Matt Cross of Bel Air completed his high school wrestling career with his first individual state title last weekend, and coach Craig Reddish couldn't be happier.
"He has worked so hard to accomplish this goal, and the manner in which he went about it is refreshing," Reddish said. "His humble approach makes him a great teammate and a pleasure to work with."
Cross finished his stellar senior season with a 4-1 victory over Steven Gamble of Sherwood in the 152-pound Class 4A-3A state title match at Cole Field House. He ended up with a 40-2 record.
Cross won four matches at the state meet, two by pin and two by decision. He pinned Brandon Ragin from Milford Mill and Bereket Kebede of Montgomery Blair before topping Zach Jankiewicz of Glen Burnie, 6-2, in the semifinals.
Gamble was one of a handful of undefeated wrestlers left (36-0 heading into the match), but he couldn't handle Cross, an experienced wrestler who knows how to keep his poise on the mat.
"He is relentless," Reddish said. "Matt gets the most out of every situation and lives entirely in the moment. This will make Matt a success in life. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person."
Harford Tech's Tom Stewart, Chris Hoffman from Aberdeen, Brandon Gain of Harford Tech and Joppatowne's Lance Lepard were the other Harford County wrestlers to finish in the top six at the state meet.
Stewart was the only other county wrestler to make the championship round. He didn't fare as well as Cross, as Bubby Graham of Annapolis pinned him at 2:33 of the Class 4A-3A 160-pound final.
Hoffman (119) and Gain (103) both came away with third-place finishes. For Hoffman (40-2), the Aberdeen wrestler needed to work overtime to beat Old Mill's Willie Pumphrey, 10-8, in the Class 4A-3A consolation final.
Gain (33-9) blanked Zach Gerber of Glenelg, 4-0, in the Class 2A-1A 103-pound third-place match. Lepard (171) topped Parkside's Zach Eure, 6-4, to capture fifth place, also in Class 2A-1A.
Bel Air, which surprised Rising Sun to win the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference wrestling title a few weeks ago, was the top local finisher in the Class 4A-3A division. The Bobcats ended up in 26th place with 26 points. LaPlata won the team title.
In Class 2A-1A, Harford Tech led the way for local teams. The Cobras finished 18th with 29 points. Glenelg won the team title.
Basketball regionals -- Harford County struck out on both sides in last weekend's regional finals. Five teams (three girls, two boys) were one step away from the state semifinals, but each of them lost. Fallston made the Class 3A state semifinals last year, but the Cougars lost a 10-point halftime lead as Atholton rallied for a 57-54 victory in this season's Class 3A East region final. ... The C. Milton Wright girls had problems with their offense from the start, and Dulaney rolled to a 40-28 victory in t he Class 4A North region final. ... Joppatowne made it to the Class 1A South regional final before Surrattsville handed the Mariners a 74-37 defeat. The Joppatowne boys suffered a similar fate against Surrattsville, dropping a 73-59 decision in their Class 1A South regional final. .. Aberdeen's boys were the only other local team to make the regional championship game. The Eagles suffered a disappointing end to a good season as Long Reach handed them a 51-41 defeat in the Class 3A East regional title game. The Eagles suffered some bad luck before the playoffs that might have affected them in the game. They lost a coin flip with Long Reach for the region's top spot, which forced them to go to the Howard County school for the final. The Eagles ended the season with a 20-3 record, suffering losses to teams that all were ranked at some point. They dropped an early season game at Randallstown before falling to John Carroll and then at Long Reach.