Saturday’s Class 4A-3A South Region at Henry Wise High School was about redemption for seniors Ethan Makle (132), Caiden Glass (190) and Djorn Smith (215), each of whom won titles after having placed third at the previous weekend’s Montgomery County Tournament.
The trio is primed for next weekend’s Class 4A-3A state tournament at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.
Makle improved his record on the year to 37-5 starting with a 61-second fall and another in 3:58 of his come-from-behind semifinal victory over 24th-ranked sophomore Orlando Castelan-Cortez, a two-time Howard County champion who entered with a record of 18-2.
Makle won his title match, 10-9, over 23-ranked junior Jaden White of Poly, three-time Baltimore City champion who has placed fourth and fifth at regions and whose record slipped to 31-5.
“I knew that during my semifinals match I just had to wrestle my match and to not get involved in unfamiliar positions,” said Makle, who was second at regionals and sixth at states last season. “I was a bit more sloppy in my finals match than I imagined or planned that I would be, but I knew that I had better conditioning. As the match went on, my chances of winning got higher. This was my first time winning a tournament in my entire career.”
Smith improved his season mark to 22-4 beginning with a fall in 5:05 and a 10-3 semifinal decision over Howard County runner-up sophomore Iyanuoluinmi Ogunsakin of Mount Hebron. Smith won his title match by a pin in 5:47 over junior Amari Lonesome of City College, who was third in the Baltimore City Tournament.
“This feels pretty good becoming a regional champion and knowing that all of my efforts have paid off,” Smith said. “Now I’ve got my name on the banner at my school, and no one can take that away. With some good practice, by continuing to apply myself, and really fighting for it, I think my chances of placing at states are pretty good.”
Glass scored falls in 5:14 and 3:06 to reach his title bout, where he scored a 16-5 major decision over Atholton senior John Wassell, a third-place finisher in Howard County’s tournament.
“Placing third last week gave me the confidence to win this weekend because Montgomery County is known as a tough county in the state,” Glass said. “It feels amazing being a regional champion and I’m indebted to my coaches and family who have been nothing but supportive of me in this endeavor.”
Glass is in his first year as a wrestler, having previously considered mixed martial arts.
“My family and I were initially interested in joining a BJJ/MMA gym for self-defense, but we realized that it wasn’t going to work out for our schedules, and I decided to try out for wrestling. I went to my first practice in mid-July,” Glass said. “It was the greatest physical challenge I had experienced. On Sundays, there was a two-hour practice, so I started doing that. I got hooked on it, and continued to practice in the offseason, sprinkling Capital Club Wrestling Club practices in where I could.”
Reservoir crowned two champions in fifth-ranked senior Andrew Dolezel (138) and 16th-ranked junior Jose Lazo (144)
A winner of three Howard County titles in four championship berths, Dolezel won his third regional title in four title match appearances, running his record on the year to 41-0, and improving his career mark to 157-8.
Dolezel earned consecutive technical falls of 15-0 and 16-0 to reach his championship match with 11th-ranked senior Daniel Wu of Montgomery Blair, whom he vanquished by 15-5 major decision.
Wu has a record of 36-5, having placed third at both counties and regions and finished fifth at Class 4-3A states last year. Wu also owns a decision victory over ninth-ranked Class 2A-1A state runner-up Nate Taylor of Francis Scott Key.
“Going in, I knew that Wu was a good wrestler and that it would be closer because we’re similar wrestlers to one another,” Dolezel said. “Despite having similar styles, I knew that sticking to my game plan was the key to winning.”
Dolezel has placed third twice and second once at Class 4A-3A states.
“It’s been frustrating always being so close, being on the podium but never higher over the past three years,” Dolezel said. “But that’s only pushed me to work harder in order to achieve my ultimate goal of winning states.”
Lazo raised his record on the year to 34-3 on falls in 22 and 49 seconds before winning his title match on a takedown for an overtime, 10-7 decision against 13th-ranked junior Leo Foreman of Roosevelt.
A regional champion last year who entered with a record of 28-0, Foreman won last weekend’s Prince George’s County title after having been a runner-up as a sophomore.
“When I was down in regulation, I knew I needed something to score on in order to catch up,” Lazo said. “I needed a big move, and he was tired from one of our long scrambles, so I knew that it was a good time to hit the move. So, I hit a Peterson Roll.”
