Second-ranked freshman Tyler Verceles (106), fourth-ranked junior Josh Hale (138) and eighth-ranked senior Noah Brannon (190) won all six bouts, while second-ranked junior Jayden Jackson (120) and top-ranked senior Luke Randazzo (285) went 6-1 as fourth-ranked champion Loyola won last weekend’s Iron Horse Duals at C. Milton Wright.
The Dons defeated runner-up Sussex Central of Delaware, 42-21, and 11th-ranked McDonogh, which finished third, by the score of 54-18. Sussex beat McDonogh, 50-20.
Verceles went 6-0 with four pins to go with a 12-2 major decision over McDonogh’s seventh-ranked freshman Jacob Naylor. Verceles placed fifth at Beast of The East and has won both The War On The Shore and Raymond Oliver at McDonogh Tournaments and is currently ranked 27th in the nation by Sports Illustrated.
Hale finished with three technical falls, a pin and two major decisions. Hale placed fourth last year at The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Maryland Private Schools’ State tournaments, was fifth at War on the Shore, and sixth at Ray Oliver.
Randazzo was second at MIAAs and states and first at War on The Shore and Ray Oliver. Randazzo had pins in all of his victories but lost, 7-5, to Cape Henlopen’s 215-pound Patrick Donahue, a War on The Shore champion who also defeated South River’s second-ranked senior Busayo Balugon. A returning Class 4A-3A state runner-up, Balugon finished at 6-1.
Jackson had three pins and two technical falls, having placed first and second at MIAAs and states, and third at Ray Oliver. At Iron Horse, the junior scored a 20-4 technical fall over Linganore senior Josh Arthur, a returning third-place finisher at states.
Brannon had two each in pins and technical falls, having placed fifth at MIAAs and states.
The Dons’ 20th-ranked freshman Brendan Tobin (113) went 5-1 with three pins and a technical fall, and 12th-ranked junior Nevan McKneely (150) went 4-1 with four pins, including one in 2:45 over McDonogh’s 10th-ranked sophomore Dominic Manna. McKneeley was third at MIAAs, sixth at states.
McDonogh
Ninth-ranked freshman Weston Baumgartner of McDonogh is a fifth-place finisher at the Ray Oliver Tournament who was named Outstanding Lower Weight Wrestler, going 7-0 with three pins and a technical fall.
Baumgartner's victories included a 4-3 decision over fourth-ranked sophomore Landen Vercoe of Huntingtown, who was third in last year’s Class 2A-1A state tournament. Baumgartner also edged Loyola’s 10th-ranked senior Cayden Farver, 3-2, Farver was fourth at MIAAs and sixth at states.
There was a three-way split at 132 pounds, where McDonogh’s ninth-ranked freshman Mason Comegys went 5-2 with a pin and a technical fall, C. Milton Wright’s 12th-ranked senior Mitchell Nguyen was 6-1 with two pins and a technical fall, and Mount Carmel’s 10th-ranked senior Christian Manley was 5-1 with three technical falls and two pins.
Comegys earned a 27-14 major decision over Manley, who won by 19-4 technical fall over Nguyen, who won a 4-2 decision over Comegys.
McDonogh’s seventh-ranked freshman Jacob Naylor (106) went 6-1 with four pins, Manna was 5-1 with three pins and two technical falls, and Cole Genua (138) was 6-1 with five pins.
Huntingtown
The seventh-ranked Hurricanes were led by the Hayden siblings, fifth-ranked sophomore Owen (106) and 13th-ranked senior Tyler (175), each of whom went 7-0. Owen had three pins and a technical fall, while Tyler had five pins.
Vercoe went 6-1 with two pins, a technical fall and a 10-0 major decision over sixth-ranked senior Brennan Considine of Linganore, who is a defending Class 4A-3A state champion.
Sixth-ranked senior Blake Ashley (165) was 6-1 with three pins and a technical fall, including a 4-3 victory over C. Milton Wright’s eighth-ranked senior Devin Sweeney, a fifth-place finisher at states. Ashley also earned a 14-2 major decision over Damascus’ 16th-ranked senior Porter Gruner.
Freshman Kyler Kiessling (120) went 6-1 with three pins, and Ezekias Perez (157) was 6-1 with two pins and a technical fall.
The Hurricanes are defending champions of the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, where the Hayden siblings and Vercoe earned individual titles, and Ashley was a runner-up.
Vercoe and Tyler Hayden were first in the Class 2A-1A South Region and third at Class 2A-1A states last year. Ashley was first and fourth, and Owen Hayden was first and fifth.
Huntingtown was a Class 2A state dual meet semifinal loser to 17th-ranked eventual champion Stephen Decatur.
