Hensley, the defending county and regional champion, placed third in the state last year after losing to the eventual champion in the semifinals. This year he was a runner-up at the Snowverlea Invitational, losing in the finals to Perry Hall sophomore Zeke Salvo.
Beck did not wrestle for River Hill last year as a freshman, but placed fifth at the Maryland 14-U Youth State Championships at 95 pounds, representing the Howard County Vipers.
Hensley took a 2-0 lead with a reversal halfway through the second period, but Beck escaped with less than ten seconds left. Hensley cut Beck free to start the third period to tie it, but could not come up with the winning takedown, forcing overtime.
When the buzzer sounded, indicating the end of regulation, Beck pumped his fist in celebration.
"He thought I was tired, and that kind of amped me up more," Hensley said. "But I felt pretty good."
In overtime, Beck shot first, but Hensley parried the attempt for the winning takedown 27 seconds into the extra period.
"He shot a high crotch and I whizzered it out, threw him by and then I just grabbed on and held it," said the two-time county champion.
In their regular season meeting, Hensley won, 7-1.
"When I wrestled him in the season I beat him by quite a few points, so I knew that he was going to come really hard," Hensley said. "He was just really good at defending my shot."
Kilcarr, who lost to Hensley in the 103-pound county finals last year, went on to win the 3A/4A East regional title. This year, he won the championship at the Grapple at the Brook tournament, and was a finalist at the Tuscarora Titans' Thunder.
Polonsky, a 2010 state champion, lost last year in the 112-pound county finals to Oakland Mills' three-time state champion Tony Farace.
With a 9-5 lead after a wild first period, Kilcarr came through with the upset pin 52 seconds into the second period.
"I was so scared. I had a lot of doubts (going against a former state champion) but I just went out there and wrestled my match and shocked myself," Kilcarr said. "There were a lot of scrambles, but I ended up on top in most of them. I know I hit a lot of switches, I'm pretty quick at that. I knew he had a good cradle so I had to get away from that."
Kilcarr, who has two younger brothers as teammates at Reservoir, said that he watched some of Polonsky's wrestling videos online to prepare.
"I knew a few of the things that he was good at," said Kilcarr, who wrestled at 120 earlier this season but dropped to 113 for the county tournament. "I got the half at one time and almost got it so I knew that was one of his weaknesses. I tried it again and put a little more strength and hips into it and I got it (for the pin)."
Kilcarr earned the Glenn Devane Outstanding Wrestler Award for the win, becoming the first Reservoir wrestler to ever win that award.
"I'm feeling great. Losing the weight was pretty tough, but if you just put your mind into wanting this, it works out," he said.
Farace, the three-time regional and state champion, defended his 2011 county title in his home gymnasium. His only loss this season came when he bumped up to 126 to wrestle fellow three-time state champion Nathan Kraisser of Centennial, the wrestler who Farace lost to in the county finals each of his first two seasons.
"That humbled me a little bit and made me realize I'm beatable, anybody's beatable," said Farace, who injured his shoulder during that match and had to sit out of the Snowverlea Invitational in late January. "It just made me want to work harder and try new things. It helped me realize what my weaknesses were, so I've been able to kind of correct those.
"It sucks that I got hurt in the process, I think I would have given him a better match if I hadn't gotten hurt," said Farace, who says that he is now back to full strength. "My shoulder's good. It felt really good there in the match, especially once my adrenaline got going."
Farace has over 150 wins and only two tournaments left in his high school career.
"It's definitely sinking in (that it's coming to an end) ... it feels like the season just started a couple of weeks ago," he said. "It's definitely a little crazy that it's coming down to the last two weeks."
Trinh, who has enjoyed a breakout season after placing fourth in the county as a sophomore, managed to stay out of the grasp of Farace's formidable cradle, but was only able to score on a pair of escapes.
Kraisser became just the ninth four-time Howard County champion in history with the win.
"It's an honor to be up there with those other guys, to be able to come in year in and year out and get it done," said the five-time Fargo All-American and UNC recruit. "I think I did a good job of staying healthy, doing the right thing to be able to have this success."
All three of his losses this year came at the Walsh Ironman tournament in Ohio. His weight class featured five of the top ten ranked wrestlers in the nation.
"I've learned how much better I can be if I wrestle offensively ... so I've tried to focus on that instead of being more defensive and just keeping people off of my legs and just wrestling the whole time," he said.
