There has been an injection of renewed enthusiasm into the wrestling room at Richard Montgomery High School with the return of the Womack brothers.
The change was immediately noticed by first-year coach Edgar Cruz, a 2016 Richard Montgomery graduate who placed sixth at states after having twice placed fourth in The Montgomery County and regional tournaments.
“The environment in the practice room is great,” Cruz said. “They definitely set an example on the team with the way they train and compete.”
Joey, a sophomore, and Isisah, a junior, have transferred to their home, neighborhood school from St. Frances Academy of Baltimore.
“It looks like we may have two potential state champions,” Cruz said. “They’re great practice partners who are very unselfish wrestlers and they’re always eager to help their teammates.”
Ranked sixth and 10th by Legacy Wrestling, Joey (113) and Isisah (144) earned titles at Saturday’s 17-team Knightmare Invitational at Parkville High. Placing fourth were sophomore Kevin Rosenblatt (126) and junior Benjamin Wong (157), pacing the Rockets (31 points) to an eighth-place finish in an event won by 22nd-ranked Calvert Hall (210.5).
Joey used falls in 1:47 and 1:56 to reach the title bout, where he outlasted freshman Evan Kaliakoudas of runner-up Archbishop Curley by 7-5 decision.
“Evan was really strong at this weight, but I had wrestled him four other times in the offseason and tech-falled him all four times,” Joey Womack said. “It was a tough match, but I was feeling a little sick with a cough, but that’s no excuse. It feels good to have won my first tournament of the season at the new school, but I’m planning to drop to 106 this season where I think I can win counties, regions and states.”
Isisah used a 16-1 technical fall and a pin in 2:35 to reach the finals, where he edged 12th-ranked senior Luca Brown of Arundel, who finished fourth at last year’s Class 4A-3A state tournament.
The Womacks returned to a Rockets’ program where, as a freshman, Isisah placed third in the Montgomery County tournament before winning a regional title and placing fifth at the Class 4A-3A state tournament at 113 pounds.
“It felt a lot different wrestling up so high at 144,” said Isisah Womack, who stands 5-foot-10. “I’m planning to wrestle most of the season at 138 before dropping to 132 for states when it’s 134. There’s no reason that when I compete at counties, regions and states, I can’t win all three of those tournaments.”
Isisah and Joey had enjoyed a season of success at St. Frances, finishing first and third at last year’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament. Their efforts along with those of others paced the Panthers to a fifth-place finish in the tournament.
Isisah became the Panthers’ first ever MIAA champion with a 7-6 win over Mt. St. Joseph’s Jake Tamai, improving his record at the time to 2-1 against a wrestler who was a defending Maryland Private Schools state champion.
Isisah emerged from the third seed, reaching the MIAA finals following a 6-4 overtime victory over second-seed Henry Gessford of Archbishop Spalding. Although Gessford had not previously faced Isisah, their common opponent, Austin Wood, had beaten Womack but lost to Gessford.
“It felt really good because it’s my first year in private school and winning it just makes me feel amazing. I feel like I could've wrestled a little better,” said Womack at the time to Legacy Wrestling. “I could have put a little bit more pressure on him, but I was also wrestling the whole tournament with an injured shoulder. It (the big wins and title) tells me that I can beat anyone as long as I wrestle as hard as I can and don’t give up.”
Beyond the MIAAs, Joey and Isisah placed third and fourth at the private schools’ state tournament respectively.
Isisah’s record at St. Frances was 46-6, including marks of 2-2 against Tamai, and 1-1 against Gessford. Joey’s record at St. Frances was 40-14.
The Womack’s want to make an impact at Richard Montgomery, similarly to that they made at St. Frances.
“We both know that we could have done better in each of our championship matches and that we have a lot to work on as the season goes on,” Isisah Womack said. “I feel like we can make a difference at Richard Montgomery because a lot of people are looking up to us.”
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