Bel Air wrestlers win four titles at Class 3A North Region tournament

Feb. 27—Bel Air wrestlers won four region titles Saturday, leading the Class 3A North region tournament contested at Aberdeen High School.

This year's tournament, different from years past, guaranteed the top two finishers per weight class, entry into next week's Maryland state wrestling tournament to be held Thursday through Saturday at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.

Bel Air's titles came in the coed tournament, while six additional titles were won by females. Combined, Poly wrestlers claimed four titles, while Towson won a combined three. Woodlawn won three coed titles, while Edgewood won two. Kenwood and Franklin won a coed title each, while Aberdeen and Digital Harbor each won a female title.

Edgewood's wins came in the first two contested weight classes. Senior Jonathan Booker won the 113-pound title with a 3-2 decision over Kenwood's Kelly Bailey.

Booker led 3-0 into the third period. Bailey (34-5) scored an escape point and Booker (20-9) gave up a point late for stalling, but he held on for the win.

Teammate Matt Oliver, a senior, followed with a second-period pin at 120 pounds over Bel Air's Austin Bacot. Oliver (20-9), who failed to place in last week's UCBAC tournament after missing weight, bounced back nicely.

"I was two pounds over this morning, somehow, so I was running at 5 a.m.," Oliver said. "I got down eventually, barely made it. It's for sure frustrating, but it does pay off. Previous years I was an alternate, this year it's for real now, so a much better feeling."

Gavin McDowell (34-1) won Bel Air's first contested title at 132 pounds. Teammate Cole Bursk, a freshman, was the only wrestler in the 106-pound bracket.

McDowell, a junior, won fairly easily, winning a 17-5 major decision over Aberdeen freshman Chase Lineberry (24-13). McDowell nearly pinned Lineberry with a first-period cradle, but Lineberry fought it off and lasted the whole six minutes.

"Last week, I took my first loss of the season, so today I felt like I had to get some sort of redemption," McDowell said." Freshman year I came here and took third, I lost my semifinal match. It feels great now, definitely got my redemption that I've wanted for several years."

Chris Nice and Daniel Cross added the other two Bel Air wins. Nice (27-4) battled Towson's Noah Richard (23-5) in the 138 final. Nice scored a pin at the 3:00 mark.

Cross (26-3) worked hard for a pin at 152 against Poly's Bashiru Soko (26-5), but it never happened. Cross, though, was dominant and in control. A reverse to near fall in period two and a takedown to another near fall in period three gave Cross a 10-0 major decision.

Woodlawn's unbeaten junior Ky-el Ali (21-0) won the 126-pound title. Ali used five takedowns and a pair of back points to win a 12-4 major decision over Bel Air's Manny Lucas (32-4).

Woodlawn's other two champs also beat Bel Air opponents in the finals. At 195, Justin Briscoe (20-0) wasted little time with Cade Zengel (30-5), scoring a pin in 1:36.

In the 220 final, Woodlawn's Oluwademil Omopariola (24-2) led 5-0 into the second period over Ian Nitz (26-9) before pinning him at the 2:31 mark.

Poly's two wins came in back-to-back matches and with first-period falls. At 160, junior Sorenson Wynn (25-3) pinned Bel Air's Taran Johnson (24-9) in 1:15.

"Two high drops, back-to-back, first-period pin, it couldn't have gone better," Wynn said. "It wasn't what I was looking for, I was ready for a full six, but I found an opportunity to make it quick and I capitalized on that, so definitely happy."

Senior Sean Banks (24-3) followed and he, too, made quick work in the 170 final. Banks took Franklin's Chino Chika (31-2) down and pinned him in 1:57.

Franklin did get a champion at 182 pounds. Senior Vaughn Everette (20-5) pinned Kenwood's Trevor Campbell (33-7) in 3:12.

Kenwood's lone title came at 145 pounds with Marc Taylor (32-3) earning an 11-3 major decision over Bel Air's Graden Hughes (27-7). Five takedowns and an escape point had Taylor in control throughout.

Towson's Garrett Mackenzie (19-11) won the 285-pound title by pin over Bel Air's Jasanveer Aulahk (26-9) in 2:44.

Aulahk was ahead 1-0 on a penalty point (locked hands), before Mackenzie caught him and pinned him with a cradle.

Kellenberger leads girls

Towson junior Allison Kellenberger won the only female contested title bout. Kellenberger won an 8-4 decision over Trinidy Wilson, a senior from Poly, for the 130-pound title.

Wilson scored an early takedown, but Kellenberger escaped and took Wilson down for a 3-2 lead. Kellenberger added another escape and takedown period two for a 6-2 lead.

She also scored a takedown early in the third period, but in an attempt to turn Wilson, Kellenberger gave up two points with an illegal hold (full nelson).

"Never been to counties or regionals before, so this is really cool," Kellenberger said. "What I was doing is called a sprawl. She was being aggressive and shooting a lot on me and my coaches told me to look out, she is going to continue to shoot on me. I don't know too much about states, I've never been, but I'm really excited."

Other female champions crowned were Poly's Hannah Breitmyer, 115 pounds; Aberdeen's Ada Gorman, 135; Poly's Evelyn Bachman, 140; Towson's Maddie Mackenzie, 155; and Digital Harbor's Sukanya Stoute, 235.