River Hill wrestling rides transfer to one-point wins over Oakland Mills, Marriotts Ridge

Howard County, MD — River Hill wrestling coach Kevin Cannon had one message for Jack Sheppard before he stepped on the mat for the final bout during Tuesday’s tri-meet at Oakland Mills: “I just told him to do his job: just don’t get pinned.”

Sheppard was pinned in the first period of his first match against Marriotts Ridge, but the importance of avoiding the fall versus Scorpions’ 160-pounder Anthony Morales was the difference between the Hawks winning and losing. Beyond that, it may prove to be the difference between his team earning a spot in the 2A South regional duals or staying at home on Feb. 7.

Sheppard was no match for Morales, one of Oakland Mills’ best grapplers, but he did just enough — he didn’t get pinned. His 19-6 defeat helped River Hill hold on to beat the Scorpions by the thinnest of margins, 36-35, on a day where the Hawks needed every point they could get. They also knocked off the Mustangs, 35-34, in a dual that was also decided by the final matches and a transfer from Colorado — Will Henrickson — who put the county and possibly the state on notice.

Marriotts Ridge (5-4 Howard County, 13-5 overall) finished the day 1-1 and defeated Oakland Mills (4-4, 7-8), 36-31, which went 0-2 without three-time state finalist Kyle Farace. In all three duals, each team won seven bouts and split the 14 matches evenly, but the Hawks (7-2, 15-4) prevailed victorious.

“It feels good to finally prove to them and to myself that we’re River Hill and we’re a program,” Cannon said. “Jack came through. He’s a team player. He wasn’t sure about wrestling last year but he came out this year and he’s helping our team.”

Aside from the pair of team victories, the story of the day was Henrickson. The junior moved to Clarksville from Fort Collins, Colorado, and Tuesday was his first day at his new high school. He said he hasn’t even practiced with the team yet, but his impact was immediate.

The 126/132-pounder handed Marriotts Ridge’s Brett Gladstone his first loss of the season by taking him down three times in the first period and again in the second before earning the fall in 2 minutes, 17 seconds at 132 pounds. He also won by fall in 1:02 against Oakland Mills at 138 pounds, and both of his wins were the final points the Hawks scored in what turned out to be two one-point victories.

“I love the team already, the school is amazing. Just flying out, short notice, I came out with my mom,” said Henrickson, who was a two-time state tournament qualifier in Colorado and reached the quarterfinals to finish with a 29-10 record as a sophomore. “It’s crazy; my mind is blown. This team is really good and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Henrickson said he hasn’t learned the names of all of his teammates yet but hopes to soon. But his experience on the mat — he said he’s been wrestling for 12 years — was all River Hill needed on Tuesday.

“I wanted to get pins,” Henrickson said. “As I was going in, I get a little too hyped up sometimes and I kind of lose focus out there, but I wanted to go in — fresh start, fresh team, new guys — and just wrestle. ... It’s been a crazy experience so far but I like it a lot. I’m really fond of it.”

The Mustangs jumped out to a 15-0 lead against the Hawks after pins by Ryan Reeling (152) and Justin Hooper (160) and a decision from Colin McMurtray (170), and the deficit remained 15 after Zach Wasilewski (182) won by fall for the Hawks and Austin Cestone (195) earned a forfeit.

From there, however, River Hill rallied and took a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Alex Wasilewski (220) sparked the five-match win streak with a major decision, and Kai Uecker (285) and Jonah Richardson (113) won by fall between a solid 5-3 victory from Eric Robinson at 106 pounds. Robinson broke a 3-3 tie with a takedown in the final period against Austin Manwiller, but even after a 10-3 major decision victory by Michael Crisitello pushed the Hawks lead to 29-21, the result was far from decided with three of Marriotts Ridge’s best wrestlers — Ethan Bohan, Gladstone and Will Vaxmonsky — yet to take the mat.

The trio had just two losses on the year combined, but newcomer Henrickson made sure to change that.

Bohan (126) earned a 3-1 decision over Leo Buscher to bring the Mustangs to within five, 29-24, but Henrickson — “their secret weapon,” according to Marriotts Ridge coach Jason Conley — gave the Hawks a comfortable 35-24 lead with two bouts remaining.

Vaxmonsky (138) won a 10-0 major decision and Jake Fratta (145) won by fall, but it wasn’t enough for the Mustangs.

“I didn’t know about their secret weapon,” Conley said. “That was a game changer right there.”

