The Mad Mats Notebook

Photo Shoutout to Coach AJ Tao!

The Sharma family legacy continued at 20th-ranked Magruder last weekend, where 14th-ranked freshman Jaisen Sharma (106) and eighth-ranked senior teammate Sava Makarov (132) were among the hosts and Mad Mats Invitational title-winning Colonels’ two champions and seven top four place winners.

The Colonels also had a runner-up in sophomore Karina Sharma (105), Jaisen's older sister, in the unscored girls' tournament, this, a year after the graduation of their older brother, Neil Sharma, a Class 4A-3A state champion and a two-time winner of the Mad Mats event.

"Neil paved the way for his younger sister, Karina, and his younger brother, Jaisen. Both will look to continue his successes and build our wrestling program," said 15th-year coach AJ Tao, a 2003 Wheaton High graduate who was twice a county runner-up and qualified for states three times while wrestling 103-to-125. "The whole Sharma family has been a great addition to our Magruder program. Their parents are also great supporters and fans. We're very blessed to have their family in our Magruder community."

There was a third-place finish from sophomore Collin Murphy (120), with fourth-place efforts from seniors Luke Shadid (126) and Jayson Hinojosa (144) and Liam Holland (150) along with sophomore Hunter Hertz (113) as the Colonels (186.5 points) overcame runners-up in 21st-ranked Linganore and 22nd-ranked Landon each with 177.

“I told the team earlier in the tournament that it was going to be a tight race,” Tao said. “I told them that every point mattered, and that we should work to score points, and that if we could score bonus points, go for it.”

Makarov pinned all three opponents comprising falls in 60, 43 and 31 seconds, the last in his title match with freshman Bryan-Luke Price of Georgetown Prep.

A repeat champion at Mad Mats, Makarov returns after having placed second in the Montgomery County Tournament, third at regions and fourth at states.

"I'm proud of my teammates for winning the tournament," said Makarov, who is bound for Division II Belmont Abbey College of Belmont, North Carolina. "It was a lot of fun with a lot of tough competition."

After scoring a 53-second fall in his first bout, Jaisen Sharma had a more difficult time earning decisions by scores of 4-1 over Linganore freshman Nick Gordon in the semifinals and 3-0 over Gonzaga freshman Cayetano Nicodemus in their championship match.

“It was a great experience,” Jaisen Sharma said. “But I still have a lot of learning to do.”

Linganore crowned two champions in juniors Cash Wheat (157) and Lincoln Zirk (150), who are ranked seventh and 16th.

“The entire team wrestled really well, but we still don't have kids where they should be with weight certifications and football finishing last Saturday,” first-year Lancers’ head coach Jeff Wheat said. “But the kids don't care. They go out and put the work in to make things happen no matter what weight they are at.”

Wheat registered falls in 1:49, 1:35 and 45 seconds, the last over second-ranked Nikita Andrew of Jackson-Reed in their title match.

A returning fourth- and third-place finisher at the Frederick County and Class 4A-3A East Region tournaments, Wheat improved to 4-0 with three pins on the year, and 104-25 for his career with 89 pins.

Zirk used a fall in 1:42 to reach his finals match, where he earned a 10-4 decision over 19th-ranked Spartan Koslov of Georgetown Prep.

A Frederick County runner-up who was fifth at regions, Zirk is 3-0 with two pins and has 40 career falls among 54 career victories.

Landon’s lone champion was freshman Thomas Bradford (120), scored a fall in 1:43, a 15-4 major decision and 13-11 title match victory over Easton senior Esteban Velasquez in the finals.

Runners-up for the Bears were sophomores Elijah Adams (113) and Jason Hinton (285), with third place efforts from freshman Heath Wenchel (126), junior captain Max Murray (157) and freshman Clausen Smith (175), and sophomore Teddy Abramson (132) finished fourth.

“Thomas is off to an excellent start to his high school career, compiling an 8–2 record and earning his first tournament title. Despite covering only 12 of the 14 weight classes, we narrowly missed a first-place finish by just 9.5 points,” Landon coach Andy Katz said. “We still placed ahead of [our] IAC rivals [23-ranked] Bullis and Georgetown Prep. The team showed impressive depth, placing 11 of the 12 wrestlers who competed, highlighted by one tournament champion.”

