Seventh-ranked senior Angelo Marchany earned a 56-second fall in the semifinals at 150-pounds against Lackey, and a 7-3 decision over Middletown’s seventh-ranked freshman Zach Landis in the finals at 157 pounds as second-ranked South Carroll won its fourth straight Class 1A state dual meet title at Severn Run High on Saturday.
The Cavaliers (22-1) hammered both squads, winning, 46-32, against the Chargers, and, 58-12, over the seventh-ranked Knights, who won their semifinal, 45-34, over Harford Tech.
The Knights trailed the Cavaliers, 36-12, with four bouts left after a fall in 3:51 by 17th-ranked junior Carter Canale (175), meaning they still were within striking distance of managing a dual meet tie.
But the Knights’ forfeited to fourth-ranked Class 2A-1A state champion Landon Hamper (190), giving the Cavaliers an insurmountable lead of 42-12 with three bouts remaining. Hamper earned a fall in 3:36 against the Chargers.
The triumph was the Cavaliers’ second of the season over the Knights, whom they handled, 52-20, in an earlier dual meet.
“Going into today we knew we would all come together very well as we have the past few years,” said Marchany, a returning Carroll County and regional runner-up who was sixth at Class 2A-1A states last season. “Coming into this match, we knew that we had the upper hand no matter what after our big win over them in the previous weeks.”
The Cavaliers’ fourth-ranked Class 2A-1A state champion junior Grayson Barnhill (113) had falls in 42 and 43 seconds, the former over 20th-ranked sophomore Liam Soe of Middletown.
Second-ranked two-time state champion junior Jo Jo Gigliotti (144) had falls in 86 and 93 seconds for the Cavaliers, and second-ranked Class 2A-1A state runner-up senior Evan Owen (138) earned technical falls of 19-1, and 15-0.
The Cavaliers’ 16th-ranked sophomore Brody Henry (126) had a 75-second pin and a 19-9 major decision, the latter against 20th-ranked junior Xavier Ford of Middletown.
Cavaliers’ sophomore Davy Snyder, who is ranked 19th, scored a 20-4 technical fall over the Chargers’ 13th-ranked junior William Chism at 157 pounds, and a 4-2 decision over Middletown’s Henry Graham at 165 pounds.
Top-ranked sophomore Eli Gabrielson (120) had a pin and a forfeit for the Cavaliers, who also received a 9-1 major decision against the Chargers from sixth-ranked senior Manny Rodrigues (215). As a sophomore, Rodrigues won Carroll County and Class 2A-1A North Region crowns before placing second at Class 2A-1A states but missed last season due to injury.
“We were happy to start at the lower weights,” Marchany said. “Because after we get those pins back-to-back, it just gets the team going."
Although Marchany earned the results he desired on Saturday, he didn’t necessarily get the rematch he wanted against the Knights’ eighth-ranked, senior Alex DeVriendt, who has finished third once and second twice at the Class 2A-1A state tournament.
Marchany had scored a shocking, 70-second fall against the then-third ranked DeVriendt during the first meeting. But DeVriendt received a forfeit at 144 pounds on Saturday based on a decision from Cavaliers’ coach Bryan Hamper.
“Alex weighed in at 144, and we had hoped they would send him out against Jo Jo,” said Hamper of Gigliotti, who has twice beaten DeVriendt. “But they didn’t send him out against Jo Jo, so we made the decision to bump up to cover 175 since Anthony Rodrigues is still out with an injury.”
Hamper was referring to second-ranked junior Anthony Rodrigues (175), an injured returning Class 2A-1A state champion.
“I am always prepared to wrestle whoever comes on the mat, but ultimately it’s coach [Bryan] Hamper's decision to do what is best for the team,” Marchany said. “Our first match previously with them was going really good as we were rolling and then I got that upset against Alex. Going into the finals today, we knew Alex weighed in at 144, so we assumed that he would wrestle JoJo. But Alex chose to come out at 150.”
South Carroll is in pursuit of its fifth straight Carroll County Tournament crown under Hamper, who is in his 12th season as head coach during a career in which he has spent 14 years as an assistant.
A 2001 South Carroll graduate who was twice a state champion and twice placed fourth at the states, Hamper coached his alma mater to Class 2A-1A state tournament titles in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 before the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association ceased scoring the state tournament in 2018.