The Hawks jumped out to a 27-15 lead against Oakland Mills after eight matches, and after Henrickson’s first-period fall, the lead ballooned to 36-21. The Scorpions, however, gave themselves a shot after a major decision from Ben Goldfein (145) and a pin by Dylan Watt (152). But down by five with the tie-breaker in favor of River Hill, Morales needed a pin but wasn’t able to secure it despite putting Sheppard on his back multiple times.

“It’s good to get challenged like that,” Oakland Mills coach Brad Howell said. “We had some things not go our way throughout the last couple of days but you roll with the punches and try to find a way to be successful in lieu of some difficult situations that are presented to ourselves.”

Marriotts Ridge lost the first three matches and eventually behind the Scorpions, 20-6, after losing two of the next three. Down 26-12, the Mustangs strung together five consecutive victories from 120 to 145 pounds, which included pins from Brendan Glover (120) and Gladstone (132), a tech fall from Bohan (126) and a major decision from Vaxmonsky (138). A 10-3 win by Jake Fratta (145) sealed the win.

“I’m flat. I’m not happy but I’m not mad,” Conley said. “It’s typical Howard County; it’s all about the matchups. For the most part, this has been a really good year for Howard County wrestling, I think. Anybody can beat anybody any given day.”

Among other individual highlights was a 20-10 major decision victory by Vaxmonsky over Goldfein in a meeting between two state place-winners. Cestone pinned Oakland Mills’ Ernie Smith, a county finalist last year, in the first period after building an 11-0 lead.

River Hill (7-2, 15-4) — 35, Marriotts Ridge (5-4, 13-5) — 34

152: Ryan Reeling (MR) pinned Christian Bond (RH), 5:11 [0-6]

160: Justin Hooper (MR) pinned Jack Sheppard (RH), 1:23 [0-12]

170: Colin McMurtray (MR) dec. Tyler Hopkins (RH), 1-0 [0-15]

182: Zach Wasilewski (RH) pinned Stephen Alam (MR), 2:57 [6-15]

195: Austin Cestone (MR) fft. [6-21]

220: Alex Wasilewski (RH) major dec. Lanre Ifaloyi (MR), 17-4 [10-21]

285: Kai Uecker (RH) pinned Jaekwon Jung (MR), 0:34 [16-21]

106: Eric Robinson (RH) dec. Austin Manwiller (MR), 5-3 [19-21]

113: Jonah Richardson (RH) pinned Colin Wiggins (MR), 3:29 [25-21]

120: Michael Crisitello (RH) major dec. Kevin Hermstein (MR), 10-2 [29-21]

126: Ethan Bohan (MR) dec. Leo Buscher (RH), 3-1 [29-24]

132: Will Henrickson (RH) pinned Brett Gladstone (MR), 2:17 [35-24]

138: Will Vaxmonsky (MR) major dec. Billy Szeliga (RH), 10-0 [35-28]

145: Jake Fratta (MR) pinned Liam Slade (RH), 1:11 [35-34]

Marriotts Ridge — 36, Oakland Mills (4-4, 7-8) — 31

160: Anthony Morales (OM) dec. Justin Hooper (MR), 3-2 [0-3]

170: Rocco Delpo (OM) major dec. Colin McMurtray (MR), 8-0 [0-7]

182: Mulbah Kamara (OM) dec. Stephen Alam (MR), 2-0 [0-10]

195: Austin Cestone (MR) pinned Ernie Smith (OM), 1:42 [6-10]

220: Dante Booker (OM) major dec. Lanre Ifaloyi (MR), 11-3 [6-14]

285: Arthur Mouafo (OM) pinned Jaekwon Jung (MR), 4:31 [6-20]

106: Austin Manwiller (MR) pinned Ian Santiago (OM), 0:50 [12-20]

113: Jalen Cornelius (OM) pinned Colin Wiggins (MR), 3:41 [12-26]

120: Brendan Glover (MR) pinned Isaiah Williams (OM), 4:20 [18-26]

126: Ethan Bohan (MR) tech fall Zubair Gohmon (OM), 19-0 [23-26]

132: Brett Gladstone (MR) pinned Quan Dunscomb (OM), 4:35 [29-26]

138: Will Vaxmonsky (MR) major dec. Ben Goldfein (OM), 20-10 [33-25*]

145: Jake Fratta (MR) dec. Jonald Semprit (OM), 10-3 [36-25]

152: Dylan Watt (OM) pinned Ryan Reeling (MR), 4:29 [36-31]

*-1 team point for unsportsmanlike conduct on Oakland Mills

River Hill — 36, Oakland Mills — 35

170: Rocco Delpo (OM) dec. Tyler Hopkins (RH), 4-2 [0-3]

182: Zach Wasilewski (RH) dec. Mulbah Kamara (OM), 4-2 [3-3]

