Chesapeake’s 175-pound senior Matthew Curtin has had many conversations about wrestling with his father Randy, who is in his 10th-year coaching the eighth-ranked Cougars.
Randy Curtin graduated from Hammond High in Howard County in 1998, when the program became champions in their county and Class 2A-1A South Region tournaments as well as the Class 2A-1A state duals.
On February 15, Randy Curtin guided the Cougars (38-0) to a 31-30, Class 3A state dual meet championship triumph during which Matthew Curtin contributed a 16-0 technical fall victory.
In doing so, Curtin’s Cougars regained the state dual crown for the first time since 2022, when they ran the table for the county dual meet and tournament titles along with the Class 3A state duals championship.
Chesapeake defeated South River, 42-34, in 2022, and scored 257 points to win that year’s county tournament.
“During his senior year, my dad wrestled 171, and his team won counties, regions and states,” said Matthew Curtin of Randy Curtin, a former county tournament champion who placed third at the regionals before falling short at states to the eventual champion and third-place finishers.
“My father was also a county champion. This year, I’ve been wrestling at 175, and my team has won the county, regional and state dual meet championships. I had been able to repeat my dad’s legacy so far, except that now I just had to become a county champion just like he did.”
Matthew Curtin accomplished that goal last weekend, but it was far from easy.
Matthew scored an overtime fall in 6:19 to defeat 21st-ranked Annapolis senior Davis Ruhf, a returning county runner-up whose record slipped to 36-2. An earlier 9-5 loser to Ruhf, Matthew trailed by as much as 6-1 before tying their match at 12 and sending it into the extra session.
Curtin’s victory helped the Cougars (259 points) to dethrone 19th-ranked runner-up South River (214.5) for their program’s fourth county tournament title, including those in 1980, 2002 and 2022.
A third-place finisher at last year’s counties who placed fourth at regions, Matthew’s record improved to 34-9 with 11 each in pins and technical falls.
“Preparing for my match, I read Psalm 20 over and over, believing in faith that my God would give me the victory if I promised to glorify him for it,” Matthew Curtin said. “He gave me the victory that night in one of the tightest, most exciting matches of my life. Nothing but respect to my opponent for a great match, and nothing but glory and honor to Jesus Christ my Lord.”
Matthew Curtin reached the finals after a 20-5 technical fall over Broadneck senior Cameron Zachari and an 11-9 semifinal victory over South River junior Evan Paximadas, whom Zachari defeated by 22-6 technical fall for third place.
"Matthew was down, 6-1, in his finals match early on, but I didn't panic because I know that Matthew is in great shape. I knew he would come back in the second and third periods," Randy Curtin said. " I was so proud of Matthew for not only winning his finals match but also beating Paximadas in the semifinals. The fact that he picked up a pin in overtime was sweet icing on the cake. In fact, those two bonus points put our team score ahead of the 2022 team score [257 points]in the county tournament."
Curtin was joined on the victory podium by 10th-ranked senior Xander Dodd (215), ninth-ranked freshman Quin Greenstreet (106), 13th-ranked freshman Carson Roberts (120) and 16th-ranked sophomore Rex Graves (138) for a Cougars team that had eight finalists and 10 wrestlers who placed within the top four of their weight classes.
Finishing second for the Cougars (38-0) were ninth-ranked freshman Bentley Schmidt (113), 24th-ranked junior Brayden Roberts (126) and junior Collin Richardson (165), with senior Dominic Ayres (132) being third, and junior Owen Collins (150), fourth.
Dodd ran his record on the year to 36-0 with his second straight county title. Dodd used falls in 5:15 and four minutes to reach his championship bout, where he won by 11-5 decision over 18th-ranked Arundel junior Pierce Read.
Dodd went 41-3 a year ago, being a runner-up at regions and Class 4A-3A states to top-ranked senior Jamil Morrow. Morrow defeated Dodd, 8-2, in the regions, and 5-1, in the states, finishing the year with a record of 37-0.
"I'm looking forward to wrestling him again," Dodd said. "I'm looking forward to giving him a good match."
Greenstreet is 30-1 on the season thanks to his fall in 1:50 and his 16-1 technical fall over Glen Burnie sophomore Daniel Canas, the latter, in their title match.
Roberts improved his record on the year to 35-4, using a fall in 2:34 and an 11-4 decision over 11th-ranked junior Logan Johnson of Old Mill to reach the finals. Roberts overcame and dethroned 12th-ranked junior Trent Shipley by the score of 14-9, in their title match.
