RESULTS: MAWA South Region Qualifier

Before we dig into what happened at the MAWA South Region Qualifier at Northeast High School in Anne Arundel County the weekend after states (March 15-16), we will give you a little background on MAWA and how it works.

The Middle Atlantic Wrestling Association has been holding their folkstyle series for quite some time now. It existed when yours truly was still in the game. Tournaments like the one held at Northeast are considered District Events and the top four advance to the South Region Tournament.

There are four regions (North, South, East, and West) and they feed into the Eastern Nationals. The boys need to qualify for the regions through districts. The Girls can wrestle in the District Tournaments, but it is not a qualifier as it is for the boys, the four regions are open enrollment for the girls.

You can wrestle in other district tournaments, even in different states. The only caveat being once you qualify for the regionals; you cannot compete at any more district events. If you do, you will be disqualified.

Three of the regional tournaments are in Pennsylvania. The South Region Tournament on April 12th and 13th is held in the same location as the Eastern Nationals, the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland. The Eastern Nationals are May 2nd through the 4th.

Wrestlers from the Northeast event will move onto the regions along with wrestlers competing at this weekend’s MAWA event at Howard High School (March 29th). They will be joined by wrestlers competing in districts in Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia.

The Elite Division housed all of the high school girls with ten weight classes being contested. Quince Orchard wrestlers claimed two of the titles at 148, Esther Hernandez (No. 3 at 140), and at 158 with Amirah Abegesah (No. 3 at 155).

Hernandez defeated second place finisher, Denna Momeni (Gaithersburg), 9-0, in a round robin setting. Abegesah squared off with three girls ranked at 155 in Maryland, including No. 1 Reagan Ramadan (Rising Sun), No. 8 Naima Harvey-Bowen (Atholton), and No. 9 McKenzie Koon (Francis Scott Key).

Abegesah defeated Ramadan, 4-0, Harvey-Bowen, 4-1, and Koon, 12-2, in a round robin format. Ramadan beat Harvey-Bowen 10-1 to secure second place. Ramadan pinned Abegesah in the state semifinals. Ramadan won states while Abegesah was third and did not meet Harvey-Bowen or Koon at states.

Eastern Tech saw two state runners-up reach the top of the podium, No. 2 Ariana Carnahan (110) and No. 2 Morgan Linton (175).

Carnahan pinned Dundalk’s previously ranked Emily Cabo in the second period, 1:49 (90 second periods are wrestled at MAWAs). In the semis, Carnahan decked Brunswick’s Catherine Orndorff (No. 2 at 105), who was second in the state, just before the second period buzzer, 2:58.

Linton beat the girl that placed fourth in her weight at states, No. 4 Jordan Lawson of North Harford. Theirs’ was a best of three dance with Linton winning two in a row, 5-0 and 14-3.

Edgewood was another program that produced two champions in No. 7 Triniti Green (125) and Marian Rodriguez-Dodson (103).

Green terrorized her bracket with two pins over state ranked foes to reach the finals then planting Sparrows Point’s unranked Tinsley Jones 1:47 into their title bout. In the quarters, Green dropped Patuxent’s Emma Flanagan (No. 10 at 120) in 58 seconds. In the semis, an upset came at the 3:00 mark when Green stuck Frederick’s Annika Emshoff (No. 4 at 120).

Rodriguez-Dodson was involved in one of those best of three scenarios with Christina Lefeged of Clarksburg. A sweep by Rodriguez-Dodson came on the strength of two pins, 2:20 and 39 seconds.

Brunswick’s 115lb state champion, No. 1 Katherine Virgilio, snagged the 118lb gold by using a 43 second pin of Francis Scott Key’s No. 15 Madalyn Johnson. Virgilio blanked No. 8 Kailey Arredondo (Atholton), 8-0, in their semifinal.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s No. 3 Jennifer Djobo was third in the state at 130lbs but won her MAWA crown up at 140 where she faced off with another grappler who migrated up from 130, No. 12 Gema Serio of the host school. Djobo stuck Serio in 2:57. Djobo teched Patapsco’s three-time Baltimore County Champ, Gianna Guarnera (No. 12 at 135), 18-1, to reach the finals.

The final two champs come from Anne Arundel County Schools, Severn Run’s No. 11 Katrina Adhikari (250) and Meade’s Nevaeh Diaz (132).

Adhikari encountered two ranked girls in her path as well as second place finishing Skylar Leopold (Sparrows Point), whom she pinned in 2:59. Adhikari also pinned No. 10 Yelena Torres-Guzman (North Caroline), :38, and No. 15 Luna Argueta (Northwood), 2:38. Torres-Guzman forfeited to Leopold.

Diaz found herself down after losing the first match versus Sparrows Point’s Kylie Keefer, 11-8, but came back strong, taking the next two with ease, a pin in 1:27 and by 15-0 technical fall.

Elite Girls (FloArena only shows the placers from the bracketed weights. The six that were round robin or the best of three do not appear here).

110

1st Ariana Carnahan MD (Baltimore) F Emily Cabo MD (Baltimore), 1:49

3rd Catherine Orndorff MD (Jefferson, Md) DEC Dylan Bleignier-baker MD (Knoxville), 3-1

118

1st Katharine Virgilio MD (Knoxville) F Madalyn Johnson MD (New Windsor), 0:43

3rd Kailey Arredondo MD (Severn) F Lily Pineda MD (Pasadena), 1:39

125

1st Triniti Green MD (Abingdon) F Tinsley Jones MD (Baltimore), 1:47

3rd Annika Emshoff MD (Frederick) FOR Emma Flanagan MD (Lusby), 0-0

140

1st Jennifer Djobo MD (Pasadena) F Gema Serio MD (Pasadena), 2:57

3rd Gianna Guarnera MD (Dundalk) F Ahmya Gerald MD (Westminster), 1:47