195: Ernie Smith (OM) pinned Craig Hoffman (RH), 0:36 [3-9]

220: Alex Wasilewski (RH) fft. [9-9]

285: Kai Uecker (RH) pinned Dante Booker (OM), 5:47 [15-9]

106: Eric Robinson (RH) pinned Ian Santiago (OM), 3:51 [21-9]

113: Jalen Cornelius (OM) pinned Jonah Richardson (RH), 2:20 [21-15]

120: Michael Crisitello (RH) pinned Isaiah Williams (OM), 1:52 [27-15]

126: Zubair Gohmon (OM) pinned Matt Greenlee (RH), 0:39 [27-21]

132: Leo Buscher (RH) dec. Quan Dunscomb (OM), 7-3 [30-21]

138: Will Henrickson (RH) pinned Steven Harrell (OM), 1:02 [36-21]

145: Ben Goldfein (OM) major dec. Billy Szeliga (RH), 12-3 [36-25]

152: Dylan Watt (OM) pinned Liam Slade (RH), 1:31 [36-31]

160: Anthony Morales (OM) major dec. Jack Sheppard (RH), 19-6 [36-35]

OTHER SCORES:

Glenelg (9-0, 14-0) — 36, Hammond (6-3, 20-3) — 33

Glenelg — 63, Howard (3-6, 4-13) — 12

145: Shayan Kassiri (Ho) pinned Michael Yang (G), 5:14 [0-6]

152: Drew Sotka (G) pinned Nathan Gabriel (Ho), 1:16 [6-6]

160: Jacob Jones (G) pinned Melvin Hipsley (Ho), 1:23 [12-6]

170: Max Sotka (G) pinned Chris Hallums (Ho), 1:23 [18-6]

182: Jake Arnone (G) fft. [24-6]

195: Magdi Hassanein (G) pinned Spencer Lefever (Ho), 0:10 [30-6]

220: Robbie Baxter (G) dec. Jake Wrisk (Ho), 2-1 2OT [33-6]

285: Ritchy Pierre (Ho) pinned Cory Willson (G), 0:41 [33-12]

106: Andres Lopez (G) pinned Trey Mitchell (Ho), 0:55 [39-12]

113: Logan Gwin (G) major dec. Arjun Kundu (Ho), 21-9 [43-12]

120: Reed Kraemer (G) maj dec John Collins (Ho), 14-5 [47-12]

126: Kevin Hansberger (G) pinned Brad Foote (Ho), 4:22 [53-12]

132: Jared Thomas (G) major dec. Ryan Keeley (Ho), 20-6 [57-12]

138: Ian Gwin (G) pinned Phelo Kamel (Ho), 3:47 [63-12]

Hammond — 59, Howard — 14

152: Shaner Laing (Ha) pinned Nathan Gabriel (Ho), 4:18 [6-0]

160: Kevin Childress (Ha) pinned Melvin Hipsley (Ho), 4:38 [12-0]

170: Jordan Davis (Ha) pinned Chris Hallums (Ho), 1:23 [18-0]

182: Isaiah Lindsey (Ha) fft. [24-0]

195: Tyler Walters (Ha) pinned Spencer Lefever (Ho), 0:22 [30-0]

220: Loic Tueguo (Ha) major dec. Jake Wrisk (Ho), 12-2 [34-0]

285: Justin Andrews (Ha) pinned Ritchy Pierre (Ho), 0:53 [40-0]

106: Shehzan Deghu (Ha) dec. Trey Mitchell, 11-4 [43-0]

113: Keneth Rios (Ha) major dec. Arjun Kundu, 11-2 [47-0]

120: Bryan Rios (Ha) pinned John Collins (Ho), 1:13 [53-0]

126: Brad Foote (Ho) dec. John Lion (Ha), 6-3 [53-3]

132: Ryan Keeley (Ho) tech fall Nashawn Collards (Ha), 16-0 [53-8]

138: Micah Nowlin (Ha) pinned Phelo Kamel (Ho), 0:51 [59-9]

145: Shayan Kassiri (Ho) pinned Tyler Williams (Ha), 2:58 [59-14]

Mt. Hebron (8-1, 16-3) — 39, Atholton (4-4, 5-4) — 24

106: Peter Frazier (A) major dec. Cassy Lopez (MH) [0-4]

113: Drew Pruett (A) major dec. Jack McGuire (MH) [0-8]

120: Yahir Lemus (MH) pinned David Panda (A) [6-8]

126: Khiem Doan (MH) pinned Trajan Mulinazzi (A) [12-8]

132: Derek Noppinger (A) dec. Adam Scherr (MH) [12-11]

