The 46th annual Howard County Wrestling Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 20-21 at River Hill, and the Howard County Times has your first look at the top-eight seeds for each weight class.
But first, here's what you need to know:
Deepest weight-class: 126 pounds
The 126-pound weight class is loaded with talent and features three county-finalists from last season's tournament. Reservoir's Troy Kilcarr, who took second at the weight class last season, is the top seed, while Mt. Hebron's state finalist Jeff Hayden (2nd, 120) is second, Howard's Nicholas Williams (4th, 120 last season) is third, Oakland Mills' Julian Capino (2nd, 113) is fourth and Marriotts Ridge's Romtin Habibi (3rd, 113) is fifth.
Most anticipated championship bout: 182 pounds, Jaron Smith vs. Brady Daniel
Oakland Mills senior Jaron Smith has only one loss dating back to the beginning of last year, and has yet to suffer defeat this season. But River Hill's Brady Daniel, who has dominated anywhere from 182 to heavyweight this season, hopes to knock the defending state champion off his perch. If he can get by Marriotts Ridge's Ben Switlick, Daniel will likely have a shot at the champion. The matchup could feature two state champions, as Smith is the favorite to win in 1A/2A and Daniel the favorite in 3A/4A.
Best potential semifinal matchup: 106 pounds, Chris Spano vs. Kyle Farace
Marriotts Ridge sophomore Chris Spano competed the majority of the season at 113-pounds, and surprised many by dropping to 106. But the defending 1A/2A South regional champion has defeated most of the competition in the weight class. But Oakland Mills freshman Kyle Farace has come on strong as of late, and the dual could be a potential regional and state finals matchup as well.
Team most likely to win: Oakland Mills
While Oakland Mills dominated the dual season, the Scorpions might be an even better tournament team. They have four wrestlers with No. 1 seeds, along with three more with No. 2 seeds. River Hill and Reservoir each have two wrestlers with No. 1 seeds, and the top-two finishers from last year's county tournament will have a say about who takes the tournament crown.
Here's the 2014-15 Howard County Wrestling Tournament seeds:
106 pounds:
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Chris Spano, Marriotts Ridge
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Matt Shealy, River Hill
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Dalton Kleinhen, Reservoir
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Kyle Farace, Oakland Mills
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Jacob Blyukher, Centennial
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Stephen Frazier, Atholton
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Logan Gwin, Glenelg
113 pounds:
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Willie Hampton, Atholton
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Johnny Rynn, Oakland Mills
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Jacob Hejeebu, Marriotts Ridge
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Cameron Neilson, Centennial
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Brandon Reese, Glenelg
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Bradley Foote, Howard
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Swapna Vaja, River Hill
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George Hanna, Mt. Hebron
120 pounds:
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Dakota Thompson, Oakland Mills
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Darian Kassiri, Howard
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Collin Silk, Glenelg
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Alex Potts, River Hill
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Kyle Wiggins, Marriotts Ridge
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Nick Epstein, Long Reach
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Alex Nguyen, Mt. Hebron
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Hayoung Park, Reservoir
126 pounds:
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Troy Kilcarr, Reservoir
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Jeff Hayden, Mt. Hebron
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Nicholas Williams, Howard
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Julian Capino, Oakland Mills
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Sam Kraus, Glenelg
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Romtin Habibi, Marriotts Ridge
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Andrew Mahoney, River Hill
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Cale McMurdy, Hammond
132 pounds:
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Jimmy Hayden, Mt. Hebron
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Trent Kilcarr, Reservoir
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Garrett Murray, Glenelg
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Luis Altamarino, Atholton
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Justin Gatewood, Oakland Mills
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Will Parks, Marriotts Ridge
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Ammar Narmouq, Centennial
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Nathan Dustin, River Hill
138 pounds:
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Parker Griffie, Glenelg
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Tyler Bond, River Hill
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Zack Moody, Marriotts Ridge
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Jared Johnson, Mt. Hebron
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Amr Narmouq, Centennial
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Todd Del Tufo, Reservoir
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Allan Mathew, Howard
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Alec Lewin, Atholton
145 pounds:
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Matthew Claxton, Oakland Mills
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Mike Budock, Glenelg
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Ryan Erskine, River Hill
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Bryan Crumback, Howard
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Thomas Olson, Marriotts Ridge
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Josh Pickens, Atholton
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Amennu McGruder, Wilde Lake
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John Hendrick, Hammond
152 pounds:
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Austin Kraisser, Centennial
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Alex Asifo, Oakland Mills
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Jake Norton, Mt. Hebron
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Max Sotka, Glenelg
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Jeremiah Branch, Reservoir
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Sam Deitemyer, Marriotts Ridge
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Ryan Benedek, River Hill
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Joe Keagle, Howard
160 pounds:
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Sean Guthier, River Hill
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Jahmyrie Jones, Atholton
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Ernie Fermin, Wilde Lake
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Omar Delen, Marriotts Ridge
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Matthew Gilbert, Long Reach
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Jason Mitchell, Glenelg
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Mark Horton, Centennial
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Paul Johnson, Oakland Mills
170 pounds:
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Sidique Furet, Oakland Mills
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Matt Murphy, Mt. Hebron
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Stephen Sims, Reservoir
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Jack Connolly, River Hill
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Michael Hurd, Marriotts Ridge
182 pounds:
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Jaron Smith, Oakland Mills
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Brady Daniel, River Hill
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Ben Switlick, Marriotts Ridge
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Derrick Lee, Hammond
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Ben Massey, Howard
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Wes Norton, Mt. Hebron
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Harrison Shen, Atholton
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Michael Malin, Reservoir
195 pounds:
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Shawn Hamilton, Reservoir
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Stephen Wysocki, Centennial
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Austin Day, Mt. Hebron
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Jamore Tinsley, Oakland Mills
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Taylor Brosnan, Wilde Lake
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Bebe Kum, River Hill
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Ben Wiliams, Marriotts Ridge
220 pounds:
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Brian Kirby, River Hill
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Austin Twigg, Glenelg
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Zach Vincent, Oakland Mills
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Tyler Ecker, Reservoir
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Cully Desautelle, Marriotts Ridge
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Justin Nelson, Hammond
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Phil Watters, Long Reach
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Mark Thurmond, Centennial
285 pounds:
- Jeremy Nelson, Hammond
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Antonio Rozier, Oakland Mills
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Jamie Cooch, Glenelg
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Andrew Maleta, Reservoir
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Brett Schwab, River Hill