Oakland Mills wrestling wins three of final four matches to pull out 43-30 victory over Catonsville

Tied with four matches left, Oakland Mills wrestling won three matches by pin to earn a 43-30 victory over Catonsville.

The loss spoiled an outstanding effort for the Comets, who forfeited three weight classes on senior night. Catonsville’s Drew Ritter pinned Mason Cowell at 138 to help the Comets get even after trailing 27-9.

That’s when the Scorpions turned up the intensity, starting with freshman Raul Rodriguez’s second-period pin over Jayden Cudzillo that provided a 33-27 advantage.

“He’s been coming on,” Oakland Mills coach Brad Howell said. “He’s pulled out a lot of wins as a freshman going up against a bunch of juniors and seniors, so we are pretty happy with him.”

Catonsville’s Shilone Robinson cut the lead in half when he won a 10-7 decision over Diego Gambrill at 152. The Comets honored four seniors before the match, and while Shawn McCadden didn’t wrestle because of injury, Corson Durst (160) and Mason Ritter (170) were featured in the final two matches.

Durst trailed Oakland Mills junior Brayden Fisher 5-0 after the first period and Fisher pinned him 46 seconds into the second to clinch the victory for the Scorpions.

“It was a close match and I’ve just got to make sure I’m getting points for my team and always trying to get a pin to make sure we come out on top,” said Fisher, who’s in his first season with Oakland Mills varsity after moving from Idaho in August. “It’s always a sigh of relief to come off the mat with a win.”

Junior Joe Clark, ranked 17th in the state at 160, capped the victory with a pin over Mason Ritter in the third period of the 170-pound bout.

“Joe has been lighting it up lately, he’s been really working hard and it’s paying off, he did a lot of work over the summer,” Howell said. “Joe is legit, he’s the real deal and he’s working real hard.”

The match started with Catonsville’s Marquis Gary winning a 13-8 decision over Promise Adiclayne at 182. Brighton Barker’s early pin of Alex Stepney gave the Scorpions a lead and Tori Smith’s 3-0 decision over Isaiah Briscoe at 220 expanded it to 9-3.

Catonsville’s third senior in the lineup, Shawn Traynam, had the most emotional win of the night when he pinned Emmanuel Oluremi in the second period. Traynam led 5-0 with under 30 seconds left in the first period when Oluremi got a reversal and three back points with eight seconds left. Traynum rallied with a takedown and pin 27 seconds into the second period.

“That slide off his back kind of confused the mess out of me, but my mindset coming in here was to come in here and win for my team because I knew it was going to be a closer match and today was the first time my family has been out to watch one of my matches,” Traynam said. “It was really intense out there.”

“He’s done a great job the second half of the season,” Catonsville coach George Dunn said. “He was out sick and with an injury early in the season and he’s come back and really turned it on as a senior and second-year wrestler.”

Traynam’s win tied the match at 9, but the lead was short-lived when Matthew Cowen, Michael Cowen and Jada Fowler accepted forfeits in the next three matches. Trailing 27-9, Traynam was confident the Comets could rally.

“I trust my guys, the forfeits don’t even phase us at this point,” he said.

Junior Toby Eveleth (22-2), ranked 12th in the state at 120, started the comeback with a second-period fall over Jeremaiah Ashby-Gambo at 126. Adonis Jovenal led Francheska Bonilla 12-1 late in the third period when he pinned her with one second left and the Comets cut the deficit to 27-21. Junior Drew Ritter trailed Cowell 8-6 midway through the second period when he pinned him to tie the match at 27.

That’s when the Scorpions stepped on the gas and closed out the match.

The match ended the regular season for the Comets, who will prepare for the Baltimore County tournament at Overlea on Feb. 17-18.

“The guys really came to wrestle. They did a great job,” said Dunn, whose squad was coming off a tough weekend at the SnOverlea Invitational tournament. “We didn’t wrestle a great tournament, so I really lit them up this week and they stepped up to the plate tonight and were a lot better.”

Howell was happy to see his team’s regular season end on a high note as they prepare for the regional dual meet Tuesday.

“We knew that Catonsville was a good, quality team and we wanted to come ready for it,” Howell said.