Crownsville resident Ryan Davis of Blair Academy in New Jersey overcame an early two-point deficit against Northampton of Ohio's Jeff Ecklof en route to a 4-2 win and the 145-pound title in the weekend's Beast of the East tournament at the University of Delaware.
The senior's second consecutive Beast crown came over another defending champion in a tournament considered the nation's toughest high school wrestling invitational. It also helped Blair Academy edge St. Edward of Ohio for the team championship in the 79-school event.
No. 1 Mount St. Joseph (21st place), No. 2 McDonogh (48th) and Archbishop Curley (59th) also competed in the tournament, which awarded placement to the top eight finishers.
Andrew Gold (103) of Mount St. Joseph finished fifth, and his teammates, senior two-time state champion Sam Lewnes (160) and freshman Mack Lewnes (152), were seventh and eighth, respectively for the Gaels. Gold and Sam Lewnes won five of seven bouts and Mack Lewnes five of eight.
Davis, a former McDonogh wrestler, said he feared Ecklof's "cement job" pinning combination, which he used to defeat a New Jersey state champion in the semifinals.
"They had to stop it because he literally knocked the kid unconcious. It's a killer move, so I had to be careful," said Davis, who was the first sophomore to be named The Sun's Wrestler of the Year before transferring to Blair Academy for his junior season.
"He got the takedown in the first 20 seconds, but it's been my thing to give up points early and then come back."
Davis' escape and "spin-behind" takedown gave him a 3-2 lead heading into the scoreless second period.
"I was able to ride him out in the third period. I probably could have turned him for near-fall points, but I didn't want to risk anything," said Davis, who is 11-0 (133-8 career) and was coming off last week's victory in the Iron Man tournament in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
"I've been wrestling tough, but there's still a lot of stuff I need to work on. I still need to get better," said Davis, who has signed for a full scholarship at Oklahoma State. He will compete at 141 pounds for the Cowboys, whose coach, John Smith, was a two-time NCAA champion and six-time world champion.
"I want to go undefeated," he added. "I want to win senior nationals, junior nationals. I want to win everything."
A transfer from South Carroll who placed third in last year's 4A-3A public school state tournament, Gold handed McDonogh's Joe Breen his first loss, 13-4, to become the only wrestler from a Baltimore area school to reach the tourney's semifinals.
Gold, who had two pins in the tournament, suffered consecutive losses to eventual champion Lance Palmer of St. Edward, 9-0, and Chris Neidermeier of Waynesburg (Pa.), 2-1, before blanking Andrew Flegler of Nazareth (Pa.), 6-0, for fifth place.
Gaels wrestlers Bruce Dulski (112) and Tim Bohlman (125) each won three of five bouts, but didn't place in the top eight.
"I'm definitely pleased with our performance, having three place-winners out here," said Gaels assistant coach Dan Youngblood. "We finished 21st, but that was out of 80 teams. We beat a lot of good teams."
McDonogh failed to place a wrestler in the top eight, but Travis Holmes (145) won four of six bouts, pinning one opponent. The Eagles' Ricky Tippett (140) also had a 4-2 record, pinning two opponents. McDonogh freshman Bryn Holmes (135) went 3-2, getting a pin in his three wins.
Luke Broadwater contributed to this article.