After being upset by Stephen Decatur in the Class 4A-3A East regional, No. 8 Old Mill was looking to bounce back and repeat as Anne Arundel County champion.
The Patriots did just that by earning a record 18th team title at Arundel High in Gambrills last night under first-year coach Dan Youngblood. Youngblood, a former standout Old Mill wrestler, said, "The loss in the regional duals really motivated the kids to work hard this whole week.
"They had something to prove. They wanted to come out and re- deem themselves. And they did."
The Patriots had four individual champions in Ron Vaughters (27-5) at 114 pounds, Willie Pumphrey (23-7) at 121, Ethan Brown (25-5) at 191 and Aaron Hawkins (28-5), their only top seed, at 287 pounds.
Hawkins was one of 11 top seeds in the 14 title bouts to win an individual championship.
Top-seeded Bubby Graham of sixth-place Annapolis won his third consecutive county title and extended his personal winning streak to 90. Graham, 29-0 this season, took the 162-pound final to run his career record to 114-8.
No. 12 South River, the county's only other ranked team, was edged for second place by Northeast, 154.5-153. The Seahawks had one individual champion in Ben Ward (29-7) at 105 pounds. The runner-up Eagles had two champs in Zach West (30-5) at 132 pounds and Maurice Fleming (31-1) at 142.
PAT O'MALLEY
Baltimore County
Receiving individual titles from Adeleke Ibironke (130) and Rashid White (135), Milford Mill edged Owings Mills, 211.5-200, in the 47th annual championships at Parkville.
It is the Millers' second county crown and their first since 1964. Hereford finished third with 194 points.
Millford Mill also got runner-up finishes from Terrance Owens (125), Charles Blue (171) and Patrick Sweet (215).
In taking second, Owings Mills received titles from Avi Friedman (103), Cody Rosen-Stone (140), Tony Mack (160) and Julio Trujillo (285), all coming by pins.
Hereford's Josh Asper (171), a three-time state champion, won his third county championship with a 15-3 major decision over Blue to improve to 30-0 on the season.
Teammate Jeremy Kiel (145) won his second county title, and Pikesville's Ben Baker (112) also won for the second time.
GLENN GRAHAM
UCBAC
In the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference tournament at Aberdeen, Bel Air turned the tables on defending champion Rising Sun, defeating the Tigers, 247-232.5, to win the team title.
The Bobcats finished second to the Tigers last season. Harford Tech was third with 193 points.
The championship was Bel Air's first since winning the Harford County title in 2000.
Bel Air had four individual champions en route to the title. They were Sean Ellenby (125), Zack Keller (135), Matt Cross (152) and Everett Wittstadt (215).
"Once I saw the seedings, I thought we had a chance," Bel Air coach Craig Reddish said. "We lost to [Rising Sun], 38-22, during the season, but I thought we could hang with them. This was a total team effort from top to bottom."
Individual highlights included Aberdeen junior Chris Hoffman winning his 100th career match and running his season record to 32-1 with a 7-0 decision over Bel Air's Steve Cross at 119 pounds.
Rising Sun's Matt Jackson (145) became the first four-time UCBAC champion with a 14-4 major decision over Harford Tech's Cory Wood at 145 pounds.
MIKE FRAINIE
Howard County
Danny Bichner of Glenelg won his fourth consecutive county title and Chris Stinnett his third straight to lead Glenelg to its second Howard County championship in a row, at Atholton.
Although third- through sixth-place matches will be wrestled tomorrow, Glenelg held an insurmountable 176-154 lead over runner-up Reservoir, with Atholton third at 149.5.
Bichner, who won a 4-0 decision over Thomas Consiglio of Oakland Mills at 135 pounds, is also a three-time regional champ and two-time state finalist. Stinnett, who scored a technical fall over Peter Petties of Oakland Mills, is also a three-time regional champ.
Dan LeRoy of Centennial was voted the tournament's outstanding wrestler. He defeated Brendan Conway of Glenelg, 4-2, in overtime at 119 pounds.
RICK BELZ