Host Mount Saint Joseph scored 319 points to win the 15th annual Mount Mat Madness wrestling tournament Saturday afternoon for the second straight year.

The Gaels crowned four champions — Chris Barnabae (120 pounds), Clement Woods (126), Nathan Porter (132) and Isaac Righter (285) — and Centennial senior Jason Kraisser (152) and won for the second consecutive year and was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

Buford (206 points), the two-time defending Georgia state champions, Pennsylvania’s Westmont Hilltop (173), Loyola Blakefield (146) and Virginia’s Liberty (141) rounded out the top five teams.

Mount Saint Joseph coach Harry Barnabae said he was concerned about a letdown following the team’s breakthrough performance last weekend at the notorious Beast of the East tournament in Delaware, where the Gaels placed fourth, “but it didn’t happen.”

“They were focused even with a couple kids out,” Harry Barnabae said. “Everybody on the team placed. The effort overall from the team after going through the grind is really important.”

Kraisser’s victory was the headlining event of the tournament and the final match of the day. The three-time Maryland state champion squared off against Charlie Darracott, a two-time Georgia state champion and a NHSCA junior All-American, and the match lived up to the hype.

Darracott earned the first takedown and held a 2-1 lead going into the second period, but Kraisser tied the score at two with an escape in the second and then picked up two more takedowns in the period to hold a 6-3 lead entering the final period. A reversal for Darracott cut Kraisser’s lead to one, but another escape and a takedown gave Kraisser a 9-5 victory.

Kraisser, whose only four losses in his high school career came at Mount Mat Madness during his freshman and sophomore seasons, said he was chomping at the bit to face another high-level competitor after Centennial was barred from attending the Walsh Jesuit Ironman tournament earlier this month.

“I was excited. I went in thinking this was a good challenge for me,” said Kraisser, who reached the final with three pins and remains undefeated on the season. “Not being able to go to Ironman this year was really upsetting but having a good competitor here almost made up for it.”

Chris Barnabae, who was last year’s most outstanding wrestler at the tournament, won his second Mount Mat Madness title as well. He turned a close match into a comfortable lead with a commanding and physical finish and beat St. Mary’s Ryken freshman Evan Eldridge, 10-3.

Sparrows Point wins South River Invitational: When Ben Robertson got a good grip on Gage Carr, it seemed like South River might actually be able to bring down Sparrows Point. When Robertson pinned him, it seemed almost guaranteed.

But the Pointers had two aces up their sleeves in Richard and Danny Davis, who together tied the Seahawks to pull ahead and emerge victorious, 39-36. Even though there was still another two matches for each of the teams to battle through, Sparrows Point had effectively secured the crown.

“It’s always a battle with South River. They know us very well, we know them very well, and they’re always watching,” Sparrows Point coach Mike Whisner said. “Last year they got us by six – we knew it was going to be a battle.”

The Pointers went a perfect 9-0 to finish first of 10 in the South River Invitational – their second trophy at South River in three years. The Seahawks (8-1 in the tournament) claimed silver while Kent Island (6-3) took the bronze, having edged out Huntingtown (6-3) for the spot by besting them in their head-to-head.

Sparrows Point boasted four individual winners: Wayne Brooks (113), Richard Davis (126), Luke Hoenig (138) and Jake Rallo (170).

South River winners were: Mason Smith (106), Isaac Barber (120) and Trenton Puccinelli (160).

— Katherine Fominykh,

Baltimore Sun Media Group

Boys basketball

Miller (Va.) 48, No 1 Mount Saint Joseph 45: The Mavericks (12-1) led 24-18 at the half and beat the Gaels (12-2) in the championship of the Benedictine Capital City Classic in Richmond. Miller beat No. 15 Gerstell, 61-32, Friday to advance to the title game.

Bella Vista (Ariz.) 55, No. 2 St. Frances 46: Addison Patterson had 17 points and 10 rebounds and the Bears became the first team from Arizona to win the National Title game of the Chick-fil-A Classic in Columbia, S.C., in the tournament’s 17-year history. Carlos Alexander led the Panthers (14-3) with nine points. St. Frances trailed 23-22 in the first half. Bella Vista beat nationally-ranked Sunrise Christian (Kansas), 71-64, and the Panthers beat St. Benedict (N.J.), 53-44, to advance to the title game. St. Frances beat Memphis (Tenn.), 58-57, in the first round.

Maret (D.C.) 58, No. 6 Boys’ Latin 42: Yale-bound E.J. Jarvis had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Frogs (9-1) past the Lakers (15-3) at the Governor’s Challenge in Wicomico. Cameron Spencer had 14 points and Sam Grace had 10 points for Boys’ Latin.

Winston Churchill 65, Hammond 64: The Bears (6-2) lost on a buzzer-beater to the Bulldogs (5-2) at the Governor’s Challenge in Wicomico. Jaylen Wiggins and Micah Henry both finished with a game-high 21 points.

Girls basketball

No. 9 Chesapeake-AA 54, Atholton 31: Haley Downin had 14 points and Corinne Castle had 13 points to lead the Cougars (7-1) past the Raiders (2-6) in the championship of the All About the Girls Holiday Showcase at Wise.

ARCHBISHOP SPALDING 59, AACS 41: Ryann Evans of Archbishop Spalding was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Annapolis Area Christian School Christmas Classic after leading her team to a victory over AACS in the championship game on Saturday.

Brelynn Young was also named to the All-Tournament Team for the Cavaliers, who outscored the Eagles by 20 points in the second half after trailing by two at halftime. Morgan DeBeary led AACS on Saturday with 20 points, 10 steals and five rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament team, while teammate Reniyah Ross, who had seven points on Saturday, was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

SEVERNA PARK 43, NORTHERN 23: Julia Ryan scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Falcons on Saturday in a consolation game at the AACS Tournament. Rachel Spilker followed with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals and Lena McLaughlin grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds to go with her six points for the Falcons.

Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.