Arguably the hardest region in the state, the 1A/2A West was without an easy match, Wednesday, and there was a lot of bad blood circulating in the gym
Facing Southern Garrett earlier in the season in Harford County, the Winters Mill Falcons made their second seed possible with a hard earned victory over the rams. But now they had to do it again.
Paired with third seeded Southern Garrett, the Falcons split the number of wins in the regional semifinal at seven apiece, and topped their foes with one extra bonus point in the 35-34 final.
Teammates Flavio Valdez and Chase Cullison were able to manipulate key decisions at 103 and 160 for Winters Mill, but the bonus points from pinners Justin Kozera (285), Gunner Cullison (125), Keith Steine (135) and Cody Sharkey (140), tech fall winner Wes Cook (130) would ultimately decide the match.
Then came revenge.
Dropping a close meet to South Carroll just a few weeks ago, the Flacons met back with their foes in the tournament finals after the Cavs dispatched Williamsport, 43-25. But this time, Winters Mill would turn the tides and top South Carroll, 34-25.
Trailing South Carroll, 25-22, with two bouts to go, it was still anyone’s match to be won, but back to back falls by Brandon Burndley and Kozera sealed the comeback win for the Falcons, sending the team to Saturday’s State Duals.
Valdez and Logue each added falls to the Falcons score, while Steine notched a major next to decision winners Cook, Sharkey and Cullison for the point-total.
Winters Mill now enters Saturday’s State Duals to take on competitors and fellow Champions Owings Mills (North), Glenelg (South) and Rising Sunt (East) at Liganore High School.
1A-2A West
Finals: Winters Mill 34, South Carroll 25
103-Valdez (WM) pin Stipcak 0:28.
112-Logue (WM) pin Mullen 1:06.
119-Atwell (SC) m-dec. Chris Rose 10-2.
125-Wampler (SC) dec. G. Cullison 5-0.
130-Cook (WM) dec. Plumley 4-0.
135-Steine (WM) m-dec. Willingham 16-6.
140-Sharkey (WM) dec. Stavish 12-8.
145-Pooton (SC) pin Oxendine 0:45.
152-C. Cullison (WM) dec. Gaunt 4-2 OT.
160-Fung (SC) dec. Corbin 10-4.
171-Reiter (SC) dec. Marshal Chang 7-3.
189-Schmitz (SC) pin Ryan Hightower 3:29.
215-Brandon Burndley (WM) pin Joe Wright 3:29.
285-Kozera (WM) pin Bostic 0:57
Semifinal: Winters Mill 35, Southern Garrett 34
285-Justin Kozera (WM) pin Kevin Miller 0:58.
103-Flavio Valdez (WM) dec. Austin Shaffer 5-4.
112-Coy Ozias (S) pin Joel Goode 2:25.
119-Nick Stewart (S) dec. Taylor Logue 6-4 OT.
125-Gunner Cullison (WM) pin Gavin Murphy 5:01.
130-Wes Cook (WM) t-fall Sean Chapman 16-0 (5:27).
135-Keith Steine (WM) pin Dakota Pritt 2:21.
140-Cody Sharkey (WM) pin George Kimmel 2:43.
145-Mikey Skipper (S) dec. Arizona Oxendine 13-8.
152-Lex Ozias (S) pin Dylan Perry 2:40.
160-Chase Cullison (WM) dec. Dale Marple 5-2.
171-Scott Cooper (S) m-dec. Allen Corbin 18-6.
189-Bubba Scheffel (S) pin Zach Lefko 1:09.
215-Kameron Barnard (S) by forfeit.
Semifinal: South Carroll 43, Williamsport 25
285-Chauncey Bailey (W) dec. Jacob Bostic 6-4.
103-Bryan Davis (W) pin K.C. Stipcak 1:40.
112-Clinton Vance (W) m-dec. Michael Mullen 13-0.
119-Billy Atwell (SC) pin Josh Weyant 3:05.
125-Chris Wampler (SC) pin Killian Baker 4:34.
130-Sam Willingham (SC) m-dec. George Ardinger 10-2.
135-Collin Plumley (SC) pin Bobby Ardinger 5:58.
140-Alec Stavish (SC) dec. Kemper Baker 11-7.
145-Jake Pooton (SC) pin Eric Davis 5:03.
152-Zach Shoemaker (W) dec. John Gaunt 6-5.
160-Willie Reiter (SC) pin Jacob Cody 1:43.
171-Reggie Russ (W) dec. Derek Fung 9-5.
189-Steve Schmitz (SC) pin Jeff Sibert 0:23.
215-Matt Cody (W) by forfeit
