Special Shoutout: All photo credit goes to Nathan Brezovec - thanks Nathan!
Quince Orchard’s wrestlers need only to look at their coach Richie Tyler for a reminder of the program’s winning legacy.
Over the course of 1990 through1992, Tyler captained undefeated squads which earned Montgomery County and Regional championships.
Tyler can remind his Cougars of wrestlers like their program’s first-ever Class 4A-3A state champion Dave Vernier (275) in 1992 as well as their second and third in John Zinno (112) and Jacob Ritchie (189) both in 1993. Successive state champions have been Insuk Choe (1995), Aron Dorsey (1999), Frankie Baughan (2002), Ignacio Diaz (2004), Eddie Baughan (2005), Mike Mascio (2007) and Dake Williams (2009).
Tyler is in his first season as the Cougars head coach following three as an assistant, having previously guided Franklin High in 2021.
But Tyler returned to Franklin on Friday, where his Cougars crowned senior Harry Spadoni (120), Tommy Peluso (138) and Josue Ticas (157) among six finalists to overcome the host Indians for the overall crown.
Runners-up were Ben Hersh (113), Gavin Hill (165) and junior Tristan Cabugwas (285) as the Cougars (196 points) outpaced the Indians (169.5) and the 15-team field.
“It was an honor to march back into Franklin Field House after coaching there for almost a decade. It was my first time being back since leaving as head coach in 2021. It will always be a special place to me, with special people who I love to this day,” said Tyler, a former regional runner-up. “But this was all about the kids. They put in so much hard work this offseason to jump levels individually and as a program. They showed a level of commitment that I’ve never witnessed. We are finally beginning to see the fruits of our labor, and a return on our investments. As a coach, you can’t ask for more.”
Spadoni ran his record to 15-2 on a 25-second fall and another pin in 3:03 of his title match with Dan Casey of Hereford. A fourth-place finisher in last year’s county and regional tournaments, Spadoni has placed third at states once and fourth at states twice.
“Going into my finals match, I was thinking about having fun, doing the best I can, and representing our program well,” said Spadoni, who has 137 career victories. “I'm super proud that we came away with the team championship. It felt good to bring it home, especially after not having done so in the past. I'm proud of our team and the forward movement of our program.”
Second-ranked sophomore Aubry Spadoni (140) is 10-0 after winning The Who’s No. 1 Tournament at Northeast-Anne Arundel on Friday, having returned for the Cougars after winning states last season.
“That’s a big story line for them as siblings,” Tyler said. “I’d like to see Harry and Aubry become our first brother-sister combination to win states.”
Peluso scored an 18-2 technical fall before decking consecutive opponents in 99 and 90 seconds, the latter in his championship bout with Patterson Mill’s Brandon Hinson.
“Hard work pays off, is something we say in practice all the time, and during this tournament we all saw it come to fruition. Going into the tournament as the one seed made me nervous because I had never been so highly seeded,” said Peluso, whose record improved to 16-2. “But as I started making my way through the bracket, the more I realized I deserved that number one spot. When I won in the finals, all I could feel was a sense of accomplishment and pride in myself. But this is not the end goal. There is still so much more to come in this season that I and the rest of the team will now be ready for.”
Ticas improved to 7-0 following a 36-second pin, a 16-1 technical fall and a 10-8 title bout decision over Ja`Quan Burton of Hereford.
“I was very excited going into this tournament,” Ticas said. “I was ready to display all the hard work I've put in during the offseason. It feels good to be on top.”
The runner-up Indians crowned a pair of champions in Joe Silberman (126) and Jaidon Williams (215). Silberman used a fall in 3:26 and a 19-4 technical fall to reach the finals, where he overcame Severn Run’s Nash Marsh, 12-9, in overtime. Williams improved to 16-2 on the year with falls in 4:47 and 4:00, the latter in his title bout against Patterson Mill’s Gavin Voelker.
Winning for third-place Hereford (168.5 points) was 14th-ranked junior Adam Keever (190), a third-place finisher in the Baltimore County and Class 2A-1A North Region tournaments who’s record improved to 14-4. Keever used a 47-second pin and a 16-1 technical fall to reach the finals, where he earned a 13-3 major decision victory over Franklin’s Chilotam Ezeani.
Fourth-place Patterson Mill (152 points) had a title-winner in junior Jonathan Fletcher (175), a fourth-place finisher in the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference. Fletcher’s record improved to 14-2 thanks to pins in 4:19 and 2:27 that were followed by an 8-5 championship bout victory over Mount Hebron’s Joshua Danso.