Roberts emerged victorious in a deep weight class, improving his record on the year to, 2-1, against both Johnson and Shipley, the latter of whom pinned eighth-ranked defending county champion senior Branden Whyte-Taylor at 42 seconds of their semifinal bout.
A two-time county champion who has placed third and fifth at regions as well as fifth at states, Shipley pinned Roberts in 53 seconds after having lost to him by 16-4 major decision earlier this season.
Johnson scored a 16-6 major decision over Roberts after having been decked in 3:02 of their initial meeting.
Roberts also owns an upset, 5-3 decision over Linganore’s sixth-ranked senior Josh Arthur, a two-time defending Frederick County Tournament champion who has earned one regional title in two title match appearances and placed second and third at the past two Class 4A-3A state tournaments.
A third-place finisher at counties last season, Graves improved his record on the year to 33-2, using a fall in 4:17 and a 10-2 major decision to reach the finals.
Graves dethroned Arundel’s 17th-ranked senior Cole Figueroa, whose record slipped to 24-6 and included an earlier 7-5 dual meet loss to Graves.
Figueroa’s route to last year’s 132-pound title included an 8-4 semifinal victory over Graves, who transferred from county-rival Northeast.
South River crowned 10th-ranked sophomore Jackson Peeples (113) and second-ranked senior Busayo Balogun (285), the former being a repeat champion and the latter improving on last year’s third-place finish.
Peeples used pins in 3:20 and 61 seconds to reach his title match against Bentley Schmidt, whom he vanquished, 6-3, to improve his record on the year to 32-6.
A returning regional and Class 4A-3A state champion, Peeples improved his record to 2-1 against Schmidt. Schmidt has a record on the year of 30-3, which includes a 7-3 victory over Peeples and a 2-1 loss.
Balogun has a record of 36-3 as a returning Class 4A-3A state runner-up who was third at counties and second at regions last season. Balogun used falls in 33 and 29 seconds to reach his title match, where he earned an 8-2 decision over Glen Burnie senior Elijah Boston.
Annapolis had a pair of first-time champions in fourth-ranked sophomore Mike Groszkowski (132) and 25th-ranked senior Teddy Sfakiyanudis (157), the latter of whom improved on last year’s fifth place finish.
Groszkowski used falls in 26 and 42 seconds to reach his title match, where he improved his record on the season to 37-1 with an 18-5 major decision over Northeast sophomore Blake Harris.
Sfakyianudis had a much more difficult time improving his record on the season to 34-3, earning a 1-0 quarterfinal decision over Northeast sophomore Max Schmidt before using a 55-second semifinal fall over Crofton senior Ryan Eremita to reach the finals.
Sfakyianudis won his title by injury default over South River senior Ben Ford, while Eremita edged Schmidt, 5-3, for third place.
Arundel’s eighth-ranked senior Luca Brown (144) has a record of 35-2 after winning his crown, which is an improvement on last season’s runner-up finish. Brown earned an 8-0 major decision and a fall in 5:02 before scoring a 14-0 major decision over championship opponent, Noah Obinna, a senior from Glen Burnie.
Broadneck’s 12th-ranked senior Linx Lawless (165) improved his record on the year to 37-3, in the process earning his second straight county title. Lawless used falls in 89 and 93 seconds to go with another in 1:51 to reach his title match, where he decked Richardson in 1:53.
Fourth-ranked junior Beau Schmidt (150) used an 18-1 technical fall and an 11-3 decision to reach the finals, where he earned his third straight crown with a 9-8 decision over 20th-ranked junior Peyton Miller, who is a runner-up for the third consecutive season.
A two-time state runner-up who has won a regional crown in two championship berths, Schmidt returned from injury to improve his record for the season to 7-0.
Severna Park’s ninth-ranked junior Michael Queen (126) used a fall in 2:34 and a 17-1 technical fall to reach his title match, where he blanked Brayden Roberts, 4-0, to improve his record on the year to 36-2.
Queen was a county champion as a sophomore but was dethroned last year following a 6-5 title match loss. Roberts is a runner-up for the second consecutive season.
Old Mill’s 15th-ranked senior Noel Norman-Williams improved on last year’s fifth place finish, running his record on the year to 37-2. Norman-Williams used falls in 20 and 94-seconds to reach his title match, where he earned a 7-1 decision over Crofton senior Chris Coleman.
