Maryland had five teams at last weekend’s Waterway Duals in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Of those three, Team Diamond Fish was the most successful as they placed second in Pool F with a 4-1 record, then placed third in the Silver Pool by going 2-1.
Two others also landed in the Silver Pool after finishing second in their pools, Sly Fox Wrestling Club and Superior Black. Sly Fox eliminated Superior Black and ended up taking sixth. The other two squads, Sly Fox Wrestling Club Gray and Outsiders, were 1-4 in their pools and were placed in the Zinc Pool, where SFWC Gray beat Outsiders to placed third.
In Pool F, Team Diamond Fish won their first four matches before tasting defeat. MWA fell 40-23, Mosers Mat Club 55-9, MPR 53-8, and Team Nauman WC Funky 49-9. New Jersey based Revival Knights downed TDF, 41-15.
Once in the Silver Pool TDF won their quarter final showdown with Pennsylvania’s Mat Assasins, 34-26, then fell in the semis to Kraken Bue, 33-24, but went on to win the consolation final over Team Nauman WC Pink, 35-23.
Team Diamond Fish had two out of state wrestlers on their roster, Virginia’s Vince Von Bernewitz (102) and Pennsylvania’s Erik Carlile (128), both of those grapplers posted 7-1 records. Marylanders posting 7-1 records were Stephen Decatur’s Elijah Collick (122) and St. Mary’s Ryken’s Evan Gavin (287). Collick’s loss was to New Jersey’s Johnathon McGinty, 7-0.
6-2 records were put in the books by Ryken’s Eli Gabrielson (115), Bullis’ Noah Tucker (162), and Bishop McNamara’s Rhonin Swenson (174).
Gabrielson picked up two big wins at the duals, pocketing a 4-3 one of New Jersey’s Charlie Esposito who was an Honorable Mention wrestler at 106lbs in Scorebook Live’s National Rankings. Gabrielson’s other big win came over West Virginia’s Pepper Martin. 12-10. Martin beat Gabrielson’s teammate Ethan Valdisera, 5-2, in Silver Pool action.
Tucker went undefeated in Pool F, including a big win over New Jersey’s Gavin Hawk, 6-3. In the Silver Pool, Tucker was tripped up by National Prep Champ and national No. 9, Anthony Evanitsky (PA) and another PA wrestler, Jon Smith.
Swenson lost once in each pool to nationally renowned wrestlers, New Jersey’s No. 9 Jordan Chapman and Pennsylvania’s Blake Hostetter.
Northeast’s Beau Schmidt (154) was 4-4, going 4-1 in the initial pool and then 0-3 in the final pool. Schmidt pinned Pennsylvania’s Pat Woloshyn and one of his losses was by a 2-0 score to former Fargo placer Luke Geleta (New Jersey). Charlie Mutschler also posted a 4-4 record.
Loyola’s Josh Hale was 3-5 for TDF. Schmidt’s squadron mate at Northeast, Rex Graves, went 3-1 in limited action.
Sly Fox WC went the same route as TDF, winning their first four in Pool C and falling in their last match. A 48-19 win over Mat Assassins Gray was followed by a closer win over Kraken Red, 33-24, Homegrown was handed a 36-26 defeat, and Revival Orange was blasted by a 51-16 score. Team Nauman WC Silver Fox ended their unblemished hope with a lopsided 55-9 count.
In the Silver Pool SFWC, dropped its quarter final match with Team Nauman WC Pink, 49-11. In the consolation bracket, they edged a team with some Marylanders, Superior Black, 30-29. In the fifth-place match, Sly Fox encountered the Mat Assassins and dropped that match, 37-21.
St. Mary’s Ryken’s nationally ranked Evan Boblits (147), who will be attending the Naval Academy, was 4-0 in Pool C action but did not wrestle after the first four matches. North County’s Elijah Boston was 7-1 for Sly Fox. Braidyn Taby (102) and Northern Calvert’s Drew Montgomery (140) were 6-2. Registering 5-3 records were two Huntingtown wrestlers, Owen Hayden (108) and Landen Vercoe (128), as well as Valdisera (115).