138: Bryce Kampert (MH) dec. Sebastian Siberman (A) [15-11]

145: Steven Frazier (A) dec. Jamison Hulbert (MH) [15-14]

152: Ali Pender (MH) pinned Anthony Villan (A) [21-14]

160: Alex Mattes (A) dec. Osman Rivas (MH) [21-17]

170: Sean Billups (A) major dec. Marcus Suri (MH) [21-21]

182: Zach Wilhelm (MH) fft. [27-21]

195: Jake Witlin (MH) fft. [33-21]

220: Miles Easterling (A) dec. Isa Pender (MH) [33-24]

285: Nick Nordhausen (MH) fft. [39-24]

Mt. Hebron — 63, Wilde Lake (0-9, 0-9) — 12

Atholton — 55, Wilde Lake — 18

Centennial (3-5, 6-11) — 48, Long Reach (2-6, 2-7) — 33

106: Christopher Lee (C) pinned Joseph Reilly (LR), 3:20 [6-0]

113: Garrett Cioffi (LR) pinned Ibaad Shaikh (C), 0:53 [6-6]

120: Samuel Levine (LR) pinned Kevin Brock (C), 1:28 [6-12]

126: Unknown (LR) dec. Zaid Narmouq (C), 9-7 [6-15]

132: Jordan Carton (C) fft. [12-15]

138: Jacob Blyukher (C) pinned Rostam Rad (LR), 2:35 [18-15]

145: Jason Kraisser (C) fft. [24-15]

152: Ien Saffer (LR) pinned Zachary Grossman (C), 1:36 [24-21]

160: Joshua Liu-Trieu (LR) pinned David Kim (C), 1:13 [24-27]

170: Wadeed Morcos (C) fft. [30-27]

182: Matthew Ritchie (C) fft. [36-27]

195: Lino Gomez (LR) fft. [36-33]

220: Noah Bussink (C) fft. [42-33]

285: Nicholas Yee (C) pinned Mason Young (LR), 3:49 [48-33]

Centennial — 52, Reservoir (1-8, 3-21) — 27

113: Christopher Lee (C) pinned Jake Kaplan (Re), 1:22 [6-0]

120: Darien Haghighat (Re) pinned Kevin Brock (C), 2:50 [6-6]

126: Reese Kilcarr (Re) pinned Zaid Narmouq (C), 0:54 [6-12]

132: Kaz Okamoto (Re) pinned Jordan Carton (C), 2:42 [6-18]

138: Jacob Blyukher (C) pinned Dylan Hunter (Re), 0:54 [12-18]

145: Connor Harvey (Re) dec. Tristan Kneas (C), 17-10 [12-21]

152: Jason Kraisser (C) pinned Todd Del Tufo (Re), 3:18 [18-21]

160: Zach Grossman (C) major dec. Jacob Rand (Re), 12-0 [24-21]

170: Wadeed Morcos (C) pinned Amani Mbugua (Re), 0:47 [30-21]

182: David Ye (C) pinned Jeremy Liberty (Re), 1:25 [36-21]

195: Segni Melaku (Re) pinned Matthew Richie (C), 1:48 [36-27]

220: Noah Bussink (C) pinned Dylan Altman (Re), 4:39 [42-27]

285: Nicholas Yee (C) pinned Jahrell Jones (Re), 2:38 [48-27]

106: Ibaad Shaikh (C) fft. [56-27]

Long Reach — 46, Reservoir — 35

120: Sam Levine (LR) major dec. Darien Haghighat (Re), 10-0 [4-0]

126: Reese Kilcarr (Re) fft. [4-6]

132: Kaz Okamoto (Re) pinned Mark Tong (LR), 4:38 [4-12]

138: Rostam Rad (LR) pinned Dylan Hunter (Re), 0:53 [10-12]

145: Connor Harvey Pinned Sam Konnen (LR), 0:40 [10-18]

152: Todd Del Tufo (Re) tech fall Ien Saffer (LR) [10-23]

160: Josh Liu-Tricu (LR) pinned Jacob Rand (Re), 0:52 [16-23]

170: Aman Ahmed (LR) pinned Amani Mbugua (Re), 1:01 [22-23]

182: Reggie Love (LR) pinned Jeremy Liberty (Re), 1:50 [28-23]

195: Lino Gomez (LR) pinned Segni Melaku (Re), 3:02 [34-23]

220: Jahrell Jones (Re) fft. [34-29]

285: Dylan Altman (Re) pinned Mason Young (LR), 0:20 [34-35]

106: Joseph Reilly (LR) fft. [40-35]

113: Garrett Cioffi (LR) pinned Jake Kaplan (Re), 0:59 [46-35]