Also having a pair of titlists were Severn with fifth-ranked senior Nick Melfi (144) and Dom Montgomery (132), and Gerstell Academy with 23rd-ranked senior Jack Bruffey and sophomore Weylin Myers (113).
Melfi (13-1) used consecutive technical falls of 15-0 to reach his title match, where he scored a fall in 1:55 over county champion and senior Andy Burton of Hereford, whose record slipped to 16-3. Melfi was fifth last year at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and Maryland Private Schools state tournaments and eighth at the National Prep Tournament.
Montgomery (12-2) earned technical falls of 17-1, 17-2, and 24-8, the last over Patterson Mill’s Cole Christian, whose record slipped to 14-2.
Bruffey improved his record to 16-1 on falls in 29, 61 and 78 seconds, the last in his championship match against Hill, whose record slipped to 4-1. Myers’ record rises to 12-3 on consecutive pins in 58 seconds, 2:48 and 3:38, the last against Hersh. Myers was fifth at MIAAs and private school states, and Bruffey was sixth at MIAAs.
Other champions were 13th-ranked junior Keon Stewart (285) of Randallstown, Logan Ardinger (106) of South Hagerstown and Skie Baltimore (150) of Academy for College and Career Exploration.
The 13th-ranked Stewart improved his record to 19-1 following a 17-2 technical fall, a 7-5 semi final victory and a 7-3 title bout decision over 19th-ranked Cabugwas, who was fourth at counties last season. Stewart placed fifth and fourth at the Baltimore County and Class 2A-1A North Regions last year.
Ardinger used an 8-3 semifinal decision to reach his title bout where he scored a 21-9 major decision over Hereford sophomore Connor Cline, a returning fourth place finisher at both counties and regions.
Baltimore’s record improved to 13-2 on the year following pins in 3:56 and 3:09 and a title bout, 19-3 technical fall over South Hagerstown Paul Ngolle, a returning third place finisher in Washington County.
Franklin Invitational
1 Quince Orchard (196)
2 Franklin High (169)
3 Hereford High (168.5)
4 Patterson Mill (152)
5 Mt. Hebron (128.5)
6 Academy for College and Career Exploration (120.5)
7 Severn Run (100.5)
8 Severn (98.5)
9 Gerstell Academy (85)
10 Randallstown (76.5)
11 South Hagerstown (74)
12 Edmonson (71.5)
13 Bell Multicultural (17)
14 St Andrew`s Episcopal (10)
15 Western (9)
106
1st Place Match
Logan Ardinger (South Hagerstown High School) 14-5, . over Connor Cline (Hereford High School) 14-3, . (MD 21-9)
3rd Place Match
Austin Neilsen (Patterson Mill High School) 13-3, . over Alijah Green (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 12-5, . (Fall 1:19)
5th Place Match
Chase Morgan (Severn High School) 7-4, . over Nathan Kieth (Mt. Hebron High School) 6-10, . (For.)
113
1st Place Match
Weylin Myers (Gerstell Academy ) 12-3, . over Ben Hersh (Quince Orchard High School) 11-7, . (Fall 3:38)
3rd Place Match
Gerard Hutcherson (Randallstown High School) 14-9, . over Corey Lawson (Edmonson High School) 6-2, . (Dec 22-16)
5th Place Match
Sydney Thompson (Severn Run High School) 12-8, . over Owen Vallowe (Patterson Mill High School) 8-9, . (Fall 3:38)
120
1st Place Match
Harry Spadoni (Quince Orchard High School) 15-2, . over Dan Casey (Hereford High School) 11-4, . (Fall 3:03)
3rd Place Match
Gabe Filling (Patterson Mill High School) 10-3, . over Dejon Matthews (Edmonson High School) 5-3, . (SV-1 9-6)
5th Place Match
Grace Reynolds (South Hagerstown High School) 6-12, . over () , . (Bye)
126
1st Place Match
Joe Silberman (Franklin High School) 12-7, . over Nash Marsh (Severn Run High School) 12-8, . (SV-1 12-9)
3rd Place Match
Timmy Zink (Mt. Hebron High School) 14-6, . over Dylan Collins (Edmonson High School) 8-2, . (Fall 5:15)
5th Place Match
Ashton Winter (Patterson Mill High School) 10-6, . over Jack Sweeney (Severn High School) 9-7, . (Fall 2:06)
132
1st Place Match
Dom Montgomery (Severn High School) 12-2, . over Cole Christian (Patterson Mill High School) 14-2, . (TF-1.5 4:26 (24-8))
