Oakland Mills outlasts River Hill to win Howard County wrestling tournament

Oakland Mills coach Brad Howell wasn't worried after River Hill held the Howard County wrestling tournament lead after the first day. He knew his team's work would speak for itself at the completion of the event.

Crowning a tournament-high four champions, the Scorpions got the job done on day two to take their first Howard County tournament title since 1995 with 225 points. The Hawks came in second with 201.5.

"It's another good step. I thought our boys wrestled in their game," said Oakland Mills coach Brad Howell. "It's always a challenge coming here, everyone kind of knows each other and everybody kind of knows your game, so this really to me is just bragging right down at the mall."

River Hill coach Brandon Lauer knew going into the second day that to take down the 1A/2A dual state champions everything would need to go the Hawks' way. As it turned out, three champions wasn't enough.

"They had a lot guys in the semis, which put them in the top-six. We didn't have enough there," Lauer said. "The kid wrestled tough and wrestled well. We would have needed everything to go perfect to be able to steal the victory, but hats off to them, they're a great team."

The highlight of the night for the Scorpions was at 182-pounds, where the heavily anticipated showdown between state-champion Jaron Smith and River Hill's Brady Daniel took place. However, it proved to be a one-sided affair.

Smith dominated early and late, and built a 8-0 lead after the first two minutes before turning Daniel again in the third period to earn the pin in 5 minues, 18 seconds.

Smith was named the Glenn DeVane Outstanding Wrestler Award-winner for his efforts.

"In the beginning, I just started scoring. A lot of people get a little timid there, like I'm in a big match. For me, every match is the same. I got to go out there and do my game, and whatever happens, happens," Smith said. "I wrestled him last year, and it was a little closer of a battle."

The win keeps Smith's undefeated record in tact and proves he is the man to beat in the state at 182 pounds.

"It feels really good, especially considering the quality of opponents I've been going against," Smith said. "Last year, I won by decision, including over Brady, so this year it feels good to widen the gap."

River Hill's Matt Shealy lost to Oakland Mills freshman Kyle Farace on Dec. 16 after a first-period pin, but the defending 106-pound county champion wasn't going to be denied a second time.

Shealy wrestled his game plan perfectly, avoiding Farace on the mat, and earned a crucial first-period takedown to avenge his loss 3-1 in the 106-pound title bout.

"I definitely focused really hard for this match, more than anything else," Shealy said. "This is kind of revenge for me. He pinned me earlier in the season, but I focused up really hard. That one takedown made the difference."

The Hayden and Kilcarr brothers faced off at 126 and 132 pounds, with each family taking home one title.

Mt. Hebron senior Jeff Hayden, the other unbeaten wrestler in the county, overcame deficits in the semifinals and championship bout against Reservoir's Troy Kilcarr to improve to 32-0 on the year.

Hayden, who was on his back in the second period, scored the final six points of the match to win the 126-pound championship 6-2.

On his back early, Hayden said he "got mad" and turned it on to another gear.

"I was just thinking, I've gotten this far, I can't give it up. I've got to give it everything I got. This is for the county title, it's my only shot. It's my senior year," Hayden said. "I came right back, put him on his back and got the lead. And that's the position I like to be in."

Reservoir senior Trent Kilcarr controlled the 132-pound final against Vikings sophomore Jimmy Hayden to earn his first county title 8-2.

"It started out slow, he was tougher than I remember," Kilcarr said. "Overall, I think I did pretty well."

The win gives the Kilcarr family a second-straight county championship at 132-pounds as older brother Mason won the county, region and state titles at the weight last year.

"It's awesome. Super excited I got to keep it in the family," Kilcarr said.

Centennial junior Austin Kraisser earned his third county title in as many years, and the win gives the Kraisser siblings (Nathan, 4; Brian, 2) a total of nine county titles.

Kraisser built a 13-0 lead on Oakland Mills' Alex Asifo before sticking him in 3:11.

"Something my dad always says, if you're wrestling somebody and you're scoring some points, don't pin him right away. Work on stuff that you're going to need a little bit later in the season," Kraisser said. "Don't go out there and pin somebody in 10 seconds, because you're not getting any better. So I was out there just trying to get better."

It's been a few years since Hammond last crowned a county champion, and heavyweight Jeremy Nelson fell just short last year after falling in the heavyweight title bout in overtime.

This year, however, was a different story for the senior. He dominated the weight-class all season and solidified his spot atop the county by pinning Glenelg's Jamie Cooch in 5:16.

"It's amazing. All my hard work finally paid off," Nelson said. "It feels awesome. I'm the first (county champion) in a few years, and hopefully it encourages the younger wrestlers to work hard so they can win the county championship when they're juniors and seniors."

Nelson said the win is the first step to accomplishing his ultimate goal of standing on the podium at the state tournament in two weeks.

Centennial's Stephen Wysocki got pinned by Reservoir's Shawn Hamilton in the team's dual meet earlier this season, and Wysocki was anxious to prove that loss was an anomaly in the 195-pound final.

Wysocki earned his revenge in the sweetest fashion by pinning Hamilton in the first period.

"I know he likes headlocks ... He tried a throw, I knew it was coming. I didn't let him get it and I went right in and got him in a cradle," Wysocki said. "It feels amazing. I was really excited for this match. He was definitely my competition today. We're both great wrestlers, and I can't wait to wrestle him again at regionals. It's going to be a blast."