Roosevelt also crowned a pair of titlists in third-ranked repeat title-winning sophomore Austin Hayes (106) and 24th-ranked senior Oluwatunmise Fanyi (120).
A returning Class 4A-3A state runner-up and a two-time Prince George’s County champion who went 40-1 last year, Hayes ran his record on the year to 31-0 starting with a semifinal 17-2 technical fall over freshman Howard County champion Miles Orduna of Reservoir.
Hayes won his title-match by a pin in 5:23 over 14th-ranked two-time Baltimore City title-winning sophomore Miles Molina of Poly, who entered with a record of 35-1 and placed fourth at regions last season.
“Keeping pressure on is how I usually break my opponents,” Hayes said. “Keeping a strong defense ensures that no matter what angle they attack from, I can protect myself.”
Hayes lost last year’s 106-pound state title bout, 10-8, to South River's Jackson Peoples, who is now a sophomore two-time Anne Arundel County and regional champion who is currently ranked ninth at 113 pounds.
“Losing by two points in the states last year was a tough burden I had to carry,” Hayes said. “However, I used that frustration to work hard for the whole year, and now I’m back to complete this season undefeated.”
Fanyi gained revenge in winning his first bout of the tournament by a quarterfinal, 17-15 decision over 23-ranked sophomore Ajmal Rahmani of Parkdale, who had defeated Fanyi, 13-7, in the previous week’s county title match to improve his record on the year at the time to 9-0.
“Beating Ajmal Rahmani after previously losing to him in the county finals was not only a relieving feeling but also an eye-opening one. Throughout the match, Ajmal and I had both made several mistakes,” said Fanyi, a two-time county runner-up who placed fifth at regions last season. “It was a great match with a lot of ups and downs. Being able to adjust after making my own mistakes and to capitalize on his mistakes is what got me the win.”
Fanyi won his next pair of bouts by injury default and by 18-3 technical fall over Bladensburg junior Shabir Kabiri, who was third at the previous weekend’s Prince George’s County Tournament.
“Being a regional champion after taking second at counties the previous weekend is a great feeling, but I’m more happy about having the support from so many people. Throughout the week I worked hard at focusing on specifics and refining my techniques,” Fanyi said. “I wouldn’t be able to get this far without my team, my coaches and hard work. I’ve spent several hours putting the work in on different sets of moves, running those extra miles, and getting in those extra repetitions. All of that adds up in the long run.”
The host Pumas crowned 10th-ranked senior Taylor Brown (285), a 6-foot-4 second-year wrestler who won his second straight regional title eight days after winning his first Prince George’s County crown to improve on the previous season’s runner-up finish.
Brown ran his record on the year to 23-0 on falls in 93 and 86 seconds as well as a fall in 1:59 of his title match with High Point senior Emmanuel Kalu, whose record slipped to 19-3 after having also placed fourth in the previous weekend’s Prince George’s County Tournament.
Kalu had won quarterfinal 2-0 decision over junior Elijah Fields of Guildford Park, a Howard County champion who finished third at regions.
A University of West Virginia-bound defensive lineman, Brown has starred on Puma’s football squads which were state runners-up in 2024 after having won the crown during Taylor’s junior season.
A two-year starter, Brown recovered one fumble, made six sacks and went solo on 21 of 52 tackles last season, with 15 of those going for lost yardage.
“I began wrestling because of my dad and my brother. My Dad was a wrestler at Thomas Stone High School and a very successful one,” said Brown, 18, who was born in the middle of triplets, Madison and Chaz.
“My triplet sister, Madison, is a volleyball player, and my triplet brother, Chaz, wrestled for Largo until he injured his leg. Throughout my freshman and sophomore year I watched Chaz wrestle, and it inspired me. After his career-ending injury in January of last season, I became inspired to dedicate this season to him.”
Brown took a record of 25-1 into last year’s Class 4A-3A state tournament, where he went 1-2, losing decisions of 2-1, and 3-2.