Team Scores
1 Chesapeake 259.0
2 South River 214.5
3 Annapolis 148.0
4 Arundel 141.5
5 Old Mill 126.5
6 Broadneck 121.0
7 Crofton 113.5
8 Northeast 84.0
9 North County 81.0
10 Glen Burnie 75.5
106
1st Place Match
Quin Greenstreet (Chesapeake High School) 30-1, Fr. over Daniel Canas (Glen Burnie High School) 31-10, So. (TF-1.5 4:44 (16-1))
3rd Place Match
Steven Umana (Annapolis High School) 28-11, Jr. over Shaams Ghambir (South River High School) 28-11, So. (Dec 3-0)
5th Place Match
Christian Kinnee (Southern High School) 24-12, So. over Tyler Tablada (Arundel High School) 23-12, So. (Inj. 0:00)
7th Place Match
Adriel Loh (Broadneck High School) 18-21, Sr. over () , . (Bye)
113
1st Place Match
Jackson Peeples (South River High School) 32-6, So. over Bently Schmidt (Chesapeake High School) 30-3, Fr. (Dec 6-3)
3rd Place Match
Hunter Mahoney (Southern High School) 27-6, So. over Brandon Womack (Old Mill High School) 31-9, . (Fall 1:56)
5th Place Match
Nyle Borges (Crofton High School) 40-8, So. over Ricky Cox (Arundel High School) 21-11, So. (Fall 1:54)
7th Place Match
Aidan Bass (Severna Park High School) 17-17, Fr. over () , . (Bye)
120
1st Place Match
Carson Roberts (Chesapeake High School) 35-4, Fr. over Trent Shipley (South River High School) 26-13, Jr. (Dec 14-9)
3rd Place Match
Logan Johnson (Old Mill High School) 34-9, over Branden Whyte-Taylor (Broadneck High School) 31-8, Sr. (M. For.)
5th Place Match
Brody Clark (Severna Park High School) 30-11, Fr. over Owen Healy (Meade High School) 26-15, . (Dec 4-0)
7th Place Match
AJ Soriano (Arundel High School) 20-15, Sr. over Nikolas Jimenez (North County) 13-11, So. (Fall 2:03)
126
1st Place Match
Michael Queen (Severna Park High School) 36-2, Jr. over Brayden Roberts (Chesapeake High School) 37-4, Jr. (Dec 4-0)
3rd Place Match
Stephen Reynolds (North County) 22-12, Sr. over Miguel Caban (Broadneck High School) 23-19, Jr. (Dec 7-0)
5th Place Match
Keon Gavin (Old Mill High School) 35-7, over Ryan Moreland (Southern High School) 12-18, So. (Fall 3:20)
7th Place Match
Andrew Veilluex (South River High School) 9-11, Jr. over Conrad Ferrite (Annapolis High School) 21-21, Sr. (MD 16-3)
132
1st Place Match
Mike Groszkowski (Annapolis High School) 37-1, over Blake Harris (Northeast High School) 21-17, So. (MD 18-5)
3rd Place Match
Dominic Ayres (Chesapeake High School) 33-10, Sr. over Carter Rermgosakul (Crofton High School) 33-14, So. (Fall 4:45)
5th Place Match
Anthony Allen (Arundel High School) 24-7, Jr. over Andrew Bonk (Severna Park High School) 25-17, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:08 (17-1))
7th Place Match
Jack Josephs (Broadneck High School) 3-2, Jr. over Dru DiSilvestre (Southern High School) 14-18, So. (For.)
