Maryland took a contingency of state champions and top-rated girls led by Northeast-AA coach Chris Dyke to last Saturday’s Border Wars at Washington High School in West Virginia. The event was open to underclassmen. The wrestlers did not represent their schools at this event, but we will refer to those to present a more complete picture.
The dual with Virginia went down to the wire before the Marylanders came out ahead, 34-27. A little more breathing room was enjoyed in the victory over West Virginia in a match that had a 39-23 final score. Virginia beat West Virginia to place second (we do not have a box score).
Out of the 36 roster spots amongst the three teams, 27 were occupied by 2025 state titlists. This event was not one for the wishy-washy sect. All but one girl placed in her state tournament or equivalent (Maryland’s Summer Mutschler was fourth at National Preps for Archbishop Spalding).
State Champions on hand for Maryland were No. 1 Violet Land (Marriotts Ridge, 100), No. 1 Rileigh Romberger (Smithsburg, 120), No. 3 Sophia Hodges (Northeast-AA, 138), No. 1 Alexandra Ford (Laurel, 145), No. 1 Reagan Ramadan (Rising Sun, 152), No. 1 Chaniah Bernier (Stephen Decatur, 165), No. 2 Kaylynn Bryant (Queen Annes, 185), and No. 1 Jabea Ewane (Watkins Mill, 235).
Virginia led the way with 10 who won state gold, Sydney Branch (Prince George, 100), Sarissa Tucker (Mountain View, 107), Jenna Anderson (Cosby, 114), Hailey Turner (Riverbend, 120), Ariyanah Parson (Kingsfork, 126), Sophia Slaughter (Orange County, 132), Isabella Hill (Grayson County, 138), Tatiana Denig (Tallwood, 145), Cameron Millsapps (Wakefield, 152), and Lilianne Peters (Broad Run, 235).
The nine for West Virginia were, Justice Anthony (Parkersburg South, 114), Kirclyn Coleman (Oak Hill, 120), Bailey Emery (University, 126), Ava Turner (Preston, 132), Maya Garcia (Buchanan-Upshur, 138), Charlotte Kershisnik (Washington, 145), Eliana Winfrey (Tyler Consolidated, 152), Kaylie Hall (Spring Mills, 165), and Ainsley Phillips (Jefferson, 185).
The Virginia dual started out with three straight pins for Team Maryland for an 18-0 advantage. Starting at 165lbs was a boost for Maryland as they trotted out three state champions and were countered by only one at 235.
Bernier needed just 28 seconds to turn the lights out on Hickory’s Eva Mercantini, a sixth-place state placer. Bryant needed almost all of regulation, but was able to stick Alexandria City’s state runner-up, Naria Medrano, with seven seconds left, 5:53. Ewane decked fellow state champ, Peters, at the 1:20 mark of the opener.
With nothing but state champions left on the card for Virginia, that 18-0 lead was huge. The Virginians started chipping away at it immediately following that slide, posting three straight wins of their own.
At 100, Branch pinned Land in the first period, 1:54. Tucker, No. 4 in USA Wrestling’s National Rankings, won a battle of nationally ranked competitors over Mutschler, who is 10th in those 105lb rankings, 13-10. Mutschler was down 6-1 after the first and battled back to 12-10 at end of the second with the only remaining scoring being an escape by Tucker.
Anderson is also rated nationally coming in at No. 14 at 115 and she easily handled Eastern Tech’s state runner-up, Ariana Carnahan (No. 2 in MD), by technical fall, 17-1. With only one pin and a tech in that part of the slate, Virginia was still in the hole, 18-14.
Maryland was able to grow their lead to 24-14 when Romberger not only beat, but pinned fellow state champ, Hailey Turner, 4:38, at 120. A Turner takedown in the first was followed by a series of reversals that left the score after one, 5-4, in favor of Turner.
Takedowns and escapes were placed on the scorecard in a manner that left the match tied at nine after the second period. A takedown to the back by Romberger to begin the third led to the fatal count by the ref.
Virginia’s power was too much in the next three weights as Maryland watched their lead evaporate to even, then fell behind by three, 27-24.
At 126, Parson picked up six with a 3:28 fall of Tuscarora’s state silver medalist Ella McDonald (No. 2 at 120 in MD). Slaughter, No. 13 in the country at 132, won by major decision, 14-4, over Eleanor Roosevelt’s Jennifer Djobo (3rd in the state and ranked third in MD).
Slaughter’s major decision tied it up and Hill’s 10-3 win over Hodges at 138 gave Virginia its first lead of the day with two weights left on the docket.
