South Carroll’s sixth-ranked sophomore Grayson Barnhill has a knack for quick pins.
As a freshman last year, Barnhill used a pair of 12-second falls – for a total of 24 seconds – to win his Carroll County title.
Barnhill won last year’s Class 2A-1A North Region crown by finishing senior Baltimore County champion Clayton Dicus (31-2) in 1:46, this after having decked his semifinal opponent in seven seconds.
Before losing last year’s Class 2A-1A state title bout, 5-3, to Elijah Collick of Stephen Decatur, Barnhill took 76 seconds to pin eventual third-place finisher Nate Wilhelm of Northern-Garrett.
Barnhill was no different on Saturday at North Point High in Charles County, where his two falls totaled 63 seconds and helped the eighth-ranked Cavaliers (27-0) to win their third straight Class 1A state duals crown.
Barnhilll took 53 seconds to pin his initial opponent during a 56-18 semifinal blowout of Lackey, and just 10 to deck his championship foe during the Cavaliers’ 40-30 triumph over ninth-ranked Middletown.
“If a quick pin is what we need I’ll deliver,” said Barnhill, who improved to 22-0 with 21 pins. “I’m back. Thanks to my teammates helping me to get to this point, I’m ready to win states.”
Also winning twice were sophomores Jo Jo Gigliotti (132), Angelo Marchany (144), Landon Hamper (165) and Anthony Rodrigues (190), freshmen Brody Henry (126) and Davy Snyder (138), and junior Evan Owen (120) and senior Kaden Cyrus (157) as the Cavaliers earned their 34th consecutive dual meet victory.
“Grayson helps with scoring points for our team,” said Owen, who registered falls in 28 and 71 seconds. “It’s good for hyping us up before we wrestle. This gives us momentum and confidence to dominate in the postseason.”
Henry had pins in 36 seconds and 5:36, and Gigliotti decked one opponent in 87 seconds before winning a 6-4 decision over state runner-up Alex DeVriendt of Middletown. Cyrus had a 14-second fall and a 6-4 overtime decision against the Knights’ Henry Graham, Marchany’s 43-second pin was accompanied by his 11-4 decision, and Rodrigues pinned one opponent in 2:25 while defeating another by 9-4 decision.
Hamper earned a technical fall and a 12-2 major decision, and Snyder, a technical fall and a 9-4 decision. While the Cavaliers totaled eight pins and a technical fall against Lackey, the Knights won just three decisions in the 12 bouts that were actually wrestled against the Cavaliers.
Against the Knights, the Cavaliers’ mathematically insurmountable lead of 40-18 with two bouts remaining included four victories by pin and another by major decision. This allowed the Cavaliers to forfeit their final two bouts against Middletown.
“We are very pleased with our performance against a very strong Middletown team,” said Cavaliers coach Bryan Hamper, a 2001 South Carroll graduate who was twice a state champion and twice placed fourth at states. “The big difference maker today was all of our boys dropping down a weight class. It was highlighted by the fact that Evan Owen went to 120. It was a full team effort, top to bottom the lineup wrestled Fantastic, we put a lot of weight on our young kids’ shoulders.”
Gigliotti is a top-ranked returning county, region and Class 2A-1A state champion, Owen is a fourth-ranked county and region title-winner and state runner-up, and the sixth-ranked Rodrigues is a sixth-place state finisher. Henry is ranked 15th, Hamper, son of coach Bryan, is 17th, and Marchany, 21st.
Henry leads the Cavaliers with a record of 34-0. Gigliotti is 40-1, Landon Hamper is 31-1, and both Owen and Rodrigues are 37-3. Marchany is 32-5, Cyrus is 29-5, and Snyder, 31-8.
The Cavaliers were ranked 20th last month when they defeated the then-eighth-ranked Knights, 37-27, highlighted by Gigliotti’s 11-3 major decision over DeVriendt.
That win over the Knights also featured pins by Owen, Henry Cyrus (157), and decisions by Hamper, Rodrigues and Marchany (157).
The Cavaliers had been runners-up at December’s 15-team Parkside Invitational to 25th-ranked Montgomery County power Damascus by the score of 332-329.5 before rebounding to win the January 12-13 Friars Duals at Archbishop Curley.
“We have had injuries and guys who have been sick at different times this year,” Hamper said. “We have sort of wrestled with a chip on our shoulders throughout the year.”
South Carroll finished at 33-1 last season, winning that crown with a 46-30 triumph over a Northern-Garrett County Huskies squad which entered at 25-0. Last year’s title-winning effort marked the Cavaliers’ seventh straight dual meet victory following a 36-25 loss on Feb. 2, 2023.
That loss was against visiting top-ranked private school power Mount St. Joseph, which came from behind to improve to 9-0 and end the Cavaliers’ winning streak at 61 consecutive matches.
From last year’s team, the Cavaliers graduated three-time state champions Mike Pizzuto (138) and AJ Rodrigues (170), two-time state champion Gage Owen (145), and one-time title winner Rylan Moose (182), all of whom are wrestling in college.
Hamper coached his alma mater to Class 2A-1A state tournament titles in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 before the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association ceased scoring the state tournament in 2018.