The Scorpions' Johnny Rynn overcame a late comeback from Atholton's Willie Hampton to nail the pin in 5:15 to take a 113-pound championship.

"I got the first takedown, and I knew I was going to set the tone," Rynn said. "He started coming back, but I just kept fighting. I got a reversal at the very end, and locked up a cradle, and right there I knew I had him and knew I would get the pin."

Oakland Mills junior Dakota Thompson earned bonus points for his team after pinning Howard's Darian Kassiri, a county finalist for a second-straight season, in only 51 seconds for the 120-pound title.

"(Winning the county championship) was one of my goals for high school," Thompson said. "I came into high school knowing it's a big accomplishment to win counties, but I still have more to do."

Sidique Furet also won a title for the Scorpions, taking down Reservoir's Stephen Sims via a 13-5 major decision at 170 pounds.

Glenelg earned back-to-back tournament champions as Parker Griffie defeated Reservoir freshman Todd Del Tufo 2-0 after securing a first-period takedown in the 138-pound final, and Mike Budock downed Oakland Mills' No. 1 seed Matt Claxton 5-1 in the 145-pound championship.

River Hill's Brian Kirby won his second county title in three years after a late takedown earned him a 3-2 decision over Glenelg's Austin Twigg at 220-pounds.

Oakland Mills, Marriotts Ridge and Hammond will travel to Southern High School for the 1A/2A South Regional tournament, while the rest of the county will wrestle in the 3A/4A East Regional tournament at Northeast (AA) High School Feb. 27-28.

Howell says that in the grand scheme of things that the county tournament means very little. It's at the regional tournament where the run to a state championship starts to take shape.

"We're really looking forward to regionals next week. That's the qualifier for states, and we want to put out guys in a position to finish at states," Howell said. "So we'll be looking to start competing for next week."

Championship bouts:

106: Matt Shealy (RH) dec. Kyle Farace (OM) 3-1

113: Johnny Rynn (OM) pinned Willie Hampton (A) 5:15

120: Dakota Thompson (OM) pinned Darian Kassiri (Ho) :51

126: Jeff Hayden (MH) dec. Troy Kilcarr (Re) 6-2

132: Trent Kilcarr (Re) dec. Jimmy Hayden (MH) 8-2

138: Parker Griffie (G) dec. Todd Del Tufo (Re) 2-0

145: Mike Budock (G) dec. Matthew Claxton (OM) 5-1

152: Austin Kraisser (C) pinned Alex Asifo (OM) 3:11

160: Sean Guthier (RH) pinned Jahmyrie Jones (A) 5:22

170: Sidique Furet (OM) major dec. Stephen Sims (Re) 13-5

182: Jaron Smith (OM) pinned Brady Daniel (RH) 5:18

195: Stephen Wysocki (C) pinned Shawn Hamilton (Re) 1:19

220: Brian Kirby (RH) dec. Austin Twigg (G) 3-2

285: Jeremy Nelson (Ha) pinned Jamie Cooch (G) 5:16

3^rd/4^th place bouts:

106: Chris Spano (MR) pinned Jacob Blukher (C) 2:47

113: Cameron Neilon (C) dec. Jacob Heejebu (MR) 8-1

120: Collin Silk (G) dec. Alex Potts (RH) 5-0

126: Nick Williams (Ho) dec. Andrew Mahoney (RH) 3-0

132: Garrett Murray (G) dec. Will Parks (MR) 5-1

138: Zack Moody (MR) dec. Tyler Bond (RH) 4-2

145: Bryan Crumback (Ho) dec. Ryan Erskine (RH) 4-3

152: Max Sotka (G) dec. Sam Deitemyer (MR) 8-5

160: Ernie Fermin (WL) dec. Matt Gilbert (LR) 4-3

170: Matt Murphy (MH) dec. Jack Conolly (RH) 7-5

182: Ben Switlick (MR) pinned Ben Massey (Ho) 3:11

195: Bebe Kum (RH) dec. Austin Day (MH) 5-1

220: Zach Vincent (OM) pinned Cully Desautelle (MR) 2:08

285: Antonio Rozier (OM) dec. Andrew Maleta (Re) 1-0

5^th/6^th place bouts:

106: Dalton Kleinhen (Re) pinned Logan Gwin (G) 2:21

113: Brandon Reese (G) fft. Sapna Vaja (RH)

120: Nick Epstein (LR) pinned Kyle Wigging (MR) 2:46

126: Julian Capino (OM) dec. Romtin Habibi (MR) 5-2

132: Justin Gatewood (OM) dec. Nathan Dustin (RH) 9-2

138: Amr Narmouq (C) fft. Jared Johnson (MH)

145: Jared Pickens (A) major dec. Thomas Olson (MR) 15-6

152: Ryan Benedek (RH) pinned Joe Keagle (Ho) :22

160: Omar Delen (MR) pinned Mark Horton (C) :55

170: Michael Hurd (MR) fft

182: Derrick Lee (Ha) pinned Wes Norton (MH) 4:54

195: Jamore Tinsley (OM) dec. Taylor Brosnan (WL) 5-1

220: Justin Nelson (Ha) pinned Tyler Ecker (Re) 4:07

285: Brett Schwab (RH) fft

Team scores: