In this classic North vs. South battle, there is no Union or Confederacy, just two wrestlers from Carroll County who are battling for the same thing; a 125-pound state title.
Twice in the 2011 post-season, South Carroll’s Chris Wampler has gone head-to-head with North Carroll’s Micah Haas, and each wrestler was left the mat victorious over the other. But it is state finals time, and only one will hold a winning record over the other.
“I’ve wrestled Micah three times this year, I beat him in county finals, 4-2, and lost to him in the region finals,” Wampler said.
In both his win and loss, Wampler credits his action from the neutral position as his success and failure, as he scored a majority of his points from neutral in the county finals, but failed to shoot in the regions.
“That was the difference in my mind,” Wampler said. “I wasn’t shooting, and that made the match.
“It was my first loss and painful, but now I know the feeling and that I don’t want to feel it again. Especially in the state finals.”
One thing is for sure, Wampler’s skills were leading him down the successful path, this weekend, helping the South Carroll senior defeat Rising Sun’s Adam Hefflefinger in the semifinals.
“He took me down lat year to start off with a dump, and he went right back to it,” Wampler remembered from the two wrestlers’ 2010 consolation finals. “After I escaped, the low single was there. I saw it and I took it.”
In a rematch of last year’s consolation finals, Wampler extended his winning margin to a major decision, 9-0, over Hefflefinger, breaking a scoreless first period with six-points in the second before cruising to the win.
“I’ve been hitting that low-leg single to a turk all year, and I got three backs,” Wampler explained. “I didn’t hear the ref counting, so I wasn’t sure that I got the points.”
The MPSSAA State Finals are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., in the Cole Field House at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Saturday, March 5 Schedule
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Consolation Finals (4 mats)
3rd & 4th place / 5th & 6th place
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Championship Finals (2 mats)