3rd Place Match
Miguel Christian (Severn Run High School) 13-10, . over Tucker Rudo (Franklin High School) 15-6, . (Fall 3:22)
5th Place Match
Kennard Swinton (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 14-3, . over Curtis Harris (Quince Orchard High School) 6-5, . (Fall 1:33)
138
1st Place Match
Tommy Peluso (Quince Orchard High School) 16-2, . over Brandon Hinson (Patterson Mill High School) 11-6, . (Fall 1:30)
3rd Place Match
James Manning (Severn Run High School) 15-9, . over Wyatt Ulshafer (Hereford High School) 13-6, . (Fall 2:41)
5th Place Match
Jacob Aguilera (Mt. Hebron High School) 8-8, . over Rowan Ward (Severn High School) 10-5, . (MD 10-0)
144
1st Place Match
Nick Melfi (Severn High School) 13-1, . over Andy Burton (Hereford High School) 16-3, . (Fall 1:55)
3rd Place Match
Josh Gray (Franklin High School) 18-3, . over Ky-ron Ali (Randallstown High School) 11-3, . (Fall 4:27)
5th Place Match
Julian Pollard (Quince Orchard High School) 11-9, . over James Roche (Mt. Hebron High School) 14-15, . (Dec 13-6)
150
1st Place Match
Skie Baltimore (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 13-2, . over Paul Ngolle (South Hagerstown High School) 13-5, . (TF-1.5 3:53 (19-3))
3rd Place Match
Micheal Ukoh (Mt. Hebron High School) 13-4, . over Jacob Jones (Franklin High School) 12-5, . (Dec 10-7)
5th Place Match
Izzat Ismailov (Quince Orchard High School) 12-6, . over Rowen Myers (Gerstell Academy ) 11-7, . (For.)
157
1st Place Match
Josue Ticas (Quince Orchard High School) 7-0, . over Ja`Quan Burton (Hereford High School) 11-7, . (Dec 10-8)
3rd Place Match
Christian Leveille (Franklin High School) 12-5, . over Connor Severino (Mt. Hebron High School) 4-2, . (Fall 3:49)
5th Place Match
Gabriel Davison (Randallstown High School) 14-8, . over Kamal Jiggets (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 10-7, . (Fall 0:32)
165
1st Place Match
Jack Bruffey (Gerstell Academy ) 16-1, . over Gavin Hill (Quince Orchard High School) 4-1, . (Fall 1:18)
3rd Place Match
Sean Majors (Severn Run High School) 14-6, . over Griffin Walter (Hereford High School) 10-8, . (Fall 3:33)
5th Place Match
Abdul Khan (Mt. Hebron High School) 11-15, . over Isaiah Williams (Western School of Technology) 3-6, . (Fall 1:55)
175
1st Place Match
Jonathan Fletcher (Patterson Mill High School) 14-2, . over Joshua Danso (Mt. Hebron High School) 10-4, . (Dec 8-5)
3rd Place Match
Darius Evans (Franklin High School) 10-4, . over Jordan Jones (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 13-4, . (Fall 3:13)
5th Place Match
Samuel Glover (Edmonson High School) 3-3, . over Ashton Hunte (Quince Orchard High School) 12-7, . (Fall 1:25)
190
1st Place Match
Adam Keever (Hereford High School) 14-4, . over Chilotam Ezeani (Franklin High School) 16-3, . (MD 13-3)
3rd Place Match
Ryan Ellis (Gerstell Academy ) 12-2, . over Iyanuoluinmi Ogunsakin (Mt. Hebron High School) 17-10, . (MD 11-1)
5th Place Match
Kashif Hampton (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 5-2, . over Ryan Frost (Quince Orchard High School) 7-10, . (Fall 0:46)
215
1st Place Match
Jaidon Williams (Franklin High School) 16-2, . over Gavin Voelker (Patterson Mill High School) 9-7, . (Fall 4:00)
3rd Place Match
Talin Krashoc (Severn High School) 12-3, . over Chris Westra (Hereford High School) 8-6, . (Fall 3:23)
5th Place Match
Khyon Wilson (Edmonson High School) 6-3, . over Ari Kravitz (Gerstell Academy ) 6-7, . (Fall 2:25)
285
1st Place Match
Keon Stewart (Randallstown High School) 19-1, . over Tristan Cabugwas (Quince Orchard High School) 14-4, . (Dec 7-3)
3rd Place Match
Briaun Coleman (Academy for College and Career Exploration) 9-1, . over Jose Garcia (Bell Multicultural High School) 7-2, . (Fall 4:22)
5th Place Match
Jordan Adams (Franklin High School) 5-6, . over Camden Houck (Mt. Hebron High School) 7-9, . (Fall 0:49)
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