Stephen Decatur’s top-ranked seniors Chaniah Bernier (170 pounds) and Azariyah Johnson (190) are on a mission to win state titles during their final seasons.
Johnson was a state runner-up as a sophomore, falling by a 7-4 decision to Randallstown’s senior repeat champion Ugochi Anunobi. Johnson’s season-ending record was 15-1.
But Johnson improved on that runner-up finish with last year’s 6-4 overtime state championship victory that dethroned 190-pound champion Jabea Ewane of Watkins Mill, who is currently a second-ranked senior. Johnson ended last season with a record of 19-0, having reached the finals on pins in 4:21 and 3:02 followed by a 7-2, semifinal decision.
Johnson had little time to celebrate her state title-winning achievement, however, before having to witness Anunobi earning her third straight state title. This time, Anunobi won by 4-2 decision over Bernier, whose season-ending record was 19-2.
Bernier and Johnson continued their vision quest with title-winning victories at last weekend’s War On The Shore Tournament at Stephen Decatur High in Berlin, Maryland.
The duo was joined on the victory podium by sophomore Melani Ruiz (110) among five finalists for the Seahawks (156 points), who placed seven wrestlers within the top four of their weight classes to overcome runner-up Exeter Township High, Pa. (142).
Finishing second for the Seahawks were sophomore Irie Carmack (125) and senior Rachel Plata (130), with a third-place finish from freshman Makaiya Robinette (115), and freshman Calleigh McBride (100) being fourth.
Bernier’s record improved to 9-2 on the strength of falls in 38 seconds and 3:53, the latter against third-ranked senior Jordan Lawson of North Harford, whose record dropped to 3-1.
Johnson’s record rose to 10-1 thanks to a 33-second pin and consecutive technical falls of 19-4 apiece, with the last dispatching ninth-ranked senior Nicole Filip of Harford Tech, whose record slipped to 6-2.
“It felt good, but I wish that I had more than just two matches,” Bernier said. “The tournament wasn’t so much about winning as it was about focusing on domination and demonstrating how hard we’ve worked in practice. I believe that we were able to show that.”
Ruiz earned consecutive pins in 22 seconds and 2:50, the last being a championship fall against sophomore Genevieve Carpenter of Exeter Township High.
“I remember that last year at this same tournament I was in third place. I continued to try harder, and to learn from every time that I lost. Sometimes, we put so much effort into winning that we do not recognize the lessons throughout our journey,” Ruiz said. “From the moment the referee raised my hand and told me that I had won first place, I just smiled, ran into the arms of my coach, and he lifted and carried me with a smile on his face. I felt so much peace during that moment. At the same time, I’ll continue to prepare for our next tournament over the weekend.”
Bernier describes her workouts with Johnson as “pretty intense” heading into this weekend’s “Who’s No. 1” Tournament at Northeast, where each is a defending champion.
“We go pretty lightly but at a fast pace during drilling. But going live, that’s when it can get pretty intense because we’ve been practice partners since we both started wrestling," Bernier said. "We know one another’s go-to moves and what the other one is looking for and working on. So, it can be really difficult sometimes to get anything from each other. But going live with Azariyah challenges me to have to do moves that I typically don’t do and to find other ways that I can get in on a shot.”
Rising Sun crowned a pair of champions in top-ranked junior Reagan Ramadan (155) and third-ranked junior Anna Farr (145), who were also champions in the Parkville Tournament in December. Ramadan, a National Prep Tournament runner-up for West Nottingham Academy last year, was named Outstanding Upperweight Wrestler at Parkville.
Farr (9-3) made quick work of her rivals on falls in 27, 45 and 42 seconds, the latter in her championship match with Parkside sophomore Rickelle Simpson-Henry. Farr had a record of 16-2 at 155 pounds last year, when she earned titles in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference, regional and War On The Shore tournaments before finishing third at states.
Ramadan (8-2) used a 17-1 technical fall and a 56-second pin to reach the finals, where she decked Lackey junior Jariah Washington in 5:31. Washington’s path to the title match included a 9-7, semifinal decision over third-place finishing, 11th-ranked senior Kimberly Cole of Harford Tech.
Other champions were top-ranked freshman Summer Mutschler (105) of Archbishop Spalding, freshman Darielle Wood (120) of Leonardtown, second-ranked senior Anastasia Dakoulas (130) of Rockville, fourth-ranked junior Sophia Hodges (135) of Northeast-Anne Arundel, top-ranked freshman Kesi Tsarni (140) of Bullis, 12th-ranked senior Sienna Mitchell (285) of Cambridge-South Dorchester.
