Team Maryland WINS Greco National Championship!

At the close of our day one recap on the 14U Greco Roman National Duals in Wesley, Florida, we mentioned that Team Maryland was not out of title contention despite their Gold Pool loss to Pennsylvania Blue. That remark and the possibility of a tie proved to be fortuitous as that is exactly what happened.

Maryland won both of their Gold Pool bouts on Wednesday morning. During that time, California Gold defeated Pennsylvania Blue to force a three-way tie for first, which was broken by most dual meet points scored, and that favored our boys!

UNLIKLEY, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE

The tie allowed Maryland to gain access to the Greco Roman National Championship Final versus Minnesota, who had beaten PA Blue in their original pool round too. In addition, Minnesota swept its Gold Pool A, so they were considered the favorites on paper due to the results (especially the win over PA Blue).

“On paper, you know Minnesota was the team to beat,” offered 14U Head Coach Jason Kiessling. “They came in as the number one seed; they had the highest average pin rating amongst all the teams. They have some really good kids on that team. So, we were looking at it like, this is a tough hill to climb.”

But, as the cliché goes, that’s why we wrestle the matches. And on this afternoon, the outcome would favor Team Maryland, who took an early lead, then watched Minnesota tie it up on three occasions before winning the last two to snuff out Minnesota’s title hopes and win the state’s first ever National Dual Championship (of any level).

The third and final tie of the dual came after the 75-pound match when No. 5 Jacob Garber beat Carter Townsend, 5-1, to make it 33 all. In the next bout, Declan Solito fell behind 2-0 to Easton Schut before forcing a tie as the first period came to a close. Solito added three more points in the second period with his final two frustrating Schut enough to draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, costing MN a team point.

Ethan Encarnacion came out at 84 pounds with Maryland up on the board by three, 36-33. Encarnacion exploded off the whistle and secured a takedown plus two exposure points to take a 4-0 lead. In a later sequence, Encarnacion went to the same scoring method to drop an 8-0 tech on Eli Richter in 1:51 to seal the national title for Maryland.

“It was an awesome, awesome team effort,” regaled Kiessling. “You could see the energy with everybody was where it needed to be. Everybody was involved with the matches. All the kids were cheering each other on. All the coaches were really involved. I really don’t have words for it. I’m still literally in awe of what they were able to do today. "

“It’s a really good feeling. Last year, I remember being down here and we placed seventh in Greco and tenth in Freestyle and I remember telling the kids, “We can come back here next year and win this thing”. And the fact that the kids did it, is just really cool and special.”

The dual kicked off with No. 2 Korbin Kiessling at 88 pounds where he used a second period bear hug/hip toss to stick Cameron Rodgers in 3:00. Luke Briggs made quick work of Jett Foster at 92 pounds with an 8-0 technical fall in just 49 seconds to propel Maryland to a 9-0 start.

“It started out awesome with Korbin’s pin and then Luke coming out and tech falling Jett Foster, who is a really good wrestler, we built some momentum,” Kiessling said. “The kids just kept coming and coming. Overall, it was just a great performance from all the kids.”

A 96-pound showdown of two guys ranked at 85 pounds in MatScouts MS Rankings was next on the docket as No. 9 Caleb Tsikerdanos squared off with No. 8 Gabriel Jasso. The rankings were proven correct when Jasso teched Tsikerdanos in the second period on an 11-2 count in 3:38. That got Minnesota on the board and cut Maryland’s lead to six points, 10-4.

Edward Encarnacion (100 pounds) went right to work on Lincoln Schuelke and scored a takedown then with an arm pinched rocked back-and-forth, collecting the necessary exposure points to gain the 9-0 tech fall in 1:10.

Minnesota stormed back with three consecutive wins to reach the first tie at 15-15. Two technical falls and a decision led to the wins at 105 pounds to 115 pounds.

Maryland answered with three wins of their own to take the edge back with a 28-16 tally. No. 7 at 105 pounds, Esaias Perez put Micah Donahue away quickly at 120 pounds when he circled the head with a crossface to deck his foe in 47 seconds. Justin Wildy, Jr. said hold my water, and outdid Perez by sticking Chael Johnson in 40 seconds with a powerful throw in the 126-pound match.

Brody Clemons ended the first period versus TJ Richardson with a 1-0 advantage. The razor-thin margin didn’t go away as points were at a premium in this one with Clemons holding on at the end for a 3-2 win at 132 pounds.

There was no quit in Minnesota, though, as they roared back to tie it up at 29 after another three-bout winning streak, this one from 140 pounds up to 175. Two pins and a tech boosted Minnesota back into it. Luca Wynn stepped up big for his squad at 225 pounds and was able to put up a 3-2 decision of Hank Gutormson to leave us where our recollection began.