“Last year at counties I placed second, but I was able to place first at regions a week later. Losing at states broke me last year and I really debated on coming back this year,” said Brown, whose falls at counties were in 58, 64 and 72 seconds. “But because of the bond I made with the coaches and my team, it was only right then after my first three matches of the year that I realized I have a shot to do something bigger than I was doing last year. So, I have trained harder because I want to win. If I didn’t think I could win, I wouldn’t have come back.”
Oakland Mills crowned a repeat title winner in 18th-ranked junior Raul Rodriguez (157), who is also a two-time Howard County champion.
Rodriguez pinned all three opponents to raise his mark on the season to 34-3, including a semifinal pin in 3:14 over Atholton senior Malachi Patterson, whom Rodriguez defeated, 18-10, in the previous weekend’s county finals.
Rodriguez won his championship bout by fall in 1:54 over Wise freshman Dorian Jordan, a Prince George’s County champion whose record is now 29-4.
Eighth-ranked senior Jonah Obitz (175) of Marriotts’ Ridge ran his record on the season to 46-0, improving on last year’s regional runner-up finish just as he did the previous weekend by the Howard County Tournament after placing second as a junior.
Obitz reached the finals following a 24-second pin and a 10-2 semifinal major decision over eventual third-place finishing 22rd-ranked senior Josh Danso of Mount Hebron, who finished third at regions.
Obitz won his championship match by 10-2 major decision over 23rd-ranked freshman Jordan Hicks of host Wise, a Prince George’s County champion whose record fell to 32-2.
“I’ve been really emphasizing patience in my practices and assessing my opponents before diving straight in,” said Obitz, a county and regional runner-up following narrow decision losses to eventual Class 4A-3A state runner-up Joe Clark of Oakland Mills last year.
“Letting the other guy work for the first minute or so allows me to see his mistakes and capitalize on them later in the match. I’m really grateful to have won both counties and regions over the past two weeks. I’m looking forward to ending on a good note.”
Montgomery Blair crowned 12th-ranked repeat champion senior Jaden Cheung, who has placed third and first in the past two Montgomery County tournaments and was third at Class 4A-3A states last season.
Cheung scored a semifinal fall in 1:49 before winning his title match by 20-3 technical fall over Marriotts Ridge freshman Caiden Hargrove, who was third in the Howard County Tournament.
“Counties last week was the first time all season that I had cut down to 126, so I felt sluggish and tired. But this week, my body was used to it and I cut a little smarter, so I felt strong going into the tournament,” said Cheung, who placed third and fourth at regions as a freshman and sophomore.
“I was actually pretty nervous going into my finals match, but coach [Tim] Grover told me to distract myself for the five-hour break between the semifinals and the finals, and that helped me a lot. I was able to change my nerves into excitement, and that helped me go into my match with the mindset of using an attacking offense.”
Long Reach freshman Dominic Esposito (113) added his first regional crown to the Howard County title he won a week earlier, raising his record on the year to 31-2.
Esposito’s lone setbacks this year have been against Hayes by 6-3 decision, and by 10-4 decision to 10th-ranked freshman Quin Greenstreet of Chesapeake-Anne Arundel County, who is a county and regional champion with a record of 33-1.
Esposito pinned all three opponents comprising those in 1:58, 255 and 3:01, the latter in his title match with Howard junior Bennett Custodio, whom he defeated for the third time this season.
During the previous weekend’s county title match, Esposito had to counter an offensive Custodio before pinning him in 78 seconds to become the Lightings’ third-ever county champion.
“In the county finals, Bennett was able to get in for a single-leg twice, so I made the adjustment with my stance by dropping to one knee at different points so as not to give him an opportunity for a shot,” Esposito said. “With me lowering my level, it made him get lower and allowed me to get in my front headlock position that resulted in a takedown and later in the match I was able to end it by a fall.”
After finishing third in the previous weekend’s Howard County Tournament for the second straight season, Atholton senior Gilberto Medina (150) won his first-ever high school tournament.
Medina pinned Prince George’s County champion junior Ediz Buchin of Roosevelt in at 2:22 of his first match, fourth-place Howard County tournament finisher Alex Gladstone of Marriotts Ridge at 1:53 of their semifinal bout, and won his championship match, 8-4, over junior Derrel Davis of Poly
“I was leading 1-0 in the second period once I escaped from bottom, and I knew I had a short amount of time while also knowing that my opponent was tired from trying to hold me down,” said Medina, who proceeded to score a fireman’s carry takedown worth three points for a takedown and four nearfall points for an 8-0 lead.