Bullis had four champions in top-ranked junior Noah Tucker (175), seventh-ranked sophomore Soshiant Ahanj-Elias (165), sixth-ranked sophomore Damian DuChez (113) and ninth-ranked junior Stephen Mason (215).

Tucker used falls in 2:38 and 2:51 to reach the finals, where he scored a 16-1 technical fall over Jackson-Reed senior Alex Ouzts.

Tucker has risen two weight classes from 157 pounds, where he placed third at the Maryland Independent/Private Schools' state tournaments.

Tucker won the season-opening Ray Oliver Tournament by decking four opponents and

scoring a technical fall against the other comprising a 20-5 technical fall and pins in 1:56, 3:07,

3:08 and 2:59.

Tucker's last fall at McDonogh in 2:59 came in the title bout against Gilman's fourth-ranked junior Arthur Konshak, who returned to the 175-pound division he competed in last year toward earning third place at Ray Oliver before winning MIAAs and private school states.

Also a third-place finisher at private school states last year, Ahanj-Elias used falls in 85 and 57 seconds to reach the finals, where he dominated Linganore senior Noah Zohrabi via 17-2 technical fall.

DuChez scored a fall in 3:48 of his title match with Adams after having earned a 43-second pin and a 10-1 major decision. DuChez has transferred from Urbana, where he was a regional champion and runner-up in the Frederick County and Class 4A-3A state tournaments.

Mason earned a 4-0 title match victory over 17th-ranked Alex Tortalani of Linganore after having nailed down falls in 71 seconds and 3:23. Mason finished fifth at private school states last season.

Good Counsel crowned two champions in 10th-ranked Bryton Brown (285) and sophomore Niko Rakis (138), as did Georgetown Prep in 13th-ranked junior Freddie Brinkman (126) and 17th-ranked junior William Jacques (144).

Brown decked all three rivals in 20, 81 and 52 seconds, the last being Hinton in their championship match. Rakis was nearly as dominant as Brown, earning pins in 3:37 and 85 seconds along with a title bout 17-0 technical fall over Gonzaga sophomore Mac Keough.

Brinkman used pins in 2:51 and 78 seconds to reach the finals, where he hammered senior Bennett Custodio by an 18-0 technical fall.

Jacques earned a 55-second fall and a 15-0 technical fall before dispatching title match rival Julien Szell in 68 seconds.

Gonzaga’s top-ranked senior Bojan Sulc used a pin in 1:41 followed by a 19-1 technical fall to reach his title match, where he decked third-ranked George Tate of Good Counsel in 5:47. Sulc improved on his runner-up finish at the McDonogh Tournament.

On the girls’ side, the Colonels crowned juniors Gwen Echeverria (100) and Luna Lams (155).

Echeverria earned a fall in 1:54 followed by a 13-5 championship bout major decision over Swaiya Marshall of Alexandria City. Lams nailed down falls in 34 and 65 seconds, the latter in her title match with Easton sophomore Daniyah Johnson.

Linganore crowned two each in third-ranked sophomore Akasha Fernandez (130) and 11th-ranked freshman Maleah Alaimalo (125), as did Easton in 15th-ranked sophomore Khadijah Popal (190) and sophomore Natasha Mora Monge (145).

A county champion, Fernandez pinned twice in 1:51 and 2:40, the second time in her championship match with Jackson-Reed junior Zoe Lewis. Alaimalo pinned Easton High junior Zelia Proa at 2:38 of their title match.

Popal decked Good Council freshman Karima Mansaray at 4:29 of their championship match, and Mora Monge did the same in just 48 seconds of her title bout against Paint Branch freshman Precious Langmia.

Other female champions were fifth-ranked sophomore Juliet Chin (115) of Kennedy, fifth-ranked senior Na’Leyah Hodges (135) of Paint Branch, junior Jilian Organek (110) of Alexandria City, sophomore Isa Zallman (140) of Jackson-Reed, Teagan Bowie (105) of Gaithersburg, and Sophie Amini (120) of Bullis.

