Two years ago, Oakland Mills' Sidique Furet, then a sophomore, failed to place at the Howard County JV wrestling tournament. Now a senior, Furet can boast a state championship medal after beating Catoctin's Kevin Simmel, 4-2, in the 1A/2A 170-pound state title match.
"It feels really good. All the hard work, to go out my senior year like this," Furet said. "I have the best teammates in the state, and I just train with them 24/7 in the summer travelling to places and working really hard."
Early in the bout, Simmel got in deep on a shot but slammed Furet to the mat. The illegal move gave Furet a point, but he admitted he was a little wobbly after hitting his head.
Furet (34-4) persevered, however, and took the match tied 1-1 into the third period. He escaped to give himself a 2-1 advantage, then countered a shot by Simmell and clinched a takedown with about 20 seconds left.
"It was really big. I was a little nervous because he was strong when he got in on my legs," he said. "But when I knew I had the win when I got that takedown if I just hung on and not let anything big happen."
Oakland Mills coach Brad Howell said what Furet accomplished is a product of his hard work through the off-season.
"On his way here he was just buzzing through guys left and right," Howell said. "I think Sidique's strength is he's got great character."