“Once I grabbed his tricep, the fireman’s carry was the only option, so I took the shot with the goal of pinning him, but the most important thing was to get my back points. My coaches always teach me to get my back points and then to go for the finish. I remembered what my coaches told me and that’s why I won.”
Davis’ record slipped to 34-5, this, after having won a pair of Baltimore City titles in three championship appearances, twice placed fourth at regions.
“After getting into a car accident and totaling my vehicle a week ago, I have to say that all of the glory goes to God for this victory and for me to be able to make it this far,” Medina said. “I was concerned that I would not have a plaque on the wall at Atholton and never be remembered or engraved as a wrestler. There is nothing like winning my first high school tournament and being a regional champion. That’s something I’m super grateful for.”
Bladensburg freshman Lazaro Toralba ran his record on the year to 10-0 on three consecutive technical falls by scores of 24-8, 16-1 and 19-3, over Atholton sophomore Thomas MacKenzie, who was a Howard County runner-up the previous weekend.
Toralba’s 16-1 technical fall over Duval’s Angel Flores was a rematch of the previous weekend’s Prince George’s County title bout, which Toralba won by 17-4 major decision.
A native of Cuba, Toralba has wrestled since he was five years old and won 10 national titles.
Toralba spoke to Legacy Wrestling through the translation of Jason Alvarado, a 2022 graduate of Roosevelt who was county and regional champion and placed third at states.
Class 4A-3A South Regional Tournament Results
106
1st Place Match
Austin Hayes (Eleanor Roosevelt) 28-0, So. over Miles Molina (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 35-2, So. (Fall 5:23)
3rd Place Match
Nick MacWilliams (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 37-5, Fr. over Milano Orduno (Reservoir) 30-7, Fr. (MD 18-5)
5th Place Match
Nathan Henriquez (Northwestern) 27-5, Jr. over Jalahuddin Amani (Bladensburg) 24-6, So. (For.)
113
1st Place Match
Dominic Esposito (Long Reach High School) 31-2, Fr. over Bennett Custodio (Howard) 37-6, Jr. (Fall 3:01)
3rd Place Match
Enrique Herrera (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 33-12, Fr. over Christian Argueta (Laurel) 17-2, Sr. (Fall 4:09)
5th Place Match
Aaron Aquino (Reservoir) 27-12, Sr. over Sayed Hashemi (Bladensburg) 21-8, So. (For.)
120
1st Place Match
Oluwatunmise Stephen Faniyi (Eleanor Roosevelt) 3-0, Sr. over Shabir Kabiri (Bladensburg) 27-5, Jr. (TF-1.5 5:56 (18-3))
3rd Place Match
Ajmal Rahmani (Parkdale) 10-1, . over Johnathan Maslan (Atholton) 23-12, Sr. (Fall 2:25)
5th Place Match
Conner Armwood (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 25-4, Fr. over Kanik Deschene (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 25-5, So. (M. For.)
126
1st Place Match
Jaden Cheung (Montgomery Blair) 34-6, Sr. over Caiden Hargrove (Marriotts Ridge) 30-14, Fr. (TF-1.5 1:57 (20-3))
3rd Place Match
Timothy Zink (Mt. Hebron) 27-10, Jr. over Apollos Abdul-Wahhab (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 26-13, Fr. (Dec 1-0)
5th Place Match
McDonald Omonagor (Guilford Park) 20-4, So. over Zev Glaser (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 21-11, So. (Dec 12-7)
132
1st Place Match
Ethan Makle (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 37-5, Sr. over Jaden White (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 31-5, Jr. (Dec 10-9)
3rd Place Match
Chase Garison (Atholton) 28-11, Jr. over Orlando Castelan Cortez (Oakland Mills) 19-4, So. (M. For.)
