Glenelg wrestling coach Matt Bichner knows his team is about to endure the toughest stretch of the season. To his satisfaction, though, the Gladiators started the week in style, earning a sweep over Howard, 47-18, and Mt. Hebron, 45-23, to remain undefeated in county matches.
Glenelg (7-0 county, 17-7 overall), which will travel to county rival River Hill Thursday then battle Marriotts Ridge and Atholton on Saturday, is just taking the five matches in four days journey one match at a time.
"I think it's good to get back out," said Bichner. "Being in the practice room is a little different. Going out and wrestling some different guys (was good), so I think it was good to just get back out on the mat and get the team back into it and get ready for what should be a pretty tight match tomorrow."
The Gladiators are still ironing out who will fill certain weight classes in the upper weights, so to get several victories up top against some of Howard's tougher upper weights was something Bichner liked to see.
"Our 152 pounder (Mike Budock), we've been bumping him up all season, and those are the kind of matches, going out there and being able to beat those guys that are pretty good for Howard and Mt. Hebron, and getting those wins definitely make the dual easier and gets us wins," Bichner said. "So I was happy with that."
Glenelg fell behind 14-0 to the Vikings after three matches, but received two forfeits at 220 and heavyweight, earned an 11-3 major decision from 106-pounder Logan Gwin, a pin from Brandon Reece at 113 and another major decision from Collin Silk at 120 to score 26 unanswered points.
Mt. Hebron's Jimmy Hayden (126) and Jeff Hayden (132) earned a close 6-4 decision over Sam Kraus and a pin, respectively, to cut the deficit to 26-23, but the Gladiators closed out the dual with four straight victories, including a pin from Parker Griffie at 145 that sealed the victory.
"I know they're a little banged up, but we had some tough matches," Bichner said. "Their 106-pounder is pretty good, and (Logan Gwin) battled through it and got bonus points. ... We were able to weather the storm and get through the (early deficit)."
The Vikings are without two of their best wrestlers, 160-pounder Connor Strunk and heavyweight Nick Suri, both of whom will miss the remainder of the season. Strunk, who had shoulder surgery in the offseason, will require surgery again to repair the same injury, while Suri tore the ACL in his knee at the District V Duals earlier this season.
The win for the Gladiators sets up another showdown with the rival Hawks that will have serious county and postseason implications.
"The last two years it's come down to the last match, so I'm not expecting anything different," Bichner said. "I don't think we prepare different, but I think everyone knows. Even though we try and say it's another match, every one knows it's River Hill. We always want to go up there and beat those guys, and I know they want to beat us. You say it's not, but it definitely is different."
A win for Glenelg sets up a potential county-championship dual against Oakland Mills on Feb. 4, while a win for the Hawks could set them up for a potential one-seed in the 3A/4A East regional duals.
For the Gladiators, Bichner said the recipe for a win is simple: "Win the close matches, get the extra bonus points, and stay off our back."
Glenelg 45, Mt. Hebron 23
170: Matt Murphy (MH) dec. Max Sotka (G) 8-5; (0-3)
182: Wes Norton (MH) tech fall Robbie Baxter (G) 15-0; (0-8)
195: Austin Day (MH) fft; (0-14)
220: Austin Twigg (G) fft; (6-14)
285: Jamie Cooch (G) fft; (12-14)
106: Logan Gwin (G) major dec. Yahir Lemus (MH) 11-3; (16-14)
113: Brandon Reece (G) pinned Adam Sherr (MH) 3:57; (22-14)
120: Collin Silk (G) major dec. Alex Nguyen (MH) 8-0; (26-14)
126: Jimmy Hayden (MH) dec. Sam Kraus (G) 6-4; (26-17)
132: Jeff Hayden (MH) pinned Griffin Peterman (G) 3:48; (26-23)
138: Garrett Murray (G) major dec. Jared Johnson (MH) 9-1; (30-23)
145: Parker Griffie (G) pinned Eloy Flores (MH) 3:23; (36-23)
152: Mike Budock (G) pinned Shaber Ahmed (MH) 1:31; (42-23)
160: Jason Mitchel (G) dec. Jake Norton (MH) 3-1; (45-23)
Glenelg 47, Howard 18
Mt. Hebron 39, Howard 27
152: Joe Keagle (Ho) dec. Eloy Flores (MH) 11-9; (0-3)
160: Jake Norton (MH) dec. Dominic Umstrott (Ho) 4-3; (3-3)
170: Matt Murphy (MH) pinned L. Anderson (MH) 1:49; (9-3)
182: Ben Massey (Ho) dec. Shahin Manistedi (MH) 9-2; (9-6)
195: Wes Norton (MH) fft; (15-6)
220: Austin Day (MH) dec. R. Soop (Ho) 7-0; (18-6)
285: Nick Suri (MH) fft; (24-6)
106: Yahir Lemus (MH) fft; (30-6)
113: B. Foote (Ho) pinned Adam Scherr (MH) 4:53; (30-12)
120: Darian Kassiri (Ho) pinned Jarrison Hulbert (MH) 5:22; (30-18)
126: Nick Williams (Ho) pinned Alex Nguyen (MH) 2:39; (30-24)
132: Jimmy Hayden (MH) dec. Kyle Williamson (Ho) 6-0; (33-24)
138: Jeff Hayden (MH) pinned Allan Matthew (Ho) 5:04; (39-24)
145: Bryan Crumback (Ho) dec. Jared Johnson (MH) 2-0; (39-27)