South River junior Jameson Gerrity (132) suffered a season-ending injury to his left leg during Friday night’s major decision loss to Archbishop Curley sophomore Cameron Barys amid a 39-28 victory over the 15th-ranked Friars on the first of two days of the 12th-ranked Seahawks’ Invitational tournament.
“After a trip to the orthopedic (doctor), X-rays showed Jamison had fractured his left tibia, and the doctors expect the MRI will show a torn MCL or Meniscus or both,” said Kevin Gerrity, Jameson’s father. “Jameson laughed when he told his teammates, ‘If I can lose by a major decision, holding off a pin, bridging, scrambling and riding legs with a fractured leg and likely torn MCL, you have no excuse for getting pinned.’”
The ending is a somber one for the 17-year-old Gerrity, who entered the bout with a record of 4-2 that included two each in falls and major decision victories.
Gerrity barely survived his first three months of life as well as over 20 surgeries and procedures, many lasting more than five hours. Gerrity also endured an operation involving the removal of a piece of the skull to access his brain.
Gerrity was born with major midline defects, including a crack in his skull, called a basal encephalocele, that caused his brain to seep into his naval cavity. Gerrity also has a cleft lip, was missing the middle part of his brain, called agenesis of the corpus callosum, and has been visually impaired since birth due to congenital conditions.
In addition, Gerrity is “totally blind,” in his right eye as a result of “Coloboma,” a condition that occurs when tissue in the eye is missing or doesn't develop properly during pregnancy. There is cataract which is the clouding of the eye lens that can lead to vision loss, and Gerrity has a severed optic nerve. Gerrity also has coloboma in his left eye and astigmatism that resulted in very limited vision in that eye as well and no peripheral or downward vision.
Yet Gerrity’s first two years as a 126-pound junior varsity wrestler comprised a record of 41-5 (16 pins) and included an Anne Arundel County, this, despite difficulty breathing from the age of 8 and throughout last season until last March, when he had reparative surgery on both nostrils.
“Jameson felt something in his knee during a scramble in the first minute of the match with the Archbishop Curley132-pounder, but he continued to wrestle and was able to ride legs almost the entire second period. But Jameson was not the same in the match,” Kevin Gerrity said. “He ended up losing a major decision. When he came off the mat, he was hopping on one leg and said he did something to his knee in the first period. His teammates got him ice, and he sat with coach [assistant coach Brandon] Ford, who asked how his leg was. Jameson said ‘Not good. I can’t put any weight on it.’ Jameson didn’t know it, but his season was over.”
As a freshman, Gerrity went 11-4 with four pins, and as a sophomore, 30-1 with 12 pins, culminating with the JV county title. Named Outstanding Wrestler at JV counties, Gerrity outscored his opposition by a combined, 30-2, comprising a pair of 13-1, and 9-0 major decisions, a 1-0 victory in the semifinals and another of 7-1 in the championship match.
Gerrity rode a three-bout winning streak into Friday’s match.
“This is a major setback to my goals. I was upset that I could not help my team this weekend or for the rest of the season,” said Jameson Gerrrity, whose story was chronicled by Legacy Wrestling. “But being upset or depressed won’t make my leg heal any faster. I just want to say thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love after the article came out, and for all of those who reached out to me after my injury.”
Ariana Carnahan: ‘I need some get-back’
Eastern Tech senior Ariana Carnahan has beaten two state champions during her career, but the returning 110-pounder never has won a state title.
Carnahan is 2-1 versus Perry Hall senior Alaina Kapalchick and has split bouts with Havre de Grace sophomore Madison Birth. Carnahan could get a rematch with Birth on Friday, January 3, when the Mavericks visit the Warriors for a dual meet.
“That’s definitely been on my mind,” said Carnahan, whose record is 9-0 with five pins. “We’re one and one against each other, so I feel like I need some get-back.”
In succession, Birth, Carnahan and Kopalchick are ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 at 110 pounds by Legacy Wrestling. Birth was a state champ as a freshman last year, where Carnahan was third, and, Kopalchick, fourth. Kopalchick was a state champ as a freshman and placed fifth as a sophomore.
Carnahan was a state runner-up as a sophomore. Carnahan finished third at states last year after being pinned in at 3:36 of her semifinal against Birth before pinning Kopalchick in 4:37 for third place.