South River
Junior Evan Paximadas (165/175) pinned all six opponents without a loss, Balugon was 6-1 with three pins, junior Chris Millard (190/215) went 6-1 with two pins and a technical fall, and senior Ben Ford (157) went 5-1 with four pins for the 13th-ranked Seahawks. Balugon lost to Donahue and did not face Randazzo.
Sophomore Jackson Peeples (120), a defending Class 4A-3A state champion, went 4-2 with two pins and a technical fall. Peeples lost by technical fall to Malachai Stratton of Sussex Central and, 4-1, to Austin Guerrieri of Cape Henlopen.
C. Milton Wright
Junior Cameron Stepp (285) is only a second-year wrestler whose season ended prematurely last year due to an injury, but he has already placed fifth at The War On The Shore, Stepp went 7-0 with a 39-second pin at the Iron Horse Duals, improving his record on the year to 16-2.
“Cameron got hurt in the finals of the JV tournament of War on the Shore last year,” said eighth-year coach John Thornton, a 1999 graduate of C. Milton Wright, where the 6-foot-2 former state champion went 37-0 as a senior. “Cameron doesn’t have any credentials other than being fifth at War on the Shore, but he’s doing very well so far.”
Sweeney went 6-1 with three pins and two technical falls, and Nguyen was 6-1 with two pins for the 18th-ranked Mustangs, who also had 11th-ranked junior Jaxon Simms (190) going 6-1 with five pins and a technical fall, and eighth-ranked junior Aaron Moccia (175) finishing at 6-1 with five pins, including those in 28, 41, 49 and 56 seconds.
Thornton had a career record as a wrestler of 114-21 at C. Milton Wright, twice earning county and regional titles. Thornton’s Maryland crown was actually his second state title coupled with the one he earned as a freshman in Virginia. Under Thornton, the Mustangs were UCBAC and region champs in 2020, and regional finalists in four straight seasons in 2018, 19, 20 and 22.
Leonardtown
Senior A.J. Kuntz (157) led the way for the 19th-ranked Raiders, going 7-0 with three-each in pins and technical falls. An eighth-ranked, returning third-place finisher at Class 4A-3A states, Kuntz scored a 19-1 technical fall against Calvert Hall’s Aidan Kammer, who was fifth at MIAAs last year. Kuntz’s teammate, Trent Corbett (175), went 6-1 with six pins.
Calvert Hall
The 27th-ranked Cardinals received an undefeated effort from fifth-ranked senior Griffin Stewart (150), who went 7-0 with seven pins, including those in 46, 58, 62, 65 and 91 seconds. The Cardinals’ 19th-ranked freshman Gavin Hall (106) went 5-1 with five pins comprising those in 16, 19, 34, 60 and 63 seconds.
Linganore
The Lancers are two-time defending Class 3A state dual champions and were led by fourth-ranked senior Peyton Pickett (165/175), who was named Outstanding Upper Weight Wrestler.
Pickett went 7-0 with five pins, an 18-0 technical fall and a 13-5 major decision over Ashley. Pickett has placed as high as third and first in the Frederick County Tournament, second and third at regions, and third at states.
Junior Cash Wheat (144/150) went 7-0 with five pins and a technical fall, Considine went 6-1 with four pins and a technical fall, and Arthur was 6-1 with three pins and a technical fall.
Considine has placed third, first and second at counties, third, first and first at the regionals, and third and first at states, is a defending county and regional champion who was third at states, and Wheat was a county runner-up.
Brunswick
The Railroaders’ Carter Mullen (106) went 7-0 with seven pins, including those in 31, 41, 46 and 49 seconds. Mullen did not face Verceles, Hayden or Naylor.
Seventh-ranked junior Seth Crawford (132/138) went 6-1 with four pins and two technical falls, Joseph Watts (150/157) was 6-1 with four pins and a technical fall, senior Austin Curry (215) was 6-1 with four pins, and sophomore Cayden Boedecker (132/138) went 6-1 with three pins and two technical falls.
Crawford was a champion in the Frederick County and regional tournaments who placed third at states, Boedecker was a county champion and regional runner-up, and Curry was fourth at counties and regions.
Others wrestling well
Wrestling well for Boys Latin were 13th-ranked sophomore Cooper Monroe (126) and 17th-ranked senior Steve Lombardo (144). Lombardo was 6-1 with three pins and a technical fall, and Monroe was 4-0 with two pins. Lombardo was third at MIAAs and sixth at states.
Damascus’ 13th-ranked senior Gabe Hernandez (144) went 7-0 and pinned all of his opponents, including those in 48, 73, 84 and 88 seconds, and teammate Mark Martin (215/285) was 6-1 with four pins.
For Glenelg, Peter Danko (215) went 4-0 with three pins, and Gavin Baravik (165/175) was 5-0 with four pins and a technical fall. Also wrestling was 10th-ranked sophomore William Jacques (113) of Georgetown Prep, who went 4-1 with three pins.