Last weekend some Maryland wrestlers threw themselves into the Melee Til Midnight at the GMU Fieldhouse at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Five guys brought home top honors with another three landing in the number two position on the podium and four more bringing hardware home as well in the boys’ division.
There was a high-powered final in the 132lb weight class that saw Brunswick’s two-time state placer, Seth Crawford, upset Albert Einstein’s state champ and state runner-up (the previous year) in the finals. The official result was listed as a Medical Forfeit, but at the time of the default, Crawford was holding a 9-5 lead at the 3:30 mark of the match.
Crawford used four pins to reach the finals, three of which were over in slightly more than one minute (1:02, 1:04, and 1:14). Yuen posted three pins and a technical fall to advance to the championship bout.
Landon’s James Hanley was a state champion this year as well and like Yuen, was a state silver medalist the year before. At this affair, Hanley captured the gold with a 52 second flattening of Virginia’s Aiden Nichols. In the semis, Hanley defeated Chopticon’s former state placer Aiden Arnold, 7-3. Hanely’s other matches resulted in two techs and a major decision.
St. Mary’s Ryken’s Will Buckler decked Virginia’s William Etu in 1:27 to take the top spot at 165lbs. Two tech falls and a pin propelled Buckler into the finals. Buckler is a three-time state placer, who was a state runner-up as a sophomore and placed at National Preps that year.
Good Counsel’s George Tate was third in the state this year and rolled to the 215lb crown here with a pin over Virginia’s Emerson Hernandez in 3:30 in the finals. Tate advanced to the finals with a major decision and regular decision.
Leonardtown’s Jacen McLeod was having a stellar junior campaign before it was derailed by injury. McLeod had wins over the No. 5 and No. 6 wrestlers in Legacy Wrestling’s Final 175lb Rankings - Guiseppe Mellinger (Kent Island) at the Iron Horse Duals and Parkside’s Canaan Mapp at the War on the Shore. McLeod claimed the 190lb crown at the Melee with a 20-6 tech fall of Virginia’s David Carey in the finals. Two quick pins (57 and 26 seconds) and a major decision were picked up en route to the title bout.
In addition to Yuen, two more Montgomery County grapplers came home with silver medals, Northwest’s Fernando Mejia (157) and Clarksburg’s Aiden Navarro-Norris (285). Mejia had three first period pins before he fell to Virginia’s Abai Beishembiev, 12-6, in the finals. Navarro-Norris pocketed two falls to make the final where he lost 7-2 to Virginia’s Juelz Peters.
After getting tripped up by Hanley in the championship bracket, Arnold came back to take third beating Virginia’s Shane Maguire, 6-4, in the consolation final. Arnold registered four pins at the affair. Gaithersburg’s Tristan Cabugas lost to the champ at 285 then bounced back to claim a bronze with a fall, 1:18, over Virginia’s Nizar Awad.
Landon’s Dennis Leary (106) and Lackey’s William Chism (157) placed fourth. Owings Mills’ Michael Morgan reached the quarterfinals before falling twice to end with a 2-2 record.
We apologize if we missed any Maryland girls in the other weights at Melee. Three of the four girls’ weights were run in a round robin style and the names did not ring a bell for your trusty reporter.
