"This team is my family" - Womack

Fifth-ranked sophomore Joey Womack (113) scored a first-period fall, and his eighth-ranked junior sibling Isisah Womack (144) nailed down a second-period pin as each remained unbeaten as Richard Montgomery vanquished Montgomery County League rival Northwood, 66-18, on Thursday night.

“I was the first match of the night, so I started the dual meet off. I knew I had to set the tone for the rest of the team,” Joey Womack said. “I pinned him in like 40 seconds because there is no point in showing off against a weaker opponent. My mindset is that I know whomever I’m stepping on to the block with, they’re going to be in a dogfight with me.”

In victory, Joey improved his record to 18-0 with 17 pins, while Isisah rose to 22-0 with 19 pins and a technical fall, picking up his 100th-career victory in the process.

“I pinned him in the second period with a cradle,” Isisah Womack said. “Getting my 100th win really felt good especially, especially getting it with my team in a dual meet. I feel like this team is my family.”

The Womacks have transferred from Saint Frances Academy of Baltimore to their home neighborhood school and the Rockets’ program, where, as a freshman, Isisah placed third at counties before winning a regional title and placing fifth at the Class 4A-3A state tournament at 113 pounds.

“Watching Isisah get his 100th win is just motivation for me to show the skills that I have now. I’m proud of the things Isisah’s accomplished. When people talk about me, they say ‘that’s Isisah’s little brother.’” Joey Womack said.

“That's worth hearing, because I’ve learned a lot from him through wrestling. Growing up, we have coached one another, no matter where we’ve been and throughout all our experiences. Me and my brother, Isisah, have not had an easy journey in high school but were making something out of nothing.”

For the Rockets, the Womacks won titles at December’s Knightmare Invitational at Parkville High, where Joey used falls in 1:47 and 1:56 before winning his championship match, 7-5, over 22nd-ranked freshman Evan Kaliakoudas of Archbishop Curley.

Isisah used a 16-1 technical fall and a pin in 2:35 to reach the Knightmare Invitational finals, where he edged ninth-ranked senior Luca Brown of Arundel, who finished first, third and fourth at last year’s Anne Arundel County, Class 4A-3A East, and Class 4A-3A state tournaments.

“The only other ranked kid that I’ve wrestled is Daniel Wu from Blair,” said Isisah Womack, of an earlier 5-4 decision victory. “Daniel and Luca Brown are pretty much my only big matches this season.”

The ninth-ranked Wu was the 138-pound champion at last weekend’s Falcon Invitational at Winters Mill, improving his on the year to 23-3.

At the Falcon Invitational, Wu went 6-0 with two pins and a technical fall as well as an 11-8 championship win over 10th-ranked senior Nate Taylor of Francis Scott Key, who placed third in Carroll County and was a runner-up at regions and states.

Wu reached the finals after earning a 10-5 quarterfinal victory over 19th-ranked senior Baltimore County champion Brayden Polly of Eastern Tech, and a 15-8 semifinal decision over 15th-ranked sophomore Oscar Davis of Archbishop Curley.

Davis won third place by medical forfeit over 17th-ranked senior Cole Figueroa of Arundel, a returning county champion and Class 4A-3A East Region runner-up.

“I wrestled against Luca and Daniel at 144 pounds,” Isisah Womack said. “But I am planning to go down to 138 for states. "For me to accomplish my goal of winning a state title, I will just need to make sure that I keep practicing and working hard every day.”

Isisah and Joey had enjoyed a season of success at Saint 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.

Beyond the MIAAs, Joey and Isisah placed third and fourth at the private schools’ state tournament respectively.

Isisah’s record at Saint Frances was 46-6, including marks of 2-2 against Tamai, and 1-1 against Gessford. Joey’s record at Saint Frances was 40-14.

“Being undefeated shows my determination. I want people to know that the Womacks mean business,” Joey Womack said. “My focus right now is that I’m coming for that state title. I want to put my name out there and I’m dedicated to my goal of becoming better and better by the day.”

The Rockets’ program had produced a combined seven individual state champions.

Richard Montgomery’s first state champion was Dave Hopkins, winner of crowns at 105 and 112 pounds during the single-tournament format in 1972 and 1973.

After the state tournament split into separate programs in 1980 – AA-A for larger schools and B-C for the smaller ones – the Rockets crowned Mike Nguyen in 1981 and 1982 at 98 and 105 pounds. Scott Church became the Rockets’ fourth state champion in 2003, doing so at 160 pounds.

On the girls’ side, there is three-time title-winner, Nadia Estrada, winner of titles at 122, 135 and 145 pounds in 2020, 2022 and 2023.

There has been an injection of renewed enthusiasm into the wrestling room at Richard Montgomery High School with the return of the Womack brothers, whose first-year coach is Edgar Cruz, a 2016 Richard Montgomery graduate who placed sixth at states after having twice placed fourth in county and regional tournaments.

“The environment in the practice room is great. They have definitely set an example on the team with the way they train and compete,” said Cruz, whose Rockets (8-8) have a tri-meet today with Paint Branch at Wheaton. “It looks like we may have two potential state champions. They’re great practice partners who are very unselfish wrestlers and they’re always eager to help their teammates.”