138
1st Place Match
Rex Graves (Chesapeake High School) 33-2, So. over Cole Figueroa (Arundel High School) 24-6, Sr. (Dec 7-2)
3rd Place Match
Ethan Burger (South River High School) 24-10, So. over Ayden Eremita (Crofton High School) 28-11, Sr. (Dec 4-1)
5th Place Match
Leonidas Sfakiyanudis (Annapolis High School) 29-9, Fr. over Long Bui (Broadneck High School) 24-18, Jr. (Dec 8-4)
7th Place Match
James Manning (Severn Run High School) 21-13, over Mohammad Rahmani (Old Mill High School) 19-23, . (Dec 6-1)
144
1st Place Match
Luca Brown (Arundel High School) 35-2, Sr. over Noah Obinna (Glen Burnie High School) 37-5, Sr. (MD 14-0)
3rd Place Match
Pete Laye (South River High School) 11-11, Sr. over Cian Santos (Crofton High School) 30-9, So. (Fall 2:51)
5th Place Match
Aidan Holly (Severna Park High School) 29-10, Jr. over Christian Snavely (Annapolis High School) 24-15, So. (Fall 4:45)
7th Place Match
Michael Taylor (Northeast High School) 20-15, So. over Montrel Johnson (Old Mill High School) 1-3, Sr. (Fall 2:03)
150
1st Place Match
Beau Schmidt (Northeast High School) 7-0, Jr. over Peyton Miller (Broadneck High School) 32-6, Sr. (Dec 9-8)
3rd Place Match
Matteo Brown (Arundel High School) 33-3, So. over Owen Collins (Chesapeake High School) 36-10, Jr. (Dec 5-2)
5th Place Match
Myles Rankin (Annapolis High School) 20-8, over Ruben Salas (Old Mill High School) 19-6, . (Dec 12-5)
7th Place Match
Maddox Parr (Glen Burnie High School) 30-13, So. over Kelechi Abii (Meade High School) 24-10, Sr. (Fall 2:40)
157
1st Place Match
Theodore Sfakiyanudis (Annapolis High School) 34-3, Sr. over Ben Ford (South River High School) 34-6, Sr. (Inj. 5:06)
3rd Place Match
Ryan Eremita (Crofton High School) 32-6, Sr. over Max Schmidt (Northeast High School) 20-11, Jr. (Dec 5-3)
5th Place Match
Trevor Webb (Chesapeake High School) 23-15, Jr. over Jeremiah Mitchell (North County) 32-11, Sr. (Dec 7-3)
7th Place Match
Trey Martini (Old Mill High School) 25-16, . over Luke Thurston (Southern High School) 21-17, Sr. (Inj. 0:00)
165
1st Place Match
Linx Lawless (Broadneck High School) 37-3, Sr. over Collin Richardson (Chesapeake High School) 29-11, Jr. (Fall 1:53)
3rd Place Match
Troy Lucas (Northeast High School) 23-13, Jr. over Bradley Morales (Meade High School) 28-11, Sr. (Dec 7-5)
5th Place Match
Jordan Orellana-Blanca (North County) 8-5, So. over Jeffrey Featherstone (Annapolis High School) 5-5, So. (Dec 15-11)
7th Place Match
Will French (South River High School) 5-4, So. over Michael Kenney (Crofton High School) 10-9, Jr. (Fall 2:38)
175
1st Place Match
Matthew Curtin (Chesapeake High School) 34-9, Sr. over Davis Ruhf (Annapolis High School) 36-2, Sr. (Fall 6:19)
3rd Place Match
Cameron Zachari (Broadneck High School) 22-17, Sr. over Evan Paximadas (South River High School) 32-10, Jr. (TF-1.5 4:33 (22-6))
5th Place Match
Marcus VanSickle (Meade High School) 29-13, Jr. over Dominick Hurley (Old Mill High School) 27-14, . (Dec 7-5)
7th Place Match
Pierre Vital (North County) 17-13, Sr. over LaDarian Roulhac (Crofton High School) 18-16, Jr. (Fall 2:25)
190
1st Place Match
Noel Noman-Williams (Old Mill High School) 37-2, . over Chris Coleman (Crofton High School) 29-8, Sr. (Dec 7-1)
3rd Place Match
Chris Millard (South River High School) 35-8, Jr. over Carter Alexander (North County) 37-3, Sr. (M. For.)
5th Place Match
Andi Rivera (Annapolis High School) 24-16, over Dean Michael (Chesapeake High School) 30-14, So. (Dec 8-6)
7th Place Match
Grayson Stewart (Broadneck High School) 17-9, Sr. over Isiah Haynes (Meade High School) 1-3, Sr. (Fall 0:59)
215
1st Place Match
Xander Dodd (Chesapeake High School) 36-0, Sr. over Pierce Read (Arundel High School) 28-7, Jr. (Dec 11-5)
3rd Place Match
Alpay Aslan (Crofton High School) 35-9, Sr. over Austin Pierce (North County) 29-11, Sr. (Fall 2:16)
5th Place Match
Cristian Erazo (South River High School) 19-12, Sr. over Kenneth Smith (Meade High School) 20-17, Jr. (Dec 4-3)
7th Place Match
Darmitri Looney (Old Mill High School) 15-11, over Brett Gleisner (Severna Park High School) 19-12, So. (Dec 6-4)
285
1st Place Match
Busayo Balogun (South River High School) 36-3, Sr. over Elijah Boston (Glen Burnie High School) 37-4, Sr. (Dec 8-2)
3rd Place Match
Manasseh Ojaomo (Arundel High School) 26-4, Jr. over Austyn Bunn (Old Mill High School) 23-16, . (Fall 3:15)
5th Place Match
Jonas Dotson (Chesapeake High School) 23-13, Jr. over Christian Jones (Meade High School) 8-10, Sr. (Fall 1:59)
Comments