Year in and year out, Howard County wrestling has proven at the MPSSAA state wrestling tournament that it is one of the best in the state. On Saturday at University of Maryland's Cole Field House, the county lived up to expectations through Day 1.
Twelve wrestlers between 1A/2A and 3A/4A reached the semifinals, with seven – River Hill's Matt Shealy (106) Brady Daniel (182) and Brian Kirby (220), and Centennial's Austin Kraisser (152) in 3A/4A, and Oakland Mills' Kyle Farace (106) Sidique Furet (170) and Jaron Smith (182) in 1A/2A – reaching the state finals on Monday.
Two wrestlers – Kraisser and Smith – are looking for repeat performances on the biggest stage.
Kraisser looked the part of a top-10 nationally ranked wrestler as he had his way with each of his opponents, winning by tech fall, pin and technical pin to reach the finals for the third time.
"It feels pretty good," Kraisser said. "I just go out there and try to compete for the state title every year, and that's what I'm going for."
Kraisser will face Leonardtown's Andrew Lee, a Mount Mat Madness finalist and regional champion, for the state crown, and he feels confident he will get the job done in the 3A/4A 152-pound championship.
"I just want to keep wrestling the whole time, push the pace, and wrestle the way I wrestle," Kraisser said.
Like Kraisser, Smith made each of his matches look like cake walks. He pinned all three of his opponents in the second period to help boost his team in the team race and advance to the 1A/2A 182-pound championship.
"It feels pretty good, especially with a dominating performance up to this point. I came here last year, and I was still in the finals, but it wasn't as dominating a performance," Smith said. "Last year, I was a little bit scared because of my (knee) injury, so I'm really trying to exert my will on my opponent right now."
Smith will face Mountain Ridge's Austin Clark, who finished fourth in his region and upset his way through the bracket, for the title, and he feels good about claiming a second straight state title.
"As long as I go out there and dominate," Smith said, "the outcome is probably going to be in my favor."
The biggest upset for any county wrestler – and perhaps of the entire tournament – was Furet, who beat South Carroll's heavily favored and undefeated Wade Slatniske, 5-3, after three overtime periods in a 1A/2A 170-pound semifinal.
Tied 2-2 going into overtime, Furet allowed an escape but secured a takedown in the second overtime to take a 4-3 lead, then escaped and held off a final push from Slatniske in the third overtime to win.
"It feels great, I was pretty confident," Furet said. "I knew if I just stayed in my game I would be able to win. ... It feels so good, but I know I have one more match. I gotta stay focused."
Furet didn't start wrestling until his sophomore season, but put in the time on the mats through the summer to gain enough experience and confidence to be able to reach the highest level.
"I just saw all my teammates winning and being successful, and I wanted to be like that. So I just kept working and I knew hard work would pay off in the end," Furet said.
Furet will face Catoctin's Kevin Simmel, who upset his regional-champion opponent, for the state title.
River Hill sophomore Brady Daniel earned two decisions before dominating in his semifinal bout to reach the 3A/4A 182-pound finals. He said he is frustrated that his opponents won't battle back and keep up with his pace.
"It feels great, as a sophomore and my first time here. I'm just blowing my way through the bracket. People won't wrestle me," Daniel said.
Daniel pinned Churchill's Giulian Grace in 4:51 the semifinals after building a dominating lead. He is looking to follow in his brother Cory's footsteps as a state champion.
"I'm excited for Monday. I'm ready to win it," Daniel said. "It would be good to win, I could rub it in my brother's face. He wasn't here in the finals as a sophomore, but I am and I'm pretty pumped."
The county flexed its muscles in the 106-pound weight class as three wrestlers reached the semifinals. The two county-finalists – Shealy and Farace – won and earned bonus points in their respective semifinal bouts.
Shealy controlled La Plata freshman Gavin Stoddard throughout the match, and almost secured the pin toward the end of the second period. With a 9-6 lead entering the third period, Shealy added five points to his lead to secure a 14-6 major decision.