Wood (5-0) earned her crown by 21-5 technical fall over Northeast senior Adreyanna Weitzel, who scored a semifinal fall in 4:53 over sixth-ranked senior third-place finisher Brylee Davis of Parkside. Wood reached the finals following 4:42 and a semifinal, 12-11 victory over Adrianna Figueroa of Coatesville, whom Davis pinned in 60 seconds for third place.
A defending state champion, Dakoulas (7-0) earned her crown fall in 2:46 over Plata, who was sixth at states last year. Dakoulas’ fall was her fourth of the tournament following those in 12 seconds, 3:16 and 2:34.
A third-place finisher at states, Hodges (6-0) had pins in 2:54 and 3:28 to reach her title bout, where she earned a 6-2 decision over Lackey freshman Fiona Richie, whose record slipped to 5-1. Mitchell had falls in 52 seconds, 2:35 and 4:43, improving her record on the year to 4-0.
Mutschler improved to 13-4 with her seventh, eighth and ninth pins of the year in 24 seconds, 1:41 and 92 seconds, the latter, in her title bout against Caesar Rodney sophomore Lily Moffett.
Tsarni improved her record on the year to 19-4 on falls in 39, 40 and 56 seconds, the last for the crown against Pennridge High School senior Elizabeth Watts, whose record dropped to 5-1.
Mutschler and Tsarni are continuing family wrestling legacies. Mutstchler’s influence is her father, Chuck, while Tsarni followed her brother, Salah, a sophomore at Bullis, into the sport.
Mutchler is among triplets whose father, Chuck Mutschler, graduated in 1982 from Chesapeake-AA. Chuck Mutschler was first, second and third in Anne Arundel County’s Tournament, finished first twice and third once at regions, and placed second and third at states.
While her freshman sister, Jade, no longer wrestles, Summer’s brother, Charlie, is a sixth-ranked 106-pound ninth-grader at Archbishop Spalding.
Charlie’s record is 11-6 with five pins for the Cavaliers, having placed sixth at McDonogh’s Ray Oliver Tournament fourth at last weekend’s War On The Shore.
Summer’s overall record of 13-4 with nine pins includes being 11-2 with eight pins against girls, having finished second and third at the Beast Of The East and Women Ironman tournaments.
“I have been very lucky to have a lot of great coaches who have all helped me to grow during my wrestling journey. My coaches now at Archbishop Spalding are world class,” Summer Mutschler said. “They’re truly helping me to take it to the next level. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to scrap against some tough girls at The War On The Shore and I hope that the tournament will continue to grow into a national level event.”
Tsarni is the sixth-born of seven children with four older sisters, an older brother, Salah, and a younger brother.
Salah is a top-ranked sophomore by Legacy Wrestling at 165 pounds, and rated 12th nationally. Salah is in pursuit of his second straight crowns in both the Interstate Athletic Conference and Maryland Private Schools State tournaments.
Salah, 15, was the first of his siblings to wrestle, followed by his older sisters in succession, Seda, 21, and Nebi, 18. Kesi was next, followed by her brother, Zakey, 10, a fifth-grader.
Seda became the first state champion for the Watkins Mill Wolverines of Montgomery County, winning the crown during the inaugural all-girls’ state tournament in 2018.
Nebi became the Wolverine’s second state champion as a sophomore and the program's first-ever three-time state champion as a senior last year. Nebi’s feat earned her honors as Legacy Wrestling’s female Middleweight Wrestler Of The Year.
Nebi was also a runner-up at 165 pounds in the senior division of last year’s National High School Coaches Association Tournament (NHSCA) held in Virginia Beach.
At the NHSCA's, Tsarni used technical falls of 19-3 and 21-5 to reach the semifinals, where she overcame an early 6-1 deficit for an overtime, 12-8, semifinal victory over Anunobi, Legacy's Upper Weight Wrestler Of The Year.
Seda is in her fourth year at the Air Force, and Nebi, her first there.