“Maryland is a new center of gravity for Greco-Roman wrestling in the U.S. Over the years we have seen this fluctuate between Colorado to Michigan to Illinois but now Maryland has secured it's spot amongst the best as well” said James Foster, Chair of Maryland State Wrestling Association and a self-admitted Greco-diehard. “The future is bright and this style is giving us a renewed opportunity to shine and standout. I couldn’t be prouder and more excited for Jason, our coaches and the team - they have raised the bar!”

HOW THEY GOT THERE

Maryland’s two Gold Pool B Duals came on Wednesday morning and their first one was over early as they won 11 of the first 12 matches versus Washington en route to a 49-26 win. Washington won four of the last five matches after falling behind 43-11. They closed the pool with a 40-36 win over California Gold.

“It was a really good, total team effort,” Kiessling added. “After yesterday, after the Pennsylvania match, I kinda laid into the kids a little bit. Even though it was a great day, we didn’t do what we set out to do. Losing to Pennsylvania left a bad taste in my mouth just because I think we could have beaten them.

“The things I said in the article yesterday was what I told the kids, “We need to believe that we are the best team.” So, the fact that they came back today and responded the way that they did was something I was really, really proud. It’s awesome.”

Picking up wins in the Washington dual were Solito, Ethan Encarnacion, Kiessling, Briggs, Tsikerdanos, Logan Brickley, Logan Noonan, Leo Wheeler, Perez, Wildy, Jr., Clemons, and Wynn.

“Before the California dual, we talked about keeping bonus points to a minimum and getting bonus points when you can,” remarked Kiessling. “And even if you’re losing, if you can at least score a point. By scoring a point it gives us a team point and that’s big. Those little victories like that are all big things in Freestyle/Greco Duals. And our guys responded to that really well.”

California Gold proved to be a more challenging foe, but the win was sewn up with two matches left after Wynn put up a 1:00 tech (8-0) over Juan Lopez to make the score 39-27 with two bouts left. CA won both to make the final score, 40-36.

Four straight wins got Maryland off to a 15-3 headstart. Ethan Encarnacion won a 6-3 decision over Cali’s Koa Cu at 84 pounds. Kiessling (88) stuck Tegan VanBebber in 31 seconds. Briggs (92) showed big heart as he was losing 6-4 in the final frame when a four-point series gave him an 8-6 lead, which he grew to 10-6 at 92. Tsikerdanos used all of the allotted time to compile a 9-1 tech of Kaikoa Apostol.

California posted wins in the next four weight classes to end the stretch tied at 17. Following that, Maryland asserted itself again to the tune of three consecutive tech falls to go back up, 29-18.

Perez (120 pounds) took care of Ethan Escobar on an 11-2 count in 3:20. Wildy, Jr. blanked Christoper Sarkissian with a 9-0 tally in 3:30 at 126. Clemons’ 8-0 132-pound outcome versus Jimmy Urban came right at the end of the first period (2:00).

The Cali Kids got within three points of Maryland at 30-27 after a tech at 140 pounds and collecting a forfeit at 155. Jayden Carter began closing the door on California at 175 pounds when he shocked Sylvester Jones IV by lifting him off the mat with a big bear hug to the back to post the fall 15 seconds into the second period.

Carter was losing 6-0 when he pulled that Magic Trick, leaving Wynn the opportunity to slam the door shut and that is exactly what he did.

“California’s 155-pounder (No. 5 Jessie Valenzuela) is an absolute monster,” said Kiessling. “He tech-falled our guy last year, who our guy last year (Terriel Cooke) was a monster, and so the fact that he did that says something and we decided to bump our 155-pounder up to 175. We forfeited at 155, bumped our 55 up to 75, and he ended up getting a pin, which helped us win that dual.

“So, that was a coaching decision that we made that paid off. It was a little bit of a gamble and a little bit scary because he went down 6-0 and then came back and got the pin, which was huge. That was a big factor in winning the dual meet.”

14U Greco-Roman Duals - Gold/Silver: Minnesota vs. Maryland

Weight Summary

88

Korbin Kiessling, MARY over Cameron Rodgers, MINN (F 3:01 )

92

Luke Briggs, MARY over Jett Foster, MINN (TF 8-0 (0:50) )

96

Gabriel Jasso, MINN over Caleb Tsikerdanos, MARY (TF 10-2 (3:39) )

100

Edward Encarnacion III, MARY over Lincoln Schuelke, MINN (TF 9-0 (1:10) )

105

Hunter Houle, MINN over Logan Brickley, MARY (TF 8-0 (0:31) )

110

Bryce Siem, MINN over Logan Noonan, MARY (Dec 6-0 )