Chin was named Outstanding Wrestler after scoring falls in 89 and 66 seconds, the last in her title match with Riley Bakhsh of Bullis.

Hodges earned pins in 2:00 and 4:54, the second in her championship bout against Alexandria City sophomore Taliyah Brown.

Amini pinned three opponents comprising those in 60 seconds, 3:15 and at 141 of her championship bout with Howard sophomore Evyn Gephardt.

Organek registered falls in 3:13 and at 29 seconds of her title match with Zoe Robinson of Jackson-Reed, Zallman earned pins in 1:45 and at 3:45 of her title bout with Easton freshman Kennedy Wilhelm.

Bowie nailed down falls in 71 seconds and at the 4:00 mark of her title match with Karina Sharma.

Co-Ed Team Scores

1 Magruder 186.5

2 Landon School 177.0

2 Linganore 177.0

4 Bullis 155.5

5 Good Counsel 147.5

6 Georgetown Prep 144.5

7 Gonzaga 100.5

8 Howard 96.5

9 Kennedy 95.0

10 Alexandria Cit 90.0

11 Einstein 64.0

12 Easton 58.5

13 St. Alban 48.5

14 Washington Latin, DC 26.0

15 Jackson-Reed 22.0

15 Model, DC 22.0

17 Gaithersburg 16.0

106

1st Place Match

Jaisen Sharma (Magruder) 3-0, Fr. over Cayetano Nicodemus (Gonzaga) 2-1, Fr. (Dec 3-0)

3rd Place Match

Nick Gordon (Linganore High School) 3-1, Fr. over Jackson Trinca (Washington Latin) 2-2, Sr. (Dec 15-12)

5th Place Match

Jesus Mora Paz (Easton High School) 3-2, Fr. over Landon Clark (Landon School) 1-3, Fr. (For.)

113

1st Place Match

Damian DuChez (Bullis School) 48-5, So. over Elijah Adams (Landon School) 2-1, So. (Fall 3:48)

3rd Place Match

Billy McMurtrie (Gonzaga) 3-1, Fr. over Hunter Herz (Magruder) 28-12, So. (Dec 4-1)

5th Place Match

Yoseph Elias (Kennedy) 10-7, over Justin Oh (Howard High School) 5-7, Fr. (Fall 5:05)

120

1st Place Match

Thomas Bradford (Landon School) 6-2, Fr. over Esteban Velasquez (Easton High School) 2-1, Sr. (Dec 13-11)

3rd Place Match

Collin Murphy (Magruder) 33-9, So. over Jayden Lassiter (Linganore High School) 2-2, Jr. (Fall 1:47)

5th Place Match

Cole Fitzsimmons (Good Counsel) 4-4, Fr. over Ethan Cole (Georgetown Preparatory School) 3-7, Fr. (Dec 15-11)

126

1st Place Match

Freddy Brinkman (Georgetown Preparatory School) 7-2, Jr. over Bennett Custodio (Howard High School) 39-8, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:41 (18-0))

3rd Place Match

Heath Wenchel (Landon School) 3-1, Fr. over Luke Shadid (Magruder) 6-5, Sr. (MD 11-1)

5th Place Match

Jackson Stanley (Linganore High School) 4-2, Fr. over Rudis Nolasco (Kennedy) 11-16, . (Fall 3:45)

132

1st Place Match

Sava Makarov (Magruder) 39-5, Sr. over Bryan-Luke Price (Georgetown Preparatory School) 5-3, Fr. (Fall 0:31)

3rd Place Match

Cyrus Sabet (St. Albans) 5-1, Sr. over Teddy Abramson (Landon School) 18-10, So. (Dec 8-4)

5th Place Match

Hunter McGrail (Howard High School) 7-7, Fr. over Jacob Dvorchick (Alexandria City High School) 2-3, . (Fall 3:05)

138

1st Place Match

Niko Rakis (Good Counsel) 8-2, So. over Mac Keogh (Gonzaga) 23-20, So. (TF-1.5 5:56 (17-0))

3rd Place Match

Kenson Noel (Georgetown Preparatory School) 30-15, So. over Solomon Clark (Bullis School) 22-12, Sr. (MD 16-3)

