Baltimore area Wrestling Notebook: Week 2

Seniors Ben Travers (145) and Sam Ditmars (152) went undefeated last weekend to lead defending Class 4A state dual meet champion South River of Anne Aruncel County to the crown in the Warriors’ Duals at LaPlata High in Charles County.

Travis won eight bouts and Ditmars seven for the Seahawks, who went 8-0 overall to improve to 13-0 on the season. Travis is 12-1 on the year and Ditmars is 12-0.

Among the Seahawks’ victories was a 37-31 triumph over the North Point Eagles of Waldorf, Maryland, which had come off a victory over Baltimore County champion Sparrows Point at the previous weekend’s Scorpion Duals at Oakland Mills in Howard County.

Ditmars won a battle of returning state runners-up, 6-3, over the Eagles’ fifth-ranked Aiden Rivenburg. Travis’ lone loss of the year is by 8-6 decision to Meade’s Charles Jackson.

“Sam Ditmars is one of our captains. He just got accepted to the Naval Academy. Sam asked me if he could wrestle Rivenburg,” said 23rd-year John Klessinger, whose Seahawks have won five county tournaments and seven county dual meet titles.

“That’s the type of wrestler Sam is. He’s a top notch kid and a relentless worker. I’m glad he got the win. It was a pivotal match in the dual meet against North Point. Ben Travis went out and did what we expected. He knew we needed him and he responded with a fall.”

Going 7-1 for the Seahawks were freshmen Trent Shipley (106) and 16th-ranked junior Aiden Healey (195), the latter earning a 15-9 decision over the Eagles’ 13th-ranked William Gray. Shipley and Healey are 12-1.

Sophomore Busayo Balogun (220) went 6-1 to improve to 8-2, junior Zach Gliencke (170) went 5-1 to improve to move to 8-3, and seniors Alex Szkotnicki (120) and Ismael Tamayo (160) and junior Cole Peeples (113) all went 6-2. Szkotnicki and Peeples are 11-2 and Tamayo is 10-3.

“We had good performances from Trent Shipley, Zach Gliencke, Alex Szkotnicki, Busayo Balogun and Aidan Healey. Ditmars, Travis and Tamayo are the foundation of our team,” Klessinger said.

“They’re the only three left from a program that wrestled before Covid. I’m pleased with where we are as a team right now, but we’re pretty raw in some spots and we need to get better in all positions. We need to improve in order to get where we want to be.”

Match Results

SR 37 North Point 31

SR 60 Varina, VA 15

SR 54 King George, VA 28

SR 51 LaPlata 24

SR 60 Northern Calvert 19

SR 42 St. Marks, DE 36

SR 75 Lackey 6

SR 69 Frederick 12

Cavaliers’ Gage Owen earns 100th career victory

South Carroll’s senior two-time state champion Gage Owen (138) scored a first-period pin against his rival from Riverbend High in Fredericksburg, Va., to earn his 100th career victory as the Cavaliers captured last weekend’s nine-team Musselman High Duals Tournament title in Inwood, West Virginia.

“It was just another match, and I was honestly just enjoying the moment,” said the top-ranked Owen, who, along with the Cavaliers, went 8-0, each improving to 11-0 on the season.

“We wrestled well overall, but there are always improvements to be made. The captains ensure that we make the changes to get better each match going forward.”

Also going 8-0 to rise to 11-0 were senior two-time state champions were senior two-time state champions Mike Pizzuto (145) and A.J. Rodriguez (165), senior state runner-up Rylan Moose (190), freshman Joseph Gigliotti (126) and sophomore Manny Rodriguez (175).

South Carroll Results from The Musselman Duals

SC 58 Buchanon Upshur 18

SC 84 Hampshire 0

SC 57 Riverbend 21

SC 66 Millbrook 18

SC 63 Musselman 18

SC 58 Berkley Springs 18

SC 55 Linganore 18

SC 40 Spring Mills 36

Gators devouring competition

Perry Hall went 7-0 to win last weekend’s SSGT Cartwright Duals at Walkerville High of Prince George’s County, 6-2 at the previous weekend’s Aberdeen Duals, and enter Wednesday’s home 6 p.m. match with Mount Hebron with an overall record of 18-2.