This year, Kraisser was named the Outstanding Wrestler at both the Arundel and Franklin Invitationals. At Franklin, he pinned Strunk in the championship final. This time, Kraisser built an 8-0 lead after the first period, then stopped the match with a tech fall late in the second period.
"I was just trying to take whatever I could get, whatever he gave me. At Franklin I was able to get in on a good shot and take him to his back, today he did a better job of defending that so I just took what he gave me and kept working my stuff," he said.
Strunk has been one of the most impressive freshmen in the state this season. Last year as an eighth grader he placed third at the junior league state tournament at 110 pounds.
While Strunk has a bright career ahead of him, Kraisser's illustrious time at Centennial is coming to a close.
"It's just starting to sink in now. It was always kind of in the back of my mind, now it's like all right, I only have two more tournaments left ... it seemed like it just flew by. All of the sudden it's the end of the year and you've got just two more weeks and its done," said Kraisser, who added that wrestling is still just as fun as it was when he was a freshman. "Just coming in and getting to wrestle and just going out there and just doing what I love to do."
Jackson won a wild battle between sophomores by scoring a takedown with 35 seconds left in the third period. Pagnotta escaped in the waning seconds, but had too much ground to make up.
Jackson said that he used his favorite move, the low single, to score takedowns, and was on the look out for Pagnotta's strong cradle.
"I was expecting a tough match ... that kid gave me a fight. I was fortunate enough to be in the finals and all I could remember was just wanting to win," said Jackson, who was a JV champion last year as a first-year wrestler.
"This feels way better, because most of the kids didn't even know who I was last year," he said.
Pagnotta, who finished fifth in the county last year, was the top ranked 132-pounder in the county until losing to Jackson on Jan. 24.
"I felt like I had a target on my back, and some of these kids are very good," Jackson said. "I've only had like two years of wrestling experience, so I was so nervous coming in. I just wrestle every match like the kid is a champion. I have great coaches in my corner, I'm so lucky, I have a lot of people supporting me."
Jackson was recruited to the sport by former Wilde Lake coaches Butch Keaser and Azmar Hagler, and after winning the county title, he formed a letter 'A' with his hands as a tribute to Hagler.
"He got me into this (sport) and I told him I would go down fighting," Jackson said.
Jackson said that 2010 and 2011 county champions Alvin Harris and Zathy Ndiang also helped him get to the top of the podium. Ndang, a 2011 state champion, was on hand at Oakland Mills on Saturday to give Jackson some last minute pointers.
"Zathy and Alvin were like my big brothers on the team. They told me if you want to be a champion you've got to work hard, so they took me to (Team) Penguin, I wrestled with them, and they've been like my big brothers ever since."
Rowell led 5-0 into the third period, but Kirby scored a late takedown and two backpoints to make for an exciting finish.
"I was holding on for my life. I was in the lead and I couldn't get turned to my back, I was doing all I could to not get turned, it was pretty tough," said Rowell, who was a finalist at the Grapple at the Brook tournament.
Kirby and Rowell were teammates last year on the Howard County Vipers youth team as eighth graders. Rowell finished second at 130 at the junior league state tournament (to Nathan Kraisser's younger brother Austin) while Kirby was fifth at 122.
"We talked a lot earlier in the season ... we're pretty close and he's a good wrestler, tough opponent," Rowell said. "At the beginning of the season I had no clue how I was going to do, I thought high school was going to be really, really tough. But the hard work during the season pays off."
Rowell became the first freshman to ever win a county title for Reservoir with the win. His older brother, Seth, won last year as a sophomore before transferring from Reservoir to Mount St. Joseph.
"Seth's definitely had a lot of great accomplishments, but it's nice to have my turn, my time to shine at Reservoir," Sam Rowell said. "(Seth) will be proud."
The 145-pound weight class was turned on its ear when the top-seed, Hammond's undefeated Jonathan Goodwin, missed weight by one-tenth of a pound on Friday. Then Mullens upset second-seeded Joe Kendrick of Mt. Hebron in the semifinals with a last second reversal, and Guthier, the No. 8 seed, pinned Reservoir's Wes Beattie after trailing 16-10 late in the third period.
"This weekend has been crazy man," said Mullens, who even went to overtime in his quarterfinal win over Oakland Mills' Jaron Smith. "The whole thing has been close and unpredictable."