5th Place Match

Asad Khan (Alexandria City High School) 7-4, Sr. over Aiden Ruiz (Kennedy) 11-18, . (Dec 12-5)

144

1st Place Match

William Jacques (Georgetown Preparatory School) 7-1, Jr. over Julien Szell (Kennedy) 13-6, . (Fall 1:08)

3rd Place Match

Kesi Tsarni (Bullis School) 44-13, So. over Jayson Hinojosa (Magruder) 27-14, Sr. (Dec 2-0)

5th Place Match

Ryan Pyke (Alexandria City High School) 7-5, Jr. over Makana Neverosky (Landon School) 13-9, Sr. (For.)

150

1st Place Match

Lincoln Zirk (Linganore High School) 3-0, Jr. over Spartan Koslov (Georgetown Preparatory School) 8-4, So. (Dec 10-4)

3rd Place Match

Shadon McLaughlin (Model) 33-6, Sr. over Liam Holland (Magruder) 3-2, Sr. (Fall 1:30)

5th Place Match

Jack Juncker (Landon School) 14-9, Jr. over Conor Meeker (Gonzaga) 2-3, Jr. (Dec 7-1)

157

1st Place Match

Cash Wheat (Linganore High School) 3-0, Sr. over Nikita Andrew (Jackson-Reed ) 30-11, Jr. (Fall 0:45)

3rd Place Match

Max Murray (Landon School) 25-19, Jr. over Joe Fangmeyer (Good Counsel) 4-2, Sr. (Fall 3:02)

5th Place Match

Jack Lawlor (Einstein) 9-6, So. over Rey Powell (Magruder) 16-21, Sr. (Dec 10-6)

165

1st Place Match

Soshiant Ahanj-Elias (Bullis School) 47-10, So. over Noah Zohrabi (Linganore High School) 2-1, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:06 (17-2))

3rd Place Match

Jacob Valentine (Alexandria City High School) 9-3, Jr. over Graham Meeks (Einstein) 6-4, . (Fall 2:51)

5th Place Match

Justin Jackson (Georgetown Preparatory School) 8-4, over Alexander Ling (Landon School) 9-13, Jr. (MD 14-2)

175

1st Place Match

Noah Tucker (Bullis School) 52-6, Jr. over Alex Ouzts (Jackson-Reed ) 136-19, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:04 (16-1))

3rd Place Match

Clausen Smith (Landon School) 3-1, So. over Garrett McGrail (Howard High School) 20-22, Jr. (Fall 3:35)

5th Place Match

Sean Kim (St. Albans) 5-3, So. over Landon Russell (Linganore High School) 3-3, Jr. (Fall 4:00)

190

1st Place Match

Bojan Sulc (Gonzaga) 39-6, Sr. over George Tate (Good Counsel) 8-2, Sr. (Fall 5:47)

3rd Place Match

Omid Shirzoi (Einstein) 13-1, Sr. over Jacob Morvis (St. Albans) 4-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:06 (16-1))

5th Place Match

Abdul-Wahaab Popal (Easton High School) 3-2, Sr. over Eli Shol (Linganore High School) 2-3, Sr. (Dec 8-6)

215

1st Place Match

Stephan Mason (Bullis School) 41-14, Jr. over Alex Tortalani (Linganore High School) 2-1, Sr. (Dec 4-0)

3rd Place Match

Sam Parkhurst (Good Counsel) 6-2, Jr. over Andres Sevillano (Kennedy) 15-11, . (Fall 3:29)

5th Place Match

Ha`Saun Ward (Alexandria City High School) 6-3, Sr. over Carlos Del Cid Hernandez (Einstein) 10-5, Jr. (Fall 2:28)

285

1st Place Match

Bryton Brown (Good Counsel) 9-2, Sr. over Jason Hinton (Landon School) 20-12, So. (Fall 0:52)

3rd Place Match

Jay Masterson (Howard High School) 34-15, Sr. over Alex Acuna (Kennedy) 4-2, . (Fall 2:56)

5th Place Match

Ezon Johnson (Magruder) 4-2, So. over Zachary Apple (Bullis School) 21-10, Sr. (Fall 3:03)