It's crunch time for Glenelg's wrestling team. With back-to-back regional titles, a third-place finish at last season's state tournament and a core of four seniors who finished second or third at the tournament, the Gladiators aren't likely to have a better chance in the near future of capturing a state championship than they will this weekend.
"We're tired of being close," coach Scott Delpo said. "We came close at state duals this season but didn't win. These guys are seniors now, and it's their last shot."
Glenelg solidified its championship hopes by advancing eight wrestlers to the state tournament.
"We're happy to advance so many because that gives us a shot at states," Delpo said.
The eight include two-time state finalist Danny Bichner (135 pounds) and finalists Brian Marcoux (125) and Chris Stinnett (140), all seniors. Last season, the three wrestled consecutively at the state tournament, enduring one loss after another.
"We're going to use those losses to motivate us," Bichner said.
Also boosting Glenelg's chances are senior Tim Chase (152), third in the state a year ago, and sophomore Brendan Conway (119), also third in the state. Other Gladiators headed to the tournament are Zach Gerber (103), Alex Hufnagel (160) and Derek Patrick (275).
Atholton wrestling -- In the Class 4A-3A East region Saturday at South River, Atholton coach Bruce Lindblad was pleased with his team's third-place finish against a strong field. Defending state champion Old Mill took first with 134 points, and Stephen Decatur, which won the Class 4A-3A state dual meet tournament last month, edged the Raiders for second, 106-105. Standing out was 215-pound senior Mike Massarelli's dominating 15-0 technical-fall victory over Severna Park junior standout Billy Nichols, who earned the top seed and reached the finals with two pins. Massarelli, seeded second, controlled the match from the start and earned the technical fall with 35 seconds left in the third period to improve to 31-1 this season. Asked whether he thought Massarelli's title would be so easy, Lindblad shrugged and said, "No, that kid is tough." The Raiders, who also got a title from 103-pound sophomore Kevin Beck, qualified five wrestlers for this weekend's state tournament.
Basketball -- In two high-quality championship games last week, the Mount Hebron girls continued their winning ways by edging Atholton, 47-44, and the Long Reach boys topped Atholton, 60-56. For the Vikings, who went into this week's regional playoffs with a 23-0 mark, having any other team's name on the championship plaque would have been disappointing after they went 18-0 in county play during the regular season. Long Reach (21-2 going into the postseason) made amends for a 75-45 home loss against the Raiders during the regular season. In knocking off the defending county champion, the Lightning won its second county championship game. The first was in 2006, when it won the Class 3A state crown.