The 43rd annual Howard County wrestling tournament, at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, is a two-team race after the varsity semifinal round. River Hill, the regular season champion, had 237.5 points after the semifinal round followed by defending champion Glenelg with 182. Wilde Lake, with 126 points, was in a distant third.
Moreover, the Hawks (9) and Gladiators (5) have a combined 14 of the 28 championship finalists.
The championship finals are scheduled for 7 p.m.
River Hill, known for its prowess at the upperweights, sent many familiar names to the finals, including Cory Daniel (160), Omar Messallam (182), Logan Kirby (195), Jacob Benedict (220) and Jason Johnson (285).
One finalist that might not be so familiar to fans, however, is junior John Kum (170).
Kum was a JV District V finalist last year, and spent most of this season wrestling on JV.
But when sophomore Cory Daniel dropped down to 160 for the county tournament, it made space for Kum to move up to varsity, and strengthened the Hawks lineup.
"It was a surprise, but I worked hard and I knew I had a good shot at 170," said Kum, who has wrestled varsity in the past on spot duty. "I knew I had the talent to make it to the finals."
Kum drilled with Daniel, Messallam and Kirby in the practice room, but when his teammates went out to compete — the Hawks advanced all the way to the state dual meet championship match last weekend — Kum went back to the bench.
"I like to support my team. I drilled with many of the varsity kids, so I kind of felt what they were going through, and I just wish I had the chance to wrestle and show that I was there to help the team as well (on the mat)," he said. "Logan Kirby, I always drill with him, I know that he's probably as tough as they get, so if I can use the skills I've gained from him I'll be able to use them (at 170)."
"He was lights out on JV," coach Brandon Lauer said. "It was like having another varsity wrestler on JV."
Kum, a defensive end, also played with Logan Kirby and Jason Johnson on the River Hill varsity football team that won the 3A state championship this fall.
While the varsity tournament is a big step up in competition level from JV, Kum will be facing a familiar opponent in the finals. Glenelg's Franklin Invitational champion Tyler Asher, who Kum will meet in the 170-pound championship match, defeated him by decision twice in the JV postseason last year.
"I'm going to try to do (all of my moves) and see if I can take him down with one," Kum said.
And while Kum likely would have breezed through the JV bracket, he is thrilled to be wrestling alongside, and against, the most talented wrestlers in the county.
"I'm really happy I was able to make it this far, I had some doubts in my (early) matches but I knew if I pulled through I'd be able to make it to the finals," he said. "I'm eager to get these tougher challenges. JV is fun getting wins, but it's not as much of a feat. This is a lot bigger. I'm a lot more happy about what I'm doing here on varsity."
At 138, River Hill's Brian Kirby upset Glenelg's second-seeded Ryan Carter, 13-9, to set up an interesting championship match. Brian Kirby, a freshman, will meet Reservoir freshman Sam Rowell in the final. Last year Seth Rowell, Sam's older brother, defeated Cameron Kirby, Brian's older brother, 5-2, in the 130-pound county championship. With the win, Seth — who is now a junior at Mount St. Joseph — became Reservoir's youngest county champ. But now Sam has a chance to best his older brother.
Another surprise finalist for River Hill was eighth seeded Casey Guthier at 145. He will meet Atholton's Pat Mullens in the final. That weight class became unpredictable when the favorite, top-seeded Jonathan Goodwin from Hammond, missed weight on Friday. He will still be eligible to wrestle in the regional tournament next weekend.
In the 145-pound semifinals, Guthier pinned Reservoir's Wes Beattie after trailing 16-10 in the third period, and Mullens used a reversal with five seconds left to defeat second-seeded Joe Kendrick (MH), 5-3.
There were more surprises at 152, where Hammond's Raven Coleman-Brooks, who was injured for much of the regular season and came into the county tournament with the No. 7 seed, pinned Atholton's third-seeded Ashton Stennett to break up a 6-6 tie in the third period.
At 160, Wilde Lake's Tola Morakinyo knocked off Hammond's top-seeded Bryan Overton, 2-1, by scoring a takedown with 40 seconds left.
Other notable finalists include Oakland Mills' Zach Hensley (106) and Tony Farace (120), who are each going for their second consecutive county titles in their home gymnasium.
Centennial's Nathan Kraisser (126), like Farace, is a three-time state champion. Those two wrestlers will attempt to become Howard County's first four-time state champions in two weeks. But Kraisser will also have a chance to make history Saturday night at Oakland Mills. If he can defeat Mt. Hebron freshman Connor Strunk, the wrestler he pinned to become the Franklin Invitational champion earlier this season, Kraisser will become the ninth four-time Howard County champion in history, and the first ever from Centennial.
River Hill is going for its first county tournament title since 2009.