Montgomery beat South Carroll’s Evan Owen, 10-0. One of his two losses were to PA’s Camden Baum (No. 11 at 138 in the country). Vercoe lost to two Pennsylvania standouts, Liam Lawler and Mason Whitney. Valdisera’s other losses after Martin were also to PA grapplers, Zane Crouse and CJ Caines. Caines also handed Gabrielson a loss.
Ryken’s Will Buckler was 4-4 for Sly Fox with a loss to Evanitsky and a national Honorable Mention PA wrestler, Gage Wentzel. Blake Ashley (Huntingtown, 174) and Jacen McLeod (Leonardtown, 191) were 3-5.
Superior Black had six Maryland wrestlers that we are going to point out mixed in with others from New York, Alabama, and Ohio. They finished second in Pool H but did so with a 3-2 tally. One of their losses was to Revival Black, 34-29, but they beat Gold Medal WC, 42-18, in their first match and Gold Medal eventually beat Revival Black, 44-25.
SB’s other wins in Pool H came against Team Nauman WC Blue, 63-3, and Berks Catholic, 41-23. Theri second loss was to Killa Bees, 35-24. In the Silver Pool they lost two straight to be eliminated. In the quarters, Malvern WC beat them 50-6 and they then lost to Sly Fox.
Marylanders leading the way with records of 6-1 for Superior Black were National Honorable Mention JoJo Gigliotti (South Carroll, 147), who recently committed to wrestling collegiately at the University of Maryland, Boonsboro’s Tanner Halling (134), Centennial’s Calvin Kraisser (154), and Loyola’s Luke Randazzo (287).
Gigliotti’s sole loss came to New Jersey’s Jake Zaltsman. Halling fell to Malvern Prep’s Jason Torres and beat New Jersey’s Gino Schinina, 4-1 OT. Kraisser beat Tyler Hayden and fell to Malvern’s Raymond Fitzgerald. Randazzo pinned Boston and also fell to a Malvern grappler, Lukas Zaolta, who placed at National Preps.
Two South Carroll wrestlers were 4-3, Evan Owen (140) and Landon Hamper (191). Owen beat Malvern’s Leo Pezone. One of his other losses was to nationally ranked Patrick O’Keefe of New Jersey. Hamper beat McLeod. Two of his losses were to Malvern’s National Prep placer Stosh Zalota and the No. 1 190lber in the nation New Jersey’s Harvey Ludington.
Other notable matches from the Sly Fox versus Superior Black were these from Sly Fox – Braidyn Taby pinned New York’s Mateo Walsh in 2:27, Owen Hayden blanked Cameron Smith (who it seems was from Ohio?), 4-0, Valdisera won a tight one, 4-2, with New York’s Connor Guffey. Vercoe also slayed a New York foe, Braiden Salter, 9-5 in OT. Buckler beat Hutch Hutchinson by tech fall, 19-4.
Bullis’ Salah Tsarni, who is ranked 18th at 165 nationally, wrestled at 174 here for Team Shutt Tyler Cook. His squad finished second overall and Tsarni put up a 7-1 tally across both pools with his only blemish coming to Chapman, 7-5.
We mentioned Sly Fox WC Gray and Outsiders in the beginning, we close by circling back to them. Two of SFWCG’s losses were of the shutout variety in their initial pool. Their lone win came over Empire Wrestling Academy Gold, 39-23.
Picking up wins in that affair were Logan Worth (102), Eli Harrigan (108), South River’s Jackson Peeples (115), James Wright of Mt St. Joseph (128), St. Frances’ Isisah Womack (147), another two more Seahawks, Ben Ford (174) and Chris Millard (191). In the 63-6 loss to Grit Mat Club, Womack and Hayden Tyree (Northern Calvert, 162) picked up the wins. Millard received a forfeit in the 56-6 loss to Revival Red.
Sly Fox WC Gray began their work in the Zinc Pool with a win over PA Alliance Blue, 34-29, then lost to Mat Assassins Gray, 54-9, before defeating Outsiders, 36-26, in the third-place match.