Among the Gators’ leaders are freshman Justin Kavanagh (113) at 18-0, freshman Victor Marks-Jenkins (145) and junior Connor Chattin (138) at 20-0, returning captain Eric Kopalchick (152) at 19-1, junior Daniel Moore (182) at 18-1, and senior captain Adam Fangman (160) is 16-3.

A former junior league champion, Kavanagh’s victories have all been registered by either pin, technical fall or major decision, and Marks-Jenkins “hasn’t been out of the second period yet,” according to third-year coach Doug Yoakum.

Chattin was fourth at regions last year, Kopalchick is headed for York College on an academic scholarship, and Moore is a returning Class 4A North Region champ and an All-County football linebacker. Junior Joe Cook (285) “is up from the junior varsity and has won 15 matches, Yoakum said.

Sophomore Sean McGarry (132) and Senior Jayden Bailey (170) return from last year’s squad and “bring some stability and consistency to the team.” Yoakum said.

Perry Hall has two girls who are “making noise at the varsity level,” Yoakum said. They are girls state champ and sophomore Alaina Kopalchick (120) and fourth-place girls state tournament finishing senior Rachael Wheatley (126).

Wrestling against co-ed competition, Kopalchick is 13-5 and Wheatley is 13-6. Another female wrestler who has cracked the lineup is freshman Amira Zakaria (115)

Yoakum has recruited several newcomers to the squad in freshmen Korey Mason (132), Jordan Young (195) and Ayden Mccain (195), sophomores Hegan Chantayal (106), Jake Taglieferro (160) and Travis Tudor (220) and junior John Peregoy (170).

Eagles capture Kent County Tourney

Northeast crowned Brook Smith (126), Beau Schmidt (132), Scott Anderson (182) and Dave Fish (195) to eclipse runner-up Queen Anne’s of Queen Anne’s County for the title in last weekend’s Kent County Holiday Tournament.

Ayden Dyke (145), Scott Czyz (152) and Anthony Mrozek (285) placed second, and Sophia Hodges (113) and Dylan Fish (160) were third as the Eagles (433 points) edged the Lions (428.5).

Schmidt, a freshman, handled Kent County’s Scott Ford by fall in 3:36 of his title bout, improving to 12-0 for the season. Among the other victories for Schmidt was a 20-5 technical fall over North East of Cecil County’s Mason Boyd, a sixth-place finisher at last year’s Class 2A-1A state tournament.

Smith’s fall in 1:47 of his title bout secured victory over North East’s Kameron Shank as he improved his record to 11-4, Anderson rose to 10-2 on the year with a fall in 2:29 over Archbishop Curley’s Matt Thurman, and Fish improved his record to 6-1 by pinning Kent County’s Chris Schauber in 5:56.

Dyke lost his title bout, 8-2, to North Harford of Harford County’s Cruz Cespedes (145), who improved to 14-2, and Mrozek by fall in 1:40 to North Harford’s Clay Lawrence (285, who rose to 15-1.

St. Frances wins at William Penn

LaDaynean Simpson (150) and fifth-ranked Camren Wright (215) earned individual titles as St. Frances Academy of Baltimore City won last weekend’s 40-team Howdy Duncan Classic at William Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware.

Runners-up were Jayson Wright (138), Chase Carpintieri (157) and Douglas Johnson (190) as the Panthers totaled 211 points compared to the host school’s runner-up 192 points in an event featuring teams from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.A transfer from Perry Hall of Baltimore County, Wright was a third-place finisher at last year’s Class 4A-3A state tournament. Finishing third were Kamren Griffin (120), Derrick Grant (175) and James Carrington (285).

John Carroll’s Ian Moccia (157) pinned Carpintieri in the finals.