HAGERSTOWN -- The second day of the Class 1A-2A West regional was just half over when the talk started focusing on the battle for second place.
"Yeah, it's been a pretty good day so far," said Francis Scott Key coach Bill Hyson, after his Eagles took a comfortable lead through the consolation semifinals.
It got better yesterday at North Hagerstown High.
The Eagles had the region clinched before the championship round began.
They finished with three individual titles and two runner-ups, will send 10 wrestlers and an alternate to the state tournament next weekend at Western Maryland College and won, 150.5-105, margin over second-place Northern Garrett.
North Carroll finished sixth with 76 points and Liberty had 31.5 points to place 10th.
Hyson was elated to see 10 wrestlers headed to states next weekend with an alternate.
"I knew it was an outside shot, going in we were hoping for seven or eight. It sure makes practice a lot easier, they can pair up with one another," he said. "Each time there's been a challenge we've risen and reached down a little deeper -- we hope to continue that."
Ryan Etzler (119) and the two defending state champs -- Zac Yinger (145) and Randy Owings (140) -- claimed titles with Robert Buntin (160) and Matt Yinger (112) earning runner-up spots.
Zac Yinger won a 10-5 decision over North Carroll's Erik Hott; Owings won by default after Smithsburg's Jeremy Harbaugh landed hard after a Owings takedown in the first period; and Etzler came away with a decision over Northern-Garrett's Matt Wolfe.
Etzler, who was pinned last week in the dual state meet semifinals against Damascus, came back strong this weekend.
"In the dual championships I didn't wrestle to my potential and used that as motivation," Etzler said. "There was not a whole lot of pressure knowing we clinched early and that kind of helped. Team-wise, with 10 people and an alternate, I think we have a good shot at states."
Tom Kiler was the lone North Carroll wrestler to come away with a region title, claiming a 10-6 decision over Smithsburg's Kris Dietrich (135).
Bill Beltz (189), Erik Hott (145) and Corey Rill (125) all had second- place finishes for the Panthers.
Rill's tough 14-11 decision loss to Smithsburg's John Nogle was one of the best matches of the night. Nogle jumped out on top and answered every challenge Rill came up with.
Liberty sent four wrestlers to regionals and coach Jeff Hash was pleased with the effort he got from each.
The Lions got a runner-up finish from 171-pounder Scott Taylor, who lost a 9-4 decision to Williamsport's Jim Massey in the finals. Joe Smith took third at 112 with a 4-3 decision over Williamsport's Billy Baker in the consolation final.
Dave Phillips, the only senior of the four, came back to get a win and a fifth-place finish at 140. Mike Saylor qualified as a freshman.
"We're happy with the way those guys finished," Hash said. "We can only go up as a program and are doing that little by little. With Joe Smith and Scott Taylor and the success they've had, that can only help the program."