The Cavaliers lost only three of the bouts that were actually wrestled on Saturday as Lackey’s Luke Baldwin (106) earned a major decision, and teammate James Kunz (132) earned a technical fall against the Cavaliers’ Alexander Little, owner of a 10-3 decision over Middletown’s 23rd-ranked freshman Ryker Keeney.
Winning for the Knights against the Cobras was 19th-ranked sophomore Campbell Bowman (106) by fall in 5:53, while Harford Tech received a 70-second pin from 17th-ranked senior Zaden Tablan (113) against Soe and a technical fall from 15th-ranked Nikolai Chervak (144).
Class 1A Semifinals
Middletown 45, Harford Tech 35
106 Campbell Bowman (Middletown) over Brayden Pruski (Harford Technical) Fall 5:53
113 Zaden Tablan (Harford Technical) over Liam Soe (Middletown) Fall 1:10
120 Calvin Smith (Middletown) over Tyshon Little (Harford Technical) Fall 4:56
126 Ryker Keeney (Middletown) over Cameron Moore (Harford Technical) Fall 1:57
132 Xavier Ford (Middletown) over Nathan Derham (Harford Technical) Dec 4-2
138 Sam Sword (Middletown) over Nathan Claypoole (Harford Technical) Fall 3:06
144 Nikolai Chervak (Harford Technical) over Arturo Manjarrez-Zapata (Middletown) TF 22-4
150 Alex DeVriendt (Middletown) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
157 Henry Graham (Middletown) over Nicholas Gibson (Harford Technical) Fall 2:46
165 Zach Landis (Middletown) over Hunter Lark (Harford Technical) Fall 0:49
175 Brian Vickers (Harford Technical) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
190 Parker Sweeney (Harford Technical) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
215 Elijah Terry (Harford Technical) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 James Seifert (Harford Technical) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
South Carroll 46, Lackey 32
106 Luke Baldwin (Henry E. Lackey) over Jason Patterson (South Carroll) Maj 12-4
113 Grayson Barnhill (South Carroll) over Michael Kunz (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:43
120 Eli Gabrielson (South Carroll) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
126 Brody Henry (South Carroll) over Kayla Manning (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 1:15
132 James Kunz (Henry E. Lackey) over Alexander Little (South Carroll) TF 17-2
138 Evan Owen (South Carroll) over Joseph Lancaster (Henry E. Lackey) TF 15-0
144 Jojo Gigliotti (South Carroll) over Giovanni Posey (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 1:33
150 Angelo Marchany (South Carroll) over Isaiah Datcher (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:56
157 Davy Snyder (South Carroll) over William Chism (Henry E. Lackey) TF 20-4
165 Brandon Catherine (Henry E. Lackey) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
175 Ethan Vayro (Henry E. Lackey) over Conner Deshesky (South Carroll) Fall 3:29
190 Landon Hamper (South Carroll) over Ronald Johnson (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 3:36
215 Drake Few (Henry E. Lackey) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 Cavaan Toney (Henry E. Lackey) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
Class 1A Final
South Carroll 58, Middletown 12
113 Grayson Barnhill (South Carroll) over Liam Soe (Middletown) Fall 0:42 (6-0, S)
120 Eli Gabrielson (South Carroll) over Calvin Smith (Middletown) Fall 5:05 (12-0, S)
126 Brody Henry (South Carroll) over Xavier Ford (Middletown) Maj 19-9 (16-0, S)
132 Alexander Little (South Carroll) over Ryker Keeney (Middletown) Dec 10-3 (19-0, S)
138 Evan Owen (South Carroll) over Sam Sword (Middletown) TF 19-1 (24-0, S)
144 Jojo Gigliotti (South Carroll) over Arturo Manjarrez-Zapata (Middletown) Fall 1:26 (30-0, S)
150 Alex DeVriendt (Middletown) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf (30-6, S)
157 Angelo Marchany (South Carroll) over Zach Landis (Middletown) Dec 7-3 (33-6, S)
165 Davy Snyder (South Carroll) over Henry Graham (Middletown) Dec 4-2 (36-6, S)
175 Carter Canale (Middletown) over Conner Deshesky (South Carroll) Fall 3:51 (36-12, S)
190 Landon Hamper (South Carroll) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf (42-12, S)
215 Manny Rodrigues (South Carroll) over Gerald Smith (Middletown) Maj 9-1 (46-12, S)
285 Paddy Govier (South Carroll) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf (52-12, S)
106 Jason Patterson (South Carroll) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf (58-12, S)
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