Hamper called last year’s Cavaliers’ squad “one of the most talented returning teams I’ve ever seen in the state of Maryland.”
“But this year’s team is only just getting started,” Hamper said. “Having 10 freshman or sophomores in our lineup is a great indicator for where we are as a team and for the future of the program.”
South Carroll’s top wrestlers
113- Grayson Barnhill, sophomore 22-0 Overall, 5-0 Carroll County (11 Pins)
126- Brody Henry, freshman 34-0 Overall, 6-0 Carroll County (18 Pins)
132- Evan Owen, junior 37-3 Overall, 5-1 County (24 Pins)
138- JoJo Gigliotti, sophomore 40-1 Overall, 6-0 County (29 Pins)
144- Davy Snyder, freshman 31-8 Overall 5-1 County (17 Pins)
150- Angelo Marchany, sophomore 32-5 Overall 5-1 County (24 Pins)
157- Kaden Cyrus, senior 29-5 Overall, 3-2 County, (13 Pins)
165- Landon Hamper, sophomore 31-1 Overall 5-0 County (16 Pins)
175- Anthony Rodrigues, sophomore 37-3 Overall 6-0 County (22 Pins)
Class 1A State Dual Semifinals
South Carroll 56, Lackey 18
285 Decklen Logan (South Carroll) over Tyson Wallace (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:29
106 Luke Baldwin (Henry E. Lackey) over Caden Williams (South Carroll) Fall 1:19
113 Grayson Barnhill (South Carroll) over Sarah Dobry (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:53
120 Evan Owen (South Carroll) over Tristan Matri (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 1:11
126 Brody Henry (South Carroll) over Shelani Corado (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:36
132 JoJo Gigliotti (South Carroll) over John Taylor (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 1:27
138 David Snyder (South Carroll) over Joseph Landcaster (Henry E. Lackey) TF 18-3
144 Angelo Marchany (South Carroll) over Giovanni Posey (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:43
150 Kaden Cyrus (South Carroll) over Kenny Bays III (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 0:14
157 Brandon Catherine (Henry E. Lackey) over Rion Camponeschi (South Carroll) Fall 2:37
165 Landon Hamper (South Carroll) over William Chism IV (Henry E. Lackey) Fall 4:18
175 Ronald Johnson (Henry E. Lackey) over Conner Deshesky (South Carroll) Dec 7-5
190 Anthony Rodrigues (South Carroll) over Steven Hall (Henry E. Lackey) Dec 9-4
215 Christian Bryant (Henry E. Lackey) over Wyatt Tegeler (South Carroll) Dec 11-5
Middletown 56, Harford Tech 24
285 Landon Hofgesang (Middletown) over James Seifert (Harford Technical) Fall 0:07
106 Mathew Cioffi (Middletown) over Brayden Pruski (Harford Technical) Fall 0:37
113 Zaden Tablan (Harford Technical) over Liam Soe (Middletown) Fall 2:00
120 Calvin Smith (Middletown) over Tyshon Little (Harford Technical) Maj 15-5
126 Jack Pillow (Middletown) over Alex McCoy (Harford Technical) Fall 5:13
132 Alex DeVriendt (Middletown) over Nathan Claypoole (Harford Technical) Fall 1:12
138 Tobias White (Middletown) over Connor McNamee (Harford Technical) Maj 10-2
144 Stephen Stottlemyer (Middletown) over Nikolai Chervak (Harford Technical) Fall 2:46
150 Ryan Sewell (Harford Technical) over Carter Canale (Middletown) Fall 3:40
157 Henry Graham (Middletown) over Aidan Sullivan (Harford Technical) Fall 0:30
165 Bradley Bowers (Middletown) over Brian Vickers (Harford Technical) Fall 0:45
175 Wesley Outlaw (Harford Technical) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
190 Jack Ryder (Harford Technical) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
215 Alex Hoy (Middletown) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
Championship finals
South Carroll 40, Middletown 30
106 Mathew Cioffi (Middletown) over Caden Williams (South Carroll) Fall 3:23
113 Grayson Barnhill (South Carroll) over Liam Soe (Middletown) Fall 0:10
120 Evan Owen (South Carroll) over Calvin Smith (Middletown) Fall 0:28
126 Brody Henry (South Carroll) over Jack Pillow (Middletown) Fall 5:36
132 JoJo Gigliotti (South Carroll) over Alex DeVriendt (Middletown) Dec 6-4
138 David Snyder (South Carroll) over Tobias White (Middletown) Dec 9-4
144 Angelo Marchany (South Carroll) over Carter Canale (Middletown) Dec 11-4
150 Stephen Stottlemyer (Middletown) over Cole Blanchard (South Carroll) Fall 1:24
157 Kaden Cyrus (South Carroll) over Henry Graham (Middletown) SV-1 6-4
165 Landon Hamper (South Carroll) over Bradley Bowers (Middletown) Maj 12-2
175 Kashton Dalhouse (Middletown) over Conner Deshesky (South Carroll) Fall 3:33
190 Anthony Rodrigues (South Carroll) over Desean Butts (Middletown) Fall 2:25
215 Alex Hoy (Middletown) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 Landon Hofgesang (Middletown) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
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