1) Stephen Decatur 156.5
2) Exeter, Pa. 142
3) Coatesville Area, Pa. 112.5
4) Northeast-AA 98
5) Woodbridge, Va. 94
6) Harford Tech 87.5
7) Rockville 83
8) Parkside 80.5
9) Chesapeake-AA 77
10) Lackey 72
11) Penn Ridge, Pa. 57.5
12) Caesar Rodney, 54
13) Rising Sun 53.5
14) Leonardtown 44.5
15) Sussex Tech 38
16) Archbishop Ryan, Pa 36
17) Snow Hill 33
18) Archbishop Spalding and Bullis 28
20) North Harford 20
21) Pottstown, Pa and South River 17
23) Cambridge-South Dorchester 16
24) Northern-Calvert 9
25) Nansemond River, Va. 3
26) Conestoga, Pa., Delmar Johnson Senior, Huntingtown, St. Mary’s Ryken, Tower Hill, Del 0
Tournament Results
100
1st Place Match
Sarina Gunn (Woodbridge Senior) 11-3, Sr. over Callie Dolt (Caesar Rodney H S) 2-3, So. (Fall 2:36)
3rd Place Match
Vanessa Polanco (Sussex Tech H S) 5-1, Jr. over Calleigh McBride (Stephen Decatur) 6-4, Fr. (Fall 0:47)
5th Place Match
Taylor Shadel (Exeter Twp Hs) 8-3, Fr. over Leah Miller (Chesapeake-AA) 5-4, Sr. (Fall 1:52)
105
1st Place Match
Summer Mutschler (Archbishop Spalding) 13-4, Fr. over Lily Moffett (Caesar Rodney H S) 4-3, So. (Fall 1:32)
3rd Place Match
Sidney Dodson (Exeter Twp Hs) 8-3, Fr. over Miranda Lentz (Leonardtown) 4-3, Sr. (Fall 1:20)
5th Place Match
Amelia Larlick (Pennridge Hs) 3-4, So. over Loryana Beltran (Coatesville Area Hs) 4-7, . (Fall 1:44)
110
1st Place Match
Melani Ruiz (Stephen Decatur) 5-3, So. over Genevieve Carpenter (Exeter Twp Hs) 6-3, So. (Fall 2:50)
3rd Place Match
Alizeth Ramirez (Coatesville Area Hs) 8-4, . over Malayasia Williams (Pottstown Hs) 3-2, Jr. (Fall 4:19)
5th Place Match
Janele Young (Northeast (AA)) 3-3, Sr. over Rita Shade (Chesapeake-AA) 1-5, Fr. (Fall 1:21)
115
1st Place Match
Skyden Thrower (Exeter Twp Hs) 3-3, Jr. over Victoria Agatone (Coatesville Area Hs) 6-5, . (Fall 0:41)
3rd Place Match
Makaiya Robinette (Stephen Decatur) 5-2, Fr. over Emme Loos (Snow Hill) 6-6, Jr. (Dec 4-2)
5th Place Match
Liliana Pineda (Northeast (AA)) 3-4, Fr. over Abigail Wargo (Chesapeake-AA) 1-7, Sr. (Inj. 1:00)
120
1st Place Match
Darielle Wood (Leonardtown) 5-0, Fr. over Adreyanna Weitzel (Northeast (AA)) 4-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:57 (21-5))
3rd Place Match
Brylee Davis (Parkside) 7-1, Sr. over Adrianna Figueroa (Coatesville Area Hs) 5-4, . (Fall 1:00)
5th Place Match
Andrea Hernandez Valle (Rockville) 4-4, Fr. over Sophie Preskenis (Caesar Rodney H S) 3-3, Jr. (Fall 4:24)
125
1st Place Match
Molly Brangan (Archbishop Ryan) 13-3, So. over Irie Carmack (Stephen Decatur) 5-1, So. (Dec 16-10)
3rd Place Match
Saniyah Belliel (Rockville) 5-1, So. over Lexi Vosburg (Chesapeake-AA) 7-4, So. (M. For.)
5th Place Match
Gracie Seman (Parkside) 7-2, Fr. over Selina Vass (Pennridge Hs) 2-4, Sr. (For.)
