State wrestling: Starr, Bryant, Larkin, Monn bring home championships

Saturday

When all the action in the Maryland state wrestling tournament had ended at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro on Saturday night, no school had more boys champions crowned than Williamsport.

The Wildcats had six boys take the mats for first-round action Friday afternoon. By the close of Saturday night, three of them — seniors Zach Starr, Darby Bryant and Max Larkin — were Class 2A-1A state champions. That tied South Carroll for top honors.

“I think it all comes down to our program,” said Larkin, who capped an undefeated season (39-0) with a 6-1 victory over Colonel Richardson's Austin Alexander (28-2) in the 2A-1A 285-pound final. “Without a doubt, we work harder than any school in the state. Just the community around our program, the parents, the staff, Rech (head coach Mike Rectorovic) himself … they all do a lot.”

“The guys came down here and wrestled very well this weekend,” said Rechtorovic. “Four (wrestlers) in finals, three champs, five placewinners. I think three champs ties the county record for the most in a single season.”

North Hagerstown senior Thomas Monn gave Washington County a fourth state champion Saturday, claiming the 4A-3A 152-pound title — the second championship of his career, having won at 132 pounds as a sophomore.

2A-1A 113-pound final

Starr (30-1) — who had finished third twice in his previous two state tournament appearances — would not be denied in his final opportunity.

His championship match against C. Milton Wright's Demetrios Gourgoulianis (33-5) was scoreless through the first two periods. Starr, who deferred the second-period choice of position to Gourgoulianis, chose the down position to start the third. He escaped with 1:43 left for a 1-0 lead, and his takedown with 19 seconds remaining made it 3-0 and all but sealed the victory — though Gourgoulianis got an escape point with 3 seconds left.

“I was really confident,” said Starr, who finished his prep career with a 129-11 record. “My ability on the bottom is really strong. I knew I was going to be able to get out and score some points. Right when I got that takedown, I knew the match was just about over.

“It's the perfect way I could have ended the season. I don't know how anyone else would want to go out.”

Starr won his semifinal 2-0 over Sparrows Point's Tyler Maynor.

4A-3A 152-pound final

Monn (41-1) was on a mission to earn his second state title ever since he suffered his only loss of the season by injury default when he suffered a concussion caused by an inadvertent elbow at the La Plata Duals in mid-December.

“I was out two weeks,” Monn said. “That really pushed me, and I didn't stop.”

Monn was a merciless buzzsaw in his final against Chesapeake-Anne Arundel's Owen Schmidt (48-3). He scored a takedown 37 seconds in and got a pair of 3-point nearfalls and a 2-point nearfall to build a 10-0 lead by the end of the first period.

He chose the bottom to start the second period and needed just 17 more seconds to get a reversal and 3-point nearfall to win by a 15-0 tech fall and close his prep career with a 126-9 record.

“I knew I had to be strong and be tough. (Schmidt) is a great kid,” Monn said. “I had to give him my focus … had to keep my mind straight.”

Monn pinned Bel Air's Daniel Cross in 3:46 in the semifinals.

2A-1A 170-pound final

Bryant (41-0) wrapped up an undefeated season with a 5-2 decision over South Carroll's Rylan Moose (38-4), who Bryant controlled for most of the match.

“It's just been a long ride,” said Bryant, who went 1-2 at states as a freshman at 145 pounds and placed fifth as a sophomore at 152. “I've been wrestling 10-plus years and it all came down to this moment.”

Bryant scored the only points of the first period with a takedown. He chose the bottom to start the second period and escaped for a 3-0 lead. He also started on the bottom in the third period and escaped again to make it 4-0 before his only blemish of the match, as Moose scored a takedown with 23 seconds left. Bryant escaped with 2 seconds remaining for his final point.

“Just score points,” Bryant said of his focus. “That was the biggest thing I was working on coming in. I have to give credit to my workout partner Adin (Hastings) and the coaches. They all were big components in helping me win this.”

Bryant defeated Poolesville's Jackson Barney 9-2 in the semifinals. He finished his prep career with a 125-19 record.

2A-1A 285-pound final

Larkin (39-0) also finished the season as an undefeated state champion with his decision over Alexander (28-2).

“I credit it to my practice partners (in previous seasons), Brandon Oyster and Tayquan Johnson, for beating me up all those years,” said Larkin of a pair of former formidable Wildcats — Oyster was a state champion, Johnson a state placewinner. “It's been an incredible four years. I started as a fat kid my freshman year and grinded to where I am now. It was a long journey but worth it in the end.”

Larkin scored a takedown 48 seconds into the match for the only points of the first period. He chose the neutral position to start the second period and got another takedown to make it 4-0. Starting on the bottom in the third period, he reversed for a 6-0 lead. Alexander escaped with 5 seconds left to avoid the shutout.

