Winter sports
Glenelg dominates in 4A-3A East wrestling
Oakland Mills wins 2A-1A South; C.M. Wright girls take Harford Co. swim title
On the biggest stage of the season so far, the Glenelg wrestling team stepped up to the challenge and put the Class 4A-3A East region on notice.
The Gladiators, competing in one of the toughest regions in the state, made their trek to Saturday's state duals look easy, as they dominated Bel Air, 42-28, and South River, 37-33, to win the region dual title for the second straight season.
“It's real satisfying,” Glenelg coach Matt Bichner said. “We graduated seven guys from last year's team, we were fortunate enough to get a few transfers in who have been big differences, but it just shows we're headed in the right direction. Guys are buying into the system and working hard, pushing themselves these last couple weeks and months.”
Though the final scores were close, both victories were decisive. The Gladiators led the Bobcats 39-10 before forfeiting three of the last four matches, and against the Seahawks they held a 37-9 lead before forfeiting the final four bouts.
South River coach John Klessinger said Glenelg was a better team than he anticipated.
“They're good. They're probably better than I thought. I think we could've been better,” said Klessinger, whose team held off Broadneck, 33-29, in the other semifinal. “I'm not making excuses — they were definitely the better team — but if we wrestled our best maybe it would be a more competitive match. But right now they have more horses. Their weak weights are still pretty good, and that's the difference.”
Both teams won two matches in the first four bouts to make it 9-9, but Glenelg's relentless lineup hit its stride after Drew Sotka won a 5-4 decision over the Seahawks' Trenton Puccinelli at 138 pounds. His victory sparked a run during which the Gladiators won six straight matches, including three by fall and another by major decision, to put the match out of reach with four matches remaining.
“I knew what my team needed, and I definitely went out there with the mindset of having to pull through for the team,” Johnson said. “That's always my ultimate goal for the team. Not just to get the win and three points, but to get the pin.”
Aaron Smith recorded an 8-5 decision in the dual's final bout to make the final score 39-30.
Southern Garrett junior Alec Horner pinned South Carroll sophomore Joey Judson at 160 pounds in 1:00, lifting the Rams to a 39-36 victory over the Cavaliers in the region dual-meet semifinal at Middletown in Frederick County.
Southern Garrett coach Dave Taylor bumped Horner up from 152, and he got the result he wanted.
“It was a good move and one I have been thinking about for a couple of days,” he explained. “I knew the last match would decide it. We were going for the pin and our kid is a pinner.”
South Carroll is a regular in the 2A-1A West Region dual-meet semifinal under coach Bryan Hamper, but it was the first time the Cavaliers lost in that round. They advanced to the final four times and the state semifinals once.
“I was pleased with what I saw from my team tonight,” Hamper said. “We wrestled pretty good, and we had the effort we needed, but I believe if we had a full lineup, the match would have went the other way.”
Senior Tyler Harbison (145, 33-5, 20 pins) sat out the match because he was sick.
Girls swimming
The Mustangs also won their ninth combined team title with 646 points. Patterson Mill was second with 582, and Bel Air third with 567.
The CMW foursome of Julia Walsh, Logan Kosar, Asha Minott and Lauren Rutherford swam 3:57.39 to seal the win.
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