115

Johnny Salas, MINN over Leo Wheeler, MARY (TF 10-2 (1:47) )

120

Esaias Perez, MARY over Micah Donahue, MINN (F 0:47 )

126

Justin Wildy, Jr., MARY over Chael Johnson, MINN (F 0:40 )

132

Brody Clemons, MARY over TJ Richardson, MINN (Dec 3-2 )

140

Nolan Meisch, MINN over Logan Hartzell, MARY (TF 8-0 (0:33) )

155

Thomas Snyder, MINN over Jayden Carter, MARY (TF 10-2 (0:52) )

175

Luke Kelly, MINN over Nate Hart, MARY (F 1:12 )

225

Luca Wynn, MARY over Hank Gutormson, MINN (Dec 3-2 )

75

Jacob Graber, MINN over Carter Townsend, MARY (Dec 5-1 )

80

Declan Solito, MARY over Easton Schut, MINN (Dec 5-2 )

84

Ethan Encarnacion, MARY over Eli Richter, MINN (TF 8-0 (1:48) )

Usc -1 MN

Final Score 40-33

14U Greco-Roman Duals - Gold/Silver: Maryland vs. Washington

Weight Summary

80

Declan Solito, MARY over Logan Crawford, WASH (Dec 4-1 )

84

Ethan Encarnacion, MARY over Nicolas Estrada, WASH (Dec 5-1 )

88

Korbin Kiessling, MARY over Ricky Almaguer, WASH (F 0:24 )

92

Luke Briggs, MARY over Tristan Guarnes, WASH (Dec 1-1 )

96

Caleb Tsikerdanos, MARY over Urijah Launit, WASH (F 1:05 )

100

Paxton Beckett, WASH over Edward Encarnacion III, MARY (TF 8-0 (1:32) )

105

Logan Brickley, MARY over Cato Rickel-Cruz, WASH (F 2:38 )

110

Logan Noonan, MARY over Rai Quinata, WASH (TF 14-4 (2:00) )

115

Leo Wheeler, MARY over ENZO NANAMKIN, WASH (Dec 5-3)

120

Esaias Perez, MARY over Declan Jones, WASH (TF 14-4 (2:16) )

126

Justin Wildy, Jr., MARY over Payton Graveline, WASH (F 0:22 )

132

Brody Clemons, MARY over Clayton Sullivan, WASH (Dec 11-4 )

140

David Lakoduk, WASH over Logan Hartzell, MARY (Dec 7-4 )

155

Gabriel Shaw, WASH over Jayden Carter, MARY (TF 8-0 (1:28) )

175

Waylon McCafferty, WASH over Nate Hart, MARY (TF 8-0 (2:23) )

225

Luca Wynn, MARY over Leo Garcia, WASH (TF 8-0 (0:45) )

75

Colton Fernandez, WASH over Carter Townsend, MARY (TF 9-1 (3:52) )

Final Score 49-26

14U Greco-Roman Duals - Gold/Silver: Maryland vs. California Gold

Weight Summary

84

Ethan Encarnacion, MARY over Koa Cu, CAGO (Dec 6-3 )

88

Korbin Kiessling, MARY over Teagan VanBebber, CAGO (F 0:31 )

92

Luke Briggs, MARY over Ari Sobaje, CAGO (Dec 10-6 )

96

Caleb Tsikerdanos, MARY over Kaikoa Apostol, CAGO (TF 9-1 (4:00) )

100

Daniel Martinez, CAGO over Edward Encarnacion III, MARY (Dec 6-2 )

105

Santiago Guillent, CAGO over Logan Brickley, MARY (Dec 12-9 )

110

James Hin, CAGO over Logan Noonan, MARY (TF 8-0 (1:35) )

115

Samuel Briggs, CAGO over Leo Wheeler, MARY (TF 8-0 (1:11) )

120

Esaias Perez, MARY over Ethan Escobar, CAGO (TF 11-2 (3:20) )

126

Justin Wildy, Jr., MARY over Christopher Sarkissian, CAGO (TF 9-0 (3:30) )

132

Brody Clemons, MARY over Jimmy Urban, CAGO (TF 8-0 (2:00) )

140

Adam Vasquez, CAGO over Logan Hartzell, MARY (TF 11-1 (2:19) )

155

Jessie Valenzuela, CAGO over Forfeit, MARY (FF)

175

Jayden Carter, MARY over Sylvester (SJ) Jones IV, CAGO (F 2:15 )

225

Luca Wynn, MARY over Juan Lopez, CAGO (TF 8-0 (1:00) )

75

Orlando Cruz, CAGO over Carter Townsend, MARY (F 3:26 )

80

Quintin Faull, CAGO over Declan Solito, MARY (TF 10-1 (1:38) )

Final Score 40-36