In the semifinals, Larkin pinned Middletown's Russell Endicott in 37 seconds. He finished his prep career with an 88-17 record.

Four earn silver

Williamsport senior Landen Harbaugh and a trio of county girls wrestlers — Smithsburg junior Jenn Hood and Boonsboro junior Brooke Bickers and sophomore Amelia Mikus — reached the championship round Saturday before settling for second place.

• In the boys 2A-1A 120-pound bracket, Harbaugh (31-1) earned a 4-0 decision over Hereford's Owen Bell in the semifinals. But in the final, Sparrows Point's Dom Ambrosino (15-2) built a 9-2 lead before pinning Harbaugh in 4:33.

Harbaugh closed his prep career as a three-time state runner-up — including at 113 in 2019 and at 126 in 2020 — with a 125-8 record.

• Hood, a state champion at 117 pounds in the inaugural girls state tournament in 2020, reached the 140-pound final with a 3-1 decision over Richard Montgomery's Deepinder Kaur in the semifinals. But Dulaney's Sarah Sunday — who also won a state title at 132 in 2020 — rolled to a 9-0 major decision victory in the championship match.

• Mikus reached the 125-pound final with a pin of Parkside's Jillian Chase with 5 seconds left in the third period. But Northern-Calvert's undefeated Brianna Holcomb controlled the championship match, taking a 7-0 decision.

• Bickers rolled to an 11-4 decision over River Hill's Dorothy Seylar in the semifinals to reach the 135-pound championship match. But Richard Montgomery's Nadia Estrada — the 122-pound champion in 2020 — earned her second state title with a 13-7 decision in the final.

The third period was wild. Estrada took a 7-2 lead with a 2-point nearfall 33 seconds in, but Bickers reversed for two points, got a 2-point nearfall and was awarded a penalty point that tied the match at 7 with a minute left. Estrada put the match away with an escape, a takedown and a 3-point nearfall.

Other placewinners

• Boonsboro freshman Tanner Halling (38-1), who suffered his only loss of the season in Friday's quarterfinals — a 3-1 setback to Tyler Garvin, who finished the season as an undefeated state champion — ripped through four consolation opponents Saturday to place third in 2A-1A at 106 pounds.

• Boonsboro senior Sean Rinebolt (40-1) lost to Glenelg's Kyle Hansberger 3-1 in Saturday's 2A-1A 126-pound semifinals. He came back to win his two consolation matches — including a 4-2 decision over Smithsburg's Clark Smith — to place third.

• Boonsboro senior Hunter Ballantine (39-3) lost 10-0 to undefeated state champion Gage Owen of South Carroll in the 2A-1A 132-pound semifinals Saturday. He won his two consolation matches by pinfall and a 10-4 decision to finish third.

• Smith (31-7), a junior, lost to undefeated state champion Michael Pizzuto of South Carroll 4-0 in Saturday's semifinals. He reached the consolation final with a 48-second pin before placing fourth with the loss to Rinebolt.

• Smithsburg junior Allie Grossnickle pinned a pair of opponents in the girls 145-pound consolation bracket and finished fourth.

• Williamsport junior Mason Wolfensberger (22-8) went 3-3 in the 2A-1A 220-pound bracket to place sixth.

Friday

On Day 2 of the Maryland state wrestling championships, eight Washington County wrestlers reached the semifinals at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.

Williamsport senior Zach Starr (28-1), a two-time third-place finisher at states, pinned Kent Island's Rasul Ramadhan in 4:39 in the 2A-1A 113-pound first round, then dismissed Fairmont Heights' Toluwalase Adetosoye in a 17-0 tech fall (4:43) in the quarterfinals. He will face Sparrows Point's Tyler Maynor (16-3) in the semifinals.

Williamsport senior Landen Harbaugh (32-0), a two-time state runner-up, pinned each of his first two opponents in the 2A-1A 120-pound bracket — Kent Island's Jack Hooks in 3:11 in the first round, and Calvert's Brian Davis in 1:39 in the quarterfinals. He will face Hereford's Owen Bell (40-0) in a semifinal matchup of unbeatens.

More: These are the top 10 Washington County wrestling dual meets of the last 15 years

Boonsboro senior Sean Rinebolt (38-0), who placed third in 2A-1A at 120 pounds in 2020, remained undefeated this season through two matches in the 126-pound bracket. He pinned La Plata's Nick Houchin in 1:09 in the first round, then rolled to a 10-1 major decision over Cambridge-South Dorchester's David Willis in the quarterfinals. He will face Glenelg's Kyle Hansberger (27-4) in the semifinals.