Wins in the PA Alliance match were obtained by Worth, Trent Shipley (122), Wright, Raymond DiSilvestre IV (134), Womack, Luke Thurston (Southern-AA, 154), and Millard. Harrigan and Womack were the only winners in the Mat Assassins dual.
In SFWCG’s win over Outsiders, Worth pinned Samora Wolokolie in 2:28, Shipley decked Kenwood’s Luca Blythe in 48 seconds, Wright took 2:27 to flatten Brendan Tobin, Womack came back from a 6-1 deficit to pin Nikolai Chervak (Harford Tech), 3:59.
Outsiders claiming wins in that showdown were Sparrows Point’s Brandon Wunder with a 16-1 tech of Harrington, Harford Tech’s Zaden Tablan downed Peeples, 11-7, Chase Ullman (Eastern Tech) won by fall in 2:09 over Jameson Gerrity (South River), Hayden Laney pinned Elvis Kressley (Southern-AA) in 2:23, and C. Milton Wright’s Devin Sweeney also won by fall, 4:26, over Tyree.
Outsiders lost to Berks Catholic 52-16 in a semi-final match after beating Prime Wrestling Club, 37-15, in the quarters. Kelly Bryant (287), Laney, and Wunder won their matches with Berks Catholic. Blythe, Bryant, Chervak, Sweeney, Tobin, Wolokolie, and Wunder were winners in the Prime encounter.
Blythe, Bryant, Chervak, Laney, Sweeney, Tablan, Tobin, Wolokolie, and Wunder helped propel Outsiders to their win over Team 302 Batman, 48-24, in their only Pool D win.
They were blanked by 4M, lost to Scorpions, 61-3, fell to Matt Assassins, 63-12, and suffered a 46-15 defeat at the hands of PA Alliance Red.
Interestingly, the wins in all of these matches were obtained by different wrestlers. Versus PA Laney, Tablan, and Wolokolie got the wins. Bryant and Chervak got their hands raised in the Assassins match. Sweeney was the sole victor in the tangle with Scorpions.
Box Scores for the two Md vs. MD matches. All results are on Flo Arena:
Sly Fox Wrestling Club 30, Superior Black 29
102-Braidyn Taby (SF) pinned Mateo Walsh, 2:27
108-Owen Hayden (SF) dec Cameron Smith, 4-0
115-Ethan Valdisera (SF) dec Connor Guffey, 4-2
122-Austin Langis (SF) won by forfeit
128-Landen Vercoe (SF) dec Braiden Salter, 9-5 SV OT
134-Tanner Halling (SB) tech fall Evan Scott, 15-0
140-Drew Montgomery (SF) maj dec Evan Owen, 10-0
147-JoJo Gigliotti (SB) won by forfeit
154- Calvin Kraisser (SB) pinned Tyler Hayden, 2:10
162-Will Buckler (SF) tech fall Hutch Hutchinson, 19-4
174-Charlie Buttiker (SB) dec Blake Ashley, 6-2
191-Landon Hamper (SB) dec Jacen McLeod, 7-6
287-Luke Randazzo (SB) pinned Elijah Boston, 2:08
Sly Fox Wrestling Club Gray 36, Outsiders 26
102-Logan Worth (SF) pinned Samora Wolokolie, 2:28
108-Brandon Wunder (OUT) tech fall Eli Harrigan, 16-1
115-Zaden Tablan (OUT) dec Jackson Peeples, 11-7
122-Trent Shipley (SF) pinned Luca Blythe, :48
128-James Wright (SF) pinned Brendan Tobin, 2:47
134-Raymond DiSilvestre IV (SF) won by forfeit
140-Chase Ullman (OUT) pinned Jameson Gerrity, 2:09
147-Isisah Womack (SF) pinned Nikolai Chervak, 3:59
154-Hayden Laney (OUT) pinned Elvis Kressley, 2:23
162-Devin Sweeney (OUT) pinned Hayden Tyree, 4:26
191-Charlie Millard (SF) won by forfeit
***174 and 287 did not appear in the box score on Flo Arena***