Maryland had the nation’s 17th ranked 140lber ready to take the mat at 145 in Ford. The senior posted a major decision of Denig to put Maryland back in front, 28-27, with one match to go. Ford was holding just a one-point lead after the opening frame, where Ford secured the first takedown, 5-4.
Denig began the second on bottom, her subsequent escape led to a Ford takedown to end the period with an 8-5 count. From there, Ford hit the accelerator and piled on the points with two takedowns and four near-fall points to gain the major.
The winner takes all showdown was left to Ramadan and Millsapps. Bonus points were not needed for the win, but Ramadan put an exclamation mark on the victory with a 4:54 fall making the final tally, 34-27.
Ramadan was up 7-1 when the first buzzer sounded. A takedown by Millsapps gave Virginia life at 7-4 after two. Millsapps chose down to start the third and never got up, losing by fall mid-way through the final frame.
The West Virginia encounter saw Team Maryland drop the first bout then storm back to take a lead they would not relinquish. Starting at 132, Ava Turner registered a pin of Djobo with 15 seconds left, 5:45.
Maryland swept the next three to go up 13-6. All three were state champ on state champ affairs. Hodges won the 138lb bout by sticking Garcia 19 seconds into the final frame, 4:19. Ford picked up her second major decision of the Wars, 12-3, over Kershisnik. Ramadan went the distance for her second win of the day with a 3-1 decision versus Winfrey at 152.
West Virginia’s Hall is ranked third in the nation by USA Wrestling at 170lbs. Competing here at 165, Hall blanked Bernier with an 18-0 tech fall, to draw her team within two points on the team count, 13-11.
The Maryland Girls then went on a run and shut the door on West Virginia with four straight wins by bonus points, including three pins, which gave them an unsurmountable 35-11 lead.
At 185, Bryant’s second win came when she threw a 10-0 major on the scoresheet against Phillips. Ewane doubled down on the pins and had the fastest outcome of the dual when she authored an 18 second ending to Katelyn Woodford’s time on the mat. Woodford (Musselman) did not place at states.
Land kept the pinning ways going at 100lbs when she secured hers at the 4:51 mark of the third over second place state finishing Ana Mendosa (Frankfort). Mutschler also dispatched a state silver medalist, Clara Ealy (Shady Spring), to the bench with a 1:39 decking. Mutschler’s pin wrapped up the team win.
There were still three matches left to be decided, though, and West Virginia would take two of them. Romberger followed up her earlier pin by claiming the final win for Maryland on a major decision, 17-5, over Coleman at 120.
West Virginia sandwiched two wins around that loss to settle the team count at 39-23. Anthony had a short bout with Carnahan that ended with a 55 second fall at 114. The final bout at 126 was won on a fall, 3:38, by Emery over McDonald.
Maryland 34, Virginia 27
(match started at 165)
165-Chaniah Bernier (MD) pinned Eva Mercantini, :28
185-Kaylynn Bryant (MD) pinned Naria Medrano, 5:53
235-Jabea Ewane (MD) pinned Lilianne Peters, 1:20
100-Sydney Branch (VA) pinned Violet Land, 1:54
107-Sarissa Tucker (VA) dec Summer Mutschler, 13-10
114-Jenna Anderson (VA) tech fall Ariana Carnahan, 17-1
120-Rileigh Romberger (MD) pinned Hailey Turner, 4:38
126-Ariyanah Parson (VA) pinned Ella McDonald, 3:28
132-Sophia Slaughter (VA) maj-dec Jennifer Djobo, 14-4
138-Isabella Hill (VA) dec Sophia Hodges, 10-3
145-Alexandra Ford (MD) maj-dec Tatiana Denig, 18-6
152-Reagan Ramadan (MD) pinned Cameron Millsapps, 4:54
Maryland 39, West Virginia 23
(match started at 132)
132-Ava Turner (WV) pinned Jennifer Djobo, 5:45
138-Sophia Hodges (MD) pinned Maya Garcia, 4:19
145-Alexandra Ford (MD) maj-dec Charllotte Kershisnik, 12-3
152-Reagan Ramadan (MD) dec Eliana Winfrey, 3-1
165-Kaylie Hall (WV) tech-fall Chaniah Bernier, 18-0
185-Kaylynn Bryant (MD) maj-dec Ainsley Phillips, 10-0
235-Jabea Ewane (MD) pinned Katelyn Woodford, :18
100-Violet Land (MD) pinned Ana Mendosa, 4:51
107-Summer Mutschler (MD) pinned Clara Ealy, 1:39
114-Justice Anthony (WV) pinned Ariana Carnahan, :55
120-Rileigh Romberger (MD) maj-dec Kirclyn Coleman, 17-5
126-Bailey Emery (WV) pinned Ella McDonald, 3:38
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