130
1st Place Match
Anastasia Dakoulas (Rockville) 7-0, Sr. over Rachel Plata (Stephen Decatur) 6-4, Sr. (Fall 2:46)
3rd Place Match
Molly Lubenow (Exeter Twp Hs) 10-3, Sr. over Megan Campos (Coatesville Area Hs) 7-4, . (Dec 8-3)
5th Place Match
Mable Woodgeard (Parkside) 2-2, Jr. over Alessandra Morales (Woodbridge Senior) 6-6, Jr. (Fall 2:38)
135
1st Place Match
Sophia Hodges (Northeast (AA)) 6-0, Jr. over Fiona Ritchie (Henry E. Lackey) 5-1, Fr. (Dec 6-2)
3rd Place Match
Gabrielle Costa (Coatesville Area Hs) 7-2, . over Liberty Furman (Exeter Twp Hs) 9-4, Sr. (Fall 2:41)
5th Place Match
Lila Nolan (South River) 8-4, Sr. over Maddie Keller (Chesapeake-AA) 5-5, Jr. (Fall 2:52)
140
1st Place Match
Kesi Tsarni (Bullis School) 19-4, Fr. over Elizabeth Watts (Pennridge Hs) 5-1, Sr. (Fall 0:56)
3rd Place Match
Emily Wockenfuss (Harford Technical) 6-2, So. over Stephany Ponce (Woodbridge Senior) 5-6, Jr. (Dec 7-0)
5th Place Match
Cheyenne Ollar (Exeter Twp Hs) 8-6, So. over Nychele Sample (Sussex Tech H S) 5-3, Fr. (M. For.)
145
1st Place Match
Anna Farr (Rising Sun) 9-3, Jr. over Rickelle Simpson-Henry (Parkside) 7-2, So. (Fall 0:42)
3rd Place Match
Maddy McCraw (Exeter Twp Hs) 7-4, Sr. over Camila Sanchez (Rockville) 3-2, Sr. (Fall 2:18)
5th Place Match
Deena Filali (Woodbridge Senior) 3-4, Sr. over Isabella DiLeggi (Archbishop Ryan) 6-10, Jr. (Fall 3:13)
155
1st Place Match
Reagan Ramadan (Rising Sun) 8-2, Jr. over Jariah Washington (Henry E. Lackey) 3-1, So. (Fall 5:31)
3rd Place Match
Kimberly Cole (Harford Technical) 6-2, Sr. over Ciara Chapuseaux (Pennridge Hs) 5-3, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:00 (16-0))
5th Place Match
Ioana Pepescu (Snow Hill) 10-3, Jr. over Izabel Ketchledge (Woodbridge Senior) 3-5, Jr. (Dec 1-0)
170
1st Place Match
Chaniah Bernier (Stephen Decatur) 9-2, Sr. over Jordan Lawson (North Harford) 3-1, Sr. (Fall 3:53)
3rd Place Match
Maddox Wukitch (Chesapeake-AA) 8-3, Sr. over Rylee Quigley (Harford Technical) 3-2, So. (Fall 3:33)
5th Place Match
Marie Charles (Parkside) 3-4, Fr. over Madysen Castle (Northeast (AA)) 2-4, Fr. (Fall 1:42)
190
1st Place Match
Azariyah Johnson (Stephen Decatur) 10-1, Sr. over Nicole Filip (Harford Technical) 6-2, Sr. (TF-1.5 2:39 (19-4))
3rd Place Match
Nicolle Ayala-Mata (Woodbridge Senior) 7-2, Sr. over MaKayla Scott (Henry E. Lackey) 3-2, So. (Fall 2:09)
5th Place Match
Jaziah Bond (Northeast (AA)) 4-3, Sr. over Jaylynn Reeder (Coatesville Area Hs) 7-6, . (Fall 2:45)
235
Round 1
Sienna Mitchell (Cambridge/South Dorchester) 4-0, Sr. over Kelsy Hemmings (Harford Technical) 4-3, So. (Fall 4:43)
Ayleigh Graham (Chesapeake-AA) 3-5, Jr. over Makenna Jamieson (Leonardtown) 0-4, Jr. (Fall 3:25)
Round 2
Makenna Jamieson (Leonardtown) 0-4, Jr. over () , . (Bye)
Sienna Mitchell (Cambridge/South Dorchester) 4-0, Sr. over Ayleigh Graham (Chesapeake-AA) 3-5, Jr. (Fall 0:52)
Round 3
Ayleigh Graham (Chesapeake-AA) 3-5, Jr. over () , . (Bye)
Kelsy Hemmings (Harford Technical) 4-3, So. over Makenna Jamieson (Leonardtown) 0-4, Jr. (Dec 6-1)
Round 4
Kelsy Hemmings (Harford Technical) 4-3, So. over () , . (Bye)
Sienna Mitchell (Cambridge/South Dorchester) 4-0, Sr. over Makenna Jamieson (Leonardtown) 0-4, Jr. (Fall 2:35)
Round 5
Sienna Mitchell (Cambridge/South Dorchester) 4-0, Sr. over () , . (Bye)
Kelsy Hemmings (Harford Technical) 4-3, So. over Ayleigh Graham (Chesapeake-AA) 3-5, Jr. (Fall 4:58)
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