The win means Shealy will face Arundel sophomore Nathan Gainey in the finals – a rematch of the 3A/4A East regional championship that Shealy won, 10-8 – and he feels confident he will stand atop the podium when it's all said and done.
"It feels great, two majors and a pin today. It's the first time winning a match at this place and now I'm in the finals," Shealy said. "I'm wrestling Nathan Gainey of Arundel, and he's a good wrestler, but I should come out with the 'W' again. I've been working really hard."
It hasn't been the easiest road to the finals for the junior as he has five defeats on the season, but Shealy said he feels he is peaking at the right time and when it matters most.
"I'm definitely peaking at the right time – at the state tournament. Avenging that loss to Farace ... just focusing hard on getting better every day," Shealy said. "I feel great, like I'm almost on top of the world, but I got one more step to go."
Although he has no county or regional title to boast, Farace will look to win his first state title as a freshman after he made his semifinal bout look easy. He took down his opponent – Catoctin sophomore Zachary Bryant – and then secured his family-patented far-side cradle to get the pin in 34 seconds.
"It's really exciting (to be in the state finals). I've been working so hard this season, and it's a big accomplishment," Farace said.
Farace's older brother, Tony, won three state titles his first three years in high school, and Kyle said he has learned a lot – besides the brutal cradle – from his brother.
"It's nice because he's been here before, and he know what to expect," Farace said. "He just really supports me and I love him."
River Hill senior Brian Kirby pinned his first two opponents before beating Northwest's TJ Patterson, 4-3, in the 3A/4A 220-pound semifinal and the third Hawk to reach the championship.
Kirby missed the majority of last season after being injured, but made up for the time missed with a trip to the state finals.
"This whole season I've been working for this, and I'm finally happy to be in this moment right now," Kirby said.
Kirby will face North Point's Kyrahn Perez for the state crown, and Kirby beat Perez in a one-point match at the Warrior duals earlier this season.
"I know he's strong and he's a great wrestler," Kirby said. "I'm excited to see what happens in the rematch."
Although the county is well represented in the finals, it wasn't the best semifinal round for several grapplers.
In the 3A/4A 126-pound semifinals, Mt. Hebron senior Jeff Hayden saw his undefeated season and state title slip through his grasps as he fell, 5-2, to Westminster junior Cole Wetzel. Hayden, who was attempting to reach the finals for the third straight season, won in the consolation semifinals and will face Stephen Decatur's Andy McKahan for 3rd/4th.
Reservoir senior and county-champion Trent Kilcarr faced off with North Hagerstown senior Hunter Faith, who lost to Kilcarr's older brother Mason in the state finals last season, in the 3A/4A 132-pound semifinals, and lost, 6-0.
Kilcarr battled Mt. Hebron sophomore Jimmy Hayden in the consolation semifinals, and won the county- and region-finals rematch, 6-5, to earn a chance for 3rd/4th.
The fourth River Hill grappler in the semifinal, Bebe Kum, lost, 4-0, to Thomas Stone's Ryan Sharp, but won his consolation match. He will also be wrestling for 3rd/4th.
Marriotts Ridge sophomore Chris Spano fell to South Carroll undefeated sophomore Joey Thomas, 15-5, in the 1A/2A 106-pound semifinals, but beat Hereford's Jimmy Cavin, 2-0, in the consolations and will face Bryant for 3rd/4th.
Oakland Mills' Johnny Rynn lost his first-round match, but won four straight bouts in the consolations to reach the consolation finals.
Glenelg's Austin Twigg fell in the quarterfinals, but battled his back in the 3A/4A 220-pound bracket and will face Paint Branch's Cornell Wilson for 3rd/4th.
Oakland Mills' Julian Capino (126) and Antonio Rozier (285) will battle for 5th/6th in 1A/2A brackets, while Mt. Hebron's Jimmy Hayden (132), Glenelg's Mike Budock (145) and River Hill's Sean Guthier (160) will compete for 5th/6th place in 3A/4A.
In the team races, Oakland Mills (102 points) trails South Carroll (107.5) in the 1A/2A, while River Hill (86 points) sits in third behind Damascus (133) and North Hagerstown (112) in 3A/4A.