Smithsburg junior Clark Smith (31-4) also reached the 2A-1A 126-pound semifinals. He pinned Huntingtown's Jett Cramer in 29 seconds in the first round, then earned a 7-2 decision over Bohemia Manor's Chase Rondone in the quarterfinals. He will face South Carroll's undefeated Michael Pizzuto (40-0) in the semifinals.

Boonsboro senior Hunter Ballantine (37-2) advanced to the 2A-1A 132-pound semifinals with a 20-second pin of Owings Mill's Eugene Tsitlik in the first round and a 4-3 decision over Kent Island's Jacob Bowman in the quarterfinals. Ballantine will face South Carroll's Gage Owen (34-0) in the semifinals.

North Hagerstown senior Thomas Monn (39-1), a 4A-3A state champion at 132 pounds in 2020, pinned Dulaney's Josh Scarlett in 1:29 and shut out Great Mills' Wilton Vergara in a 12-0 major decision in the 152-pound quarterfinals. He will face Bel Air's Daniel Cross (25-3) in the semifinals.

Williamsport senior Darby Bryant (39-0) remained unbeaten this season through his first two matches in the 2A-1A 170-pound bracket. He won both by pin — in 1:49 over Kent Island's Giuseppe Mellinger, and in 2:18 over Francis Scott Key's Liam Weeks. He will face Poolesville's Jackson Barney (30-6) in the semifinals.

Williamsport senior Max Larkin (39-0), a fourth-place finisher in 2020, pinned his first two opponents in the 2A-1A 285-pound bracket — Fairmont Heights' Jeremiah Fernandors in 56 seconds in the first round, and Sparrows Point's Hunter Petrovia in 1:05 in the quarterfinals — to stay undefeated. He will face Middletown's Russell Endicott (35-5) in the semifinals.

Six other county wrestlers remain alive in the consolation bracket in search of podium (top six) finishes.

Boonsboro freshman Tanner Halling (34-1) reached the 2A-1A 106-pound quarterfinals with a 15-0 tech fall over Eastern Tech's Clayton Dicus in the first round, but suffered his first loss of his prep career in a 3-1 decision to Rising Sun's Tyler Garvin in a matchup of undefeated wrestlers in the quarterfinals.

South Hagerstown junior Vince Raynor (26-11) pinned Eleanor Roosevelt's Emilio Guadado in 26 seconds in a 4A-3A first-round bout at 145 pounds, but fell 6-0 to Montgomery Blair's Junior Kim in the quarterfinals.

Williamsport freshman Adin Hastings (36-3) won his 2A-1A 160-pound opener by pin over La Plata's Mike Morris in 3:10, but was pinned by Owings Mills' Tae Simpson in 2:51 in the quarterfinals.

Boonsboro senior Ben Petty (31-8), wrestling in the 2A-1A 170-pound bracket, lost a 16-4 major decision to Rising Sun's Mason Testerman in the first round. He pinned Frederick's Tavonte Walker in 58 seconds in a consolation bout.

Williamsport junior Mason Wolfensberger (20-6) won his 2A-1A 220-pound first-round match 2-1 over Rising Sun's Elijah Farr, but fell 5-4 to Calvert's Cornell Johnson in the quarterfinals.

Boonsboro senior Jacob Johnson (19-7) fell to Stephen Decatur's Henry Brous by pin in 3:30 in a 2A-1A 220-pound first-round bout. He pinned Francis Scott Key's Jacob Dell in 2:31 in a consolation bout, and will face Wolfensberger next on Saturday.

Thursday

The Maryland state wrestling championships kicked off with Day 1 of the girls tournament at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.

Three Washington County wrestlers are still alive in the title hunt — Smithsburg’s Jenn Hood and Boonsboro’s Amelia Mikus and Brooke Bickers — as the trio advanced to Saturday’s semifinals.

At 140 pounds, Hood, a 2020 state champion, received a bye into the quarterfinals, where she won by injury default in the third period over Richard Montgomery’s Deepinder Kaur. In the semifinals, Hood, a junior, will face Manchester Valley’s Bella Canby.

At 125, Mikus, a sophomore, pinned Hammond’s Clara Freeman in 1:13 in the quarterfinals after getting a bye. She’ll take on Parkside's Jillian Chase in the semis.

At 135, Bickers, a junior, scored two wins by fall. She pinned Queen Anne’s Delaney Gray in 59 seconds in the quarterfinals after pinning Patterson Mill’s Karleigh Gill in 1:18. In the semis, Bickers will face River Hill’s Dorothy Seylar.

Four other county girls are still alive in the consolation brackets, fighting for top-six podium spots. They include Smithsburg’s Allie Grossnickle (145) and Boonsboro’s Morgan Cook (105), Rachel Minnick (110) and Chloe Glattes (130).

The county has 14 boys set to begin their state-wrestling journeys Friday.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland state wrestling tournament