It was only fitting that the championship match was wild as well. Mullens built an early 9-2 lead, but Guthier rallied furiously to close the gap.
"He came out real aggressive, so I knew that wouldn't continue through the third period. I just tried to hang in there through the first. I knew by the third he'd be worn out enough that I could just pull through and finish hard then," Mullens said. "I just took it as a regular match, I acted like I was wrestling Goodwin and it worked out."
Guthier placed seventh last year at the county tournament, while Mullens missed wrestling season. He did place sixth in the county as a freshman at 145.
"This is kind of my comeback year, no one really knew about me so I guess I surprised some people," he said. "I wouldn't be here without all of my practice partners, when I finish well they helped me get here so I gotta thank them."
Ulysse, who finished fourth in the county tournament last year, had never wrestled before coming to Oakland Mills four years ago.
"I never wrestled junior league, I worked my way to the top," he said. "I guess that two hours after practice really helped, because I would stay after practice every single day, anything, really, just to get better."
Coleman-Brooks, who was sidelined for much of the regular season with an injury, came into the tournament with the seventh seed. He upset the No. 2 seed, River Hill's Jack Noonan, in the quarterfinals, and then knocked off the No. 3 seed, Atholton's Ashton Stennett, in the semifinals, both with late pins.
Coleman-Brooks missed the county tournament last year, but won his weight class at both the Keaser Classic and New Town Duals this season.
"I knew he had seen some kind of competition because he came through and knocked good guys off, so I kept him in the back of my mind and I never underestimated him for a second," Ulysse said.
Ulysse was in control the whole match, building a 3-0 lead on his way to victory.
"My coach (Brad Howell) told me ... that I had to get my points on bottom. After I got my takedown, I had to seal the deal with my bottom move," Ulysse said. "My coaches just told me to go out there and go aggressive."
Daniel had an impressive freshman campaign last year, placing third in the county and winning more than 30 matches at 145, and built on that success this year. He placed second at the National High School Coaches Association Freshman Nationals and finished eighth at Cadet Greco Nationals in Fargo, ND.
After wrestling at 170 for most of the season, he dropped to 160 before the county tournament.
"I was at 170 all year and I knew I wanted to go to 160 for countys, regions and states, I thought that was going to be my optimal weight, I thought I was going to wrestle better there and it turns out I did," he said.
Morakinyo, who placed third in the county as a sophomore and won the Edgewood Tournament this season, upset top-seeded Bryan Overton of Hammond in the semifinals, 2-1.
"I haven't wrestled him in a match but ... I knew what he was going to do. He's a strong, physical guy and he wrestled well, it was a great match, both of us," Daniel said. "I knew he was a good thrower. I wrestled him at Team Penguin last year ... but I did Fargo last year which definitely improved my throws and I knew I was going to have to look for it."
Daniel scored the first takedown and had built a 4-1 lead by the second period.
"My first takedown was just a hip toss. He shot in and I jacked him up for the hip toss," he said. "I got an escape, and also a switch on him."
Daniel now hopes to become the third wrestler from River Hill to be a three-time county champion, joining coach Brandon Lauer (1998-2000) and Scott Mantua (2007-2009).
"I want to be part of the three county champion guys, and hopefully if I just keep working hard I'll get it my junior and senior year," he said.
Like Wilde Lake's Jackson, Asher went from JV county champion a year ago to varsity champion this season.
"It feels good to be able to step up for my team on varsity, I've always been behind real good wrestlers like (2011) state champion Charles Walls, (2009 and 2010 county champ) Brendan Conway, I've been waiting for this," said Asher, who won the Franklin Invitational this season.
Kum was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament. After placing third at the JV county tournament and second at the District V JV tournament (losing both times to Asher) last year, he was stuck behind Daniel and Omar Messallam this season. But when Daniel dropped to 160, Kum got his chance and took advantage, upsetting the second (Hammond's Josh Thibodeaux) and third (Marriotts Ridge's Lyle Fugate) seeds on his way to the finals.
"I knew he was a strong kid, he's real tough, and he's got a lot of heart in him," Asher said. "I hit a single for the first takedown, then I switched (for a reversal)."
Asher said that after winning the JV county title last year, he set his mind toward winning a varsity title this year.