136lbs, however, saw Marylanders take the top three spots with a showdown of state champions in the finals that was won by Laurel’s Alexandra Ford by tech fall, 11-0, over Montgomery Blair’s McKinley Jovanovic. Jovanovic beat Richard Montgomery’s fifth-place state finisher, Cielo Prieto, 13-4, in the semis. Prieto pinned New Kent, Virginia’s Lorelai Mooradian in 2:00 in their consolation final. Mooradian was fifth in the Girls’ Virginia state tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL
106 LBS
1st Skiles Burkhead VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (OLWC) F Nolan Adolphson Strasburg, VA (84 athletes), 1:38
3rd Benjamin Davis Culpeper, VA (Team Cobra) F Dennis Leary Bethesda, MD (Capital Wrestling Club), 1:27
113 LBS
1st Peyton Van hoeven Stafford, VA (Legacy Wrestling) TF Johann Jose Fairfax, VA (Apple Wrestling Academy), 17-1 3:53
3rd Alex Cuic Quinton, VA (New Kent Wrestling Club) MD Aiden Swink Strasburg, VA (84 athletes), 16-3
120 LBS
1st Hunter Elliott Virginia Beach, VA (not affiliated) MD Vinny Divello Marshall, VA (Front Royal Wrestling Club), 9-1
3rd Zachary Davis Culpeper, VA (Team Cobra) DEC Joseph Fortunato Manassas, VA (St. John Paul the Great Catholic), 5-4
126 LBS
1st James Hanley Aspen Hill, MD (Headhunters WC) F Aiden Nichols Virginia Beach, VA (OLWC), 0:52
3rd Aiden Arnold Mechanicsville, MD (Chopticon) DEC Shane Maguire Sterling, VA (Scanlan Wrestling Academy), 6-4
132 LBS
1st Seth Crawford Brunswick, MD (Warhawks Wrestling Inc.) M FOR Stone Yuen Silver Spring, MD (Headhunters WC), 9-5 3:30
3rd Mario Del vecchio Rutherford, NJ (Olympic) F Parker Withers Front Royal, VA (Skyline), 2:46
138 LBS
1st Josiah Sykes Winchester, VA (Front Royal Wrestling Club) F Paul Chapman Virginia Beach, VA (OLWC), 3:14
3rd NC
144 LBS
1st Noah Cuic Quinton, VA (New Kent Wrestling Club) DEC Benjamin Aguilar Stafford, VA (Legacy Wrestling), 6-3
3rd Luke Wells Powhatan, VA (Blackhawk) MD Carson Easlick Herndon, VA (Westfield), 12-0
150 LBS
1st Noah Bentley New Kent, VA (New Kent Wrestling Club) TF Andre Gonzalez Springfield, VA (Gunston Wrestling Club), 21-6 4:34
3rd Dominic Castrejon Fredericksburg, VA (Legacy Wrestling) F Jacob Munoz Herndon, VA (Herndon), 1:07
157 LBS
1st Abai Beishembiev Springfield, VA (Apple Wrestling Academy) DEC Fernando Mejia jr. Germantown, MD (Germantown Wrestling), 12-6
3rd Jurgis Petraitis Purcellville, VA (Nova Wrestling Club) DEC William Chism Bryans Road, MD (Pit Bull Wrestling Academy), 4-2
165 LBS
1st Will Buckler Owings, MD (Rampage) F William Etu Fredericksburg, VA (Wild Buffalo Wrestling Club), 1:27
3rd Blake Jones Fredericksburg, VA (Legacy Wrestling) F Kollin Sullivan Berkeley Springs, WV (84 athletes), 1:50
175 LBS
1st Gabriel Cortes Fredericksburg, VA (Legacy Wrestling) F Logan Swanson Ashburn, VA (Independence HS), 0:33
3rd Jacob Brubaker Centreville, VA (Westfield) F Darrius Ross Springfield, VA (West Springfield), 2:59
190 LBS
1st Jacen Mcleod Leonardtown, MD (Blue Shell Wrestling Club) MD David Carey Springfield, VA (West Springfield), 20-6 SV
3rd Dennis Meza velasquez Chantilly, VA (Legend Wrestling Club) DEC Gabriel Santillanes Virginia Beach, VA (OLWC), 2-1
215 LBS
1st George Tate Laytonsville, MD (UNATTACHED) F Emerson Hernandez Manasas, VA (FCA Wrestling), 3:30
3rd Joshua Jordan Stafford, VA (Brooke Point) DEC Rutilio Argueta-alvarez Manassas, VA (FCA Wrestling), 8-6
285 LBS
1st Juelz Peters Alexandria, VA (Independent) DEC Aiden Navarro-norris Clarksburg, MD (not affiliated), 7-2
3rd Tristan Cabugwas Gaithersburg, MD (Germantown Wrestling) F Nizar Awad Leesburg, VA (Scanlan Wrestling Academy), 1:18
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL
136 LBS
1st Alexandra Ford Laurel, MD (Headhunters WC) VSU Mckinley Jovanovic Takoma Park, MD (Headhunters WC), 11-0 2:39
3rd Cielo Prieto Rockville, MD (Prieto) VFA Lorelai Mooradian Quinton, VA (New Kent Wrestling Club), 8-0 2:00
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