place Match

Christian Wright (Milford Mill) 5-2, Jr. over Jacob Fufezan-Seck (Carver A&T) 27-9, Fr. (Fall 1:21)

5th Place Match

Adam Ferrante (Perry Hall) 24-21, So. over Tucker Rudo (Franklin) 21-9, Sr. (M. For.)

138

1st Place Match

Brayden Polly (Eastern Technical) 22-5, Sr. over Mike Morgan (Owings Mills) 24-17, Sr. (Fall 0:37)

3rd Place Match

Clayton Fraser (Dundalk) 30-4, Jr. over Dashon Matthews (Patapsco) 12-4, Sr. (For.)

5th Place Match

Wyatt Ulshafer (Hereford) 23-14, Fr. over William Schoo (Sparrows Point) 26-20, Jr. (Fall 3:41)

144

1st Place Match

Justin Kavanagh (Perry Hall) 36-4, Jr. over Andy Burton (Hereford) 33-6, Jr. (Dec 5-1)

3rd Place Match

Xaiver Berchie (Milford Mill) 18-12, Sr. over Lucas Cintron (Kenwood) 36-6, Sr. (Dec 7-6)

5th Place Match

Ky-Ron Ali (Randallstown) 20-5, Jr. over Josh Gray (Franklin) 37-6, Jr. (M. For.)

150

1st Place Match

Oluwajuwon Omotoso (New Town) 31-5, Sr. over Hayden Laney (Parkville) 32-8, Sr. (Dec 10-9)

3rd Place Match

Ethan Royster (Milford Mill) 26-7, Sr. over Christian Leveille (Franklin) 23-13, Jr. (Fall 0:46)

5th Place Match

Clayton Hosier (Perry Hall) 29-6, So. over HERBERT KENNEDY (Woodlawn) 4-3, Sr. (Fall 1:35)

157

1st Place Match

Russell Fary (Sparrows Point) 34-0, Sr. over Ty Simpson (Owings Mills) 41-4, Sr. (Dec 4-0)

3rd Place Match

Sean Lippman (Lansdowne) 31-2, Sr. over Jamal Epps (Milford Mill) 21-6, Jr. (Fall 1:37)

5th Place Match

Ja`Quan Burton (Hereford) 22-15, Jr. over Izaiah Wright (Patapsco) 22-5, Sr. (For.)

165

1st Place Match

Cregg Ngounou (Owings Mills) 40-4, Sr. over Chase Swiger (Lansdowne) 20-3, Jr. (MD 14-2)

3rd Place Match

Ryan Dunn (Towson) 34-3, Sr. over Samuel David-Adesua (Eastern Technical) 22-15, So. (Fall 3:40)

5th Place Match

Isaiah Robinson (Dundalk) 29-6, Sr. over Elijah Dunn (Pikesville) 10-7, Jr. (Dec 15-10)

175

Guaranteed Places

1st Place Match

Victor Marks-Jenkins (Perry Hall) 41-0, Jr. over Kelvin Alumanah (Owings Mills) 32-7, Jr. (Fall 3:27)

3rd Place Match

Darius Evans (Franklin) 29-7, Sr. over Angelo Schuler (Dulaney) 14-4, Sr. (Fall 2:24)

5th Place Match

Donovin Boger (Catonsville) 16-16, Jr. over Breon Johnson (Parkville) 17-15, Fr. (Dec 5-3)

190

1st Place Match

John Davis (New Town) 27-2, Sr. over Chilotam Ezeani (Franklin) 36-7, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:59 (27-10))

3rd Place Match

Adam Keever (Hereford) 29-6, Jr. over Drey`An Pitts (Milford Mill) 19-7, Sr. (Dec 4-1)

5th Place Match

Jordan Young (Perry Hall) 28-11, Jr. over Darius Sims (Lansdowne) 25-9, Jr. (Inj. 0:00)

215

1st Place Match

Olusabomi Antalogu (New Town) 30-6, Jr. over Josh Savoy (Owings Mills) 3-2, Sr. (Dec 1-0)

3rd Place Match

D`Lani Grayson (Dulaney) 17-8, Sr. over Chris Westra (Hereford) 22-14, So. (Dec 6-2)

5th Place Match

Daron King (Milford Mill) 13-10, So. over Dylan Holt (Dundalk) 30-9, Jr. (For.)

285

1st Place Match

Amory Hills (Milford Mill) 24-0, Sr. over Keon Stewart (Randallstown) 25-2, Jr. (Dec 4-2)

3rd Place Match

Chimemezue Akuwugwe (Overlea) 18-6, Sr. over Aiden Mccain (Perry Hall) 20-9, Jr. (Dec 4-1)

5th Place Match

Azriel Moore (Patapsco) 17-9, Sr. over Andre Andrades (Dundalk) 14-5, Sr. (Inj. 0:00)