"It was always in the back of my mind, that was my goal, but after Franklin I said, 'I can do this' ... it's great. I"ve been working hard, four years, and it's a great payoff."
In a rematch of last year's 189-pound varsity consolation finals, Messallam reversed the result after losing to Lucas for third place.
"Last year I was kind of on a low after losing in the semis and that started a whole line of training goals that I set for myself this year," Messallam said. "I just wanted to exceed my potential, so just go out there and do my best and whatever happens happens."
Messallam set the tone early in the match, scoring two takedowns in the first period, and didn't look back.
"I just went for snap downs and high crotches, nothing fancy, just stick with the stuff that I drill everyday," he said. "It feels fantastic. This was one of my goals for this year and it feels good to check another one off of the list."
Messallam said that being on a team with such good upperweights helped him get to the top of the podium.
"There's definitely a camraderie between us upperweights," he said. "Coaches, practice partners, Cory Daniel (in particular) helped me out a lot this year."
Like Daniel, Kirby now has a chance to become a three-time county champion for River Hill. He placed third last year at 171, and placed fifth at the NHSCA Freshman Nationals in the offseason.
Anuh finished sixth in the county last year at 189, but has enjoyed a breakout season this year, winning titles at the Keaser Classic and the Northern Patriot Classic, and going undefeated at the New Town Duals.
Earlier this year, Kirby defeated Anuh, 6-2, in a dual meet. But Anuh came stronger in the county finals, battling Kirby to a deadlock after the first two periods.
"I knew that this match was going to be closer because there was a lot more on the line, when it was 0-0 I knew I was going to have to work extra hard," Kirby said. "I knew Humphrey was a great wrestler, and I knew if I stayed aggressive I could score points ... I was just trying to push aggressive as much as possible, try to tire him out a little bit."
Kirby eventually opened the match up in the third period when he scored a quick escape, a stalling point, and with 40 seconds left, a takedown.
Logan Kirby said that he also got a thrill out of watching his younger brother, Brian, wrestle in the finals.
"That was special. I'm glad my brother was able to make it this year and Sam (Rowell), they worked together in junior leagues and they're good friends. It was a good match, and I'm proud that he was there," he said.
After Benedict's close loss to Hammond's Baldwin Asala in the county finals last year, the senior did did not want to come that close again without claiming gold.
But after Jung, a 2011 JV county champion, escaped in the second period to take a 1-0 lead, it looked like Benedict might have to settle for second again. With about 85 seconds left in the final period, though, Jung attempted to put his opponent into a leg lock, and Benedict slipped out for the winning reversal.
"In the third period I knew he was going to throw in legs so I was just hoping I'd reverse him and hold him down for the rest of the time, which I did," he said. "That's how I wrestled him the last two times, he tried to throw in legs and I just pulled him off of me and got a reversal both times."
Benedict, who placed sixth at the state tournament last year, said that watching his teammates win county titles was almost as satisfying as winning his own.
"I really wanted a county championship, that was one of my top goals this season," he said. "But I care more about them than me really. I just want us to be good as a team. Especially (Jason Johnson) because we wrestle each other the most. We really grow together."
Johnson's late pin put an exclamation point on River Hill's record-setting performance at the county tournament. But like Benedict, he actually trailed his opponent 1-0 heading into the final period.
Johnson escaped early in the third to tie it though, and then when Twigg — a defending JV county champ — attempted to score the winning takedown with 15 seconds left, Johnson pounced on top to take the lead and scored the pin with only five seconds left on the clock.
"I knew right there that I had to have a last second burst and go for it. I tried to pick the ankle first and he brought his arm up and tried to push me off," said Johnson, who finished fifth in the county last year as a junior. "Since last year's wrestling season I didn't stop wrestling until football season. I went to Fargo, I did Virginia Beach Nationals, I did FILA Cadets. Me, Omar (Messallam) and Cory (Daniel), we all were on the (Maryland) National team and we trained all offseason and this is how it pays off."
Twigg was a Franklin Invitational champion and placed second at the difficult War on the Shore tournament.
In their most recent regular season meeting, Johnson defeated Twigg, 6-3.
"This time he was very good at not letting me snap him down," he said. "Wrestling someone like him I don't want to take a shot because it's a lot of weight to get off of me ... my go-to thing is to try and snap him down. I can't do that which frustrates me."
Johnson's father, John, won a county title for Oakland Mills in 1990.