The No. 8 Old Mill wrestling team had an 18-2 mark going into last night's Class 4A-3A East regional dual meet championship, with its only defeats coming against out-of-state opponents.
That changed in dramatic fashion as second-seeded Stephen Decatur of Worcester County fended off a late rally from the top-seeded Patriots to come away with a 31-28 win in Millersville.
Stephen Decatur advances to tomorrow's Class 4A-3A state dual meet tournament at North Carroll.
The host Patriots (18-3) enjoyed an early 12-0 lead on pins from Ryan Hertz (171 pounds) and Ethan Brown (189). But Stephen Decatur's lighter weights helped build a 31-19 lead. After Old Mill got decisions from Mike Sillaman (145) and Davius Dupree (152) to cut the lead to 31-25, the Patriots needed Chase Russell to pin Bryce Smith at 160 pounds to tie it up. While Russell stayed on the offensive throughout, he wasn't able to turn Smith and had to settle for a 8-2 decision.
"The difference was the bonus points. We won seven bouts and they won seven bouts, but they had the three points [that] came from the bonus points," Old Mill first-year coach Dan Youngblood said.
In the semifinals, Atholton fell to Stephen Decatur, 34-30. The Raiders got a pin from Mike Massarelli (215) and decisions from Doug Carpenter (160), Dono James (171) and heavyweight Brian Nance. In the 189-pound class, Malcolm Stennett lost for the first time this season when he was pinned by Decatur's defending state champion, Danny Miller, midway through the third period. The match was tied at 5 when Stennett got caught.
Old Mill reached the final with a 41-16 win over Anne Arundel County rival South River.
glenn.graham@baltsun.com
Class 4A-3A North
Every high school wrestler's goal is to finish his season competing for a state championship. For North Carroll, there was even more incentive. The state championships are being held at their school tomorrow.
"That was my goal ever since the season started," Panthers wrestler Chris Stout said. "I was telling everybody, 'Come on, this is senior year; we have to pull it off.'"
Stout's crucial pin in extra time led No. 2 North Carroll to a 36-27 victory over Urbana of Frederick County at Hereford and clinched the 4A-3A North title.
The Panthers were up 30-21 and Stout (152) was tied 4-4 with Urbana's Trey Curry at the end of three periods. He quickly gained momentum in the extra period and pinned him 36 seconds in.
North Carroll also got a crucial victory at 119 when Mason Goretsas defeated Adam Krop, one of the best wrestlers in the state, 5-4.
Earlier, Baltimore County powers Milford Mill (15-5) and Hereford (20-2) wrestled in tight matches but fell in the semifinals.
The Panthers defeated the No. 11 Millers, 36-31, thanks to Stout's pin of Brandon Ragin in the final match. Patrick Sweet (285), Lance Cole (112) and Ar-Rashid White (140) had pins for Milford Mill.
Urbana beat No. 6 Hereford, 33-26 in the other semifinal.
Taylor Gload (189), Josh Asper (215) and Tyler McCrea (285) recorded pins for the Bulls.
STEFEN LOVELACE
Class 2A-1A South
Host Glenelg won its second straight Class 2A-1A South dual meet wrestling championship, defeating Calvert, 40-35.
The No. 3 Gladiators (15-1) needed back-to-back victories from two of their captains in the final matches to claim the title. Trailing 35-30, Glenelg closed the gap on a four-point major decision by Brian Marcoux at 130 pounds and won it with Danny Bichner's pin of Lucas Hornet in 3:34.
Calvert (16-3), state dual meet champ in 2004, had taken the lead when Danny Wilkins pinned Craig Brindza with two seconds left in their 125-pound match.
"They matched up well against us," Glenelg coach Scott Delpo said. "We got a big win from Zack Gerber at 103 pounds and another one from Alex Hufnagel at 160."
Glenelg advanced to last night's finals with a 40-35 win over Marriotts Ridge, while Calvert advanced by defeating Oakland Mills, 32-31.
RICK BELZ
Class 2A-1A North
Host Owings Mills defeated Lansdowne, 56-13, to win the 2A-1A North title.
Avi Friedman, Brian Farbman, Tony Mack and Julio Trujillo led the way for the Eagles with two pins each.
Kevin Dufour, Brad Mutchnik, Luke Harris, Cody Rosen-Stone and Ja'Twan Murdock also each won two matches for Owings Mills.