5th Place Match
Jonah Chen (Montgomery Blair) 12-5, Jr. over Keyshawn Gray (Digital Harbor) 20-8, . (Fall 3:56)
138
1st Place Match
Andrew Dolezel (Reservoir) 41-0, Sr. over Daniel Wu (Montgomery Blair) 36-5, Sr. (MD 15-5)
3rd Place Match
Jamie Kraft (Marriotts Ridge) 26-11, Sr. over Sean Myers (Howard) 33-10, Sr. (Dec 9-5)
5th Place Match
Caldwell Ford (Laurel) 36-9, So. over Chonan Bell (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 17-13, Jr. (Dec 7-2)
144
1st Place Match
Jose Lazo (Reservoir) 34-3, Jr. over Leo Foreman (Eleanor Roosevelt) 2-1, Jr. (SV-1 10-7)
3rd Place Match
Nana Blankson (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 32-11, Sr. over Trip Bennett (Marriotts Ridge) 29-17, Sr. (Dec 14-7)
5th Place Match
Kivuva Mativo (Howard) 27-18, Sr. over Jody Harper (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) 23-11, So. (Dec 13-10)
150
1st Place Match
Gilberto Medina (Atholton) 29-7, Sr. over Derrel Davis (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 34-5, Jr. (Dec 8-4)
3rd Place Match
Michael Ukoh (Mt. Hebron) 25-10, Sr. over Jayden Bush (Oakland Mills) 26-15, Sr. (Dec 7-1)
5th Place Match
Alex Gladstone (Marriotts Ridge) 33-12, . over Alex McClinton (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) 30-7, Jr. (Fall 2:03)
157
1st Place Match
Raul Rodriguez (Oakland Mills) 30-3, Jr. over Dorian Jordan (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) 29-4, Fr. (Fall 1:54)
3rd Place Match
Malachi Patterson (Atholton) 30-6, Sr. over Henry Phillips (Marriotts Ridge) 29-11, Jr. (MD 12-3)
5th Place Match
Phil Spencer (Long Reach High School) 22-14, Sr. over Carter Shedaffa (Bladensburg) 28-12, . (M. For.)
165
1st Place Match
Lazaro Torralba (Parkdale) 4-0, . over Thomas MacKenzie (Atholton) 29-8, So. (TF-1.5 4:24 (19-3))
3rd Place Match
Luca Selaru (River Hill) 24-9, Jr. over Ayden Paulay (Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) 27-11, Sr. (Dec 10-3)
5th Place Match
Beck Rowe (Montgomery Blair) 26-17, Sr. over angel flores (Duval) 21-7, . (Dec 9-5)
175
1st Place Match
Jonah Obitz (Marriotts Ridge) 42-0, Sr. over Jordan Hicks (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) 32-2, Jr. (MD 10-2)
3rd Place Match
Joshua Danso (Mt. Hebron) 28-7, Sr. over Sammy John Bissong (Laurel) 35-7, Jr. (Fall 4:11)
5th Place Match
Anthony Galanakos (River Hill) 26-18, So. over Abraham Stolbach (Baltimore City College) 18-4, Jr. (Dec 8-7)
190
1st Place Match
Caden Glass (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 33-8, Sr. over John Wassell (Atholton) 27-10, Sr. (MD 16-5)
3rd Place Match
Dylon Clarke (Long Reach High School) 25-11, Sr. over Abner Britez (Marriotts Ridge) 24-16, Jr. (Fall 4:20)
5th Place Match
Justin Telon-Noriega (Reservoir) 27-10, Jr. over Anthony Garcia (Bladensburg) 11-13, . (M. For.)
215
1st Place Match
Dajorn Smith (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) 22-4, Sr. over Amari Lonesome (Baltimore City College) 11-3, . (Fall 5:47)
3rd Place Match
Iyanuoluwanimi Ogunsakin (Mt. Hebron) 30-13, So. over Samuel Pautrat (Reservoir) 18-22, Sr. (Fall 0:49)
5th Place Match
Emmanuel Payen (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) 15-14, So. over Rember Gomez (Parkdale) 6-11, . (MD 16-5)
285
1st Place Match
Taylor Brown (Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.) 23-0, Sr. over Emmanuel Kalu (High Point) 19-3, Sr. (Fall 1:59)
3rd Place Match
Elijah Fields (Guilford Park) 31-13, Jr. over Alejandro Mendez (Montgomery Blair) 26-10, Sr. (Fall 3:00)
5th Place Match
Soma Casmire-Dike (Marriotts Ridge) 22-16, So. over Jay Masterson (Howard) 31-14, Jr. (Fall 0:57)
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