After going 30-8 as a freshman, Birth is 7-2 with five pins at 113 pounds. All of Birth’s bouts have been against boys, including her third-place finish at the Kent Island Tournament.
Carnahan was a Baltimore County champion as a sophomore but finished second to Kopalchick in that event last year. A two-time regional champion, Carnahan ended last season with a record of 17-6 that included 14 pins.
At states, Birth pinned her opponents in 3:05, 3:36, and 3:58 to reach the finals, where she decked Wicomico senior Alayah Nuttal in 97 seconds.
“I felt like my semifinals match was more stressful and made me more nervous because I had lost to her a month ago. Last time, I had an injured shoulder,” said Birth after last year’s performance. “I didn’t know what sort of things [Carnahan] did, and I had to feel her out. It was close, but I lost. This time, I feel like I came out wanting it more, not being scared and just going at her.”
Birth also continued a family wrestling legacy. Her father, Scott, was a state champion for Bel Air in 1992, and uncle, Chris, a state champion for Bel Air before graduating in 1990.
“This time, if we wrestle, I have to come out on top,” Carnahan said. “I have to go out more confident and not be down on myself and know that I can perform.”
After being injured as a freshman, Carnahan went 15-3 as a sophomore, including a mark of 3-1 at states ending with 4-2, championship bout loss to senior Jada Fowler of Oakland Mills. Carnahan went 4-1 at states last year, pinning three opponents to go with a 12-0 major decision.
Carnahan is coached by Robert Sullivan, who graduated from Eastern Tech in 2001 as a Baltimore County champion.
Armed with a 3.7 grade point average, Carnahan is undecided on a college commitment even as she plans to one day become a veterinarian.
“In terms of pets, I’ve everything from dogs, guinea pigs, chinchillas, lizards, turtles and hamsters,” Carnahan said. “I want to help animals. I’ve always had pets and want to make a difference in the lives of animals who don’t have a home.”
In the meantime, Carnahan will continue to be a beast on the mats.
Comebacking Cobras
Harford Tech received pins from sophomores Samantha Keithley (125), Emily Wockenfuss (145), Rhylee Quigley (170) and Kelsey Hemmings(235), seniors Kim Cole (155) and Nicole Filip (190), and freshman Gracie Vickers (140) during last week’s 42-30 non-league dual meet victory over Kenwood.
The triumph was the initial victory for the host Cobras’ first-year program, which is being guided by Aberdeen graduate Marcus Webster.
“This marks my first varsity coaching win as well,” said Webster, a 2011 graduate and Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference champion who placed third at regions. “There were great showings down the stretch to come from behind and the mid-to-upper weights dominated to seal the deal.”
Wockenfuss finished her opponent in the swiftest manner, doing so in 55 seconds to improve her record on the year to 3-1. Vickers and Filip improved to 4-1, and Quigley is 1-0. Filip and Wockenfuss are returning UCBAC champions, and Cole is a returning UCBAC runner-up.
Wockenfuss and Cole were runner-up in the Eastern Tech Mavericks Classic Female Invitational, where Vickers and Filip placed third.
The Cobras will return to action on January 3 at The War On The Shore Tournament, where Wockenfuss and Cole were runners-up, and Filip placed third.
Final Score: Harford Tech 42. Kenwood 30
100: (Ken) Thurayah Mohamed FFT. (6-0)
105: (Ken) Kasey Tarburton FFT (12-0)
110: Double FFT
115: (Ken) Anayah Stokes fall (1:14) over (HT) Hayden Hurst (18-0)
120: (Ken) Aryannah Burley FFT (24-0)
125: (HT) Samantha Keithley fall (5:02) over Kayla Jacobs (24-6)
130: Double FFT
135: (Ken) Tori Sturgis FFT (30-6)
140: (HT) Gracie Vickers fall (3:42) over (Ken) Jaoni Goodwin (30-12)
145: (HT) Emily Wockenfuss fall (1:05) over (Ken) Alisha Moore (30-18)
155: (HT) Kim Cole fall (3:45) over (Ken) Alaina McLaughlin (30-24)
170: (HT) Rhylee Quigley fall (4:45) over (Ken) Jasmine Brook (30-30)
190: (HT) Nicole Filip fall (3:30) over (Ken) Heaven Bosmond (30-36)
235: (HT) Kelsey Hemmings fall (5:20) over (Ken) Zoey Lam (30-42)