Sparrows Point Fourth at Baltimore County Tournament

Sparrows Point's senior heavyweight Drew Clark knew his team needed a pin going into his Baltimore County Championship finals match against Jonathan Finnerty of Towson. Sparrows Point sat just behind Franklin in the team score.

“If Drew can get a pin,” said assistant coach Tom Free before the match, “we will overtake Franklin and take fourth.”

Finnerty had bested Clark last season in this very tournament, but Clark had gotten the better of Finnerty earlier this season. The two wrestlers worked out together over the summer at Mad Cats Mat Club in Pikesville. In the latest Maryland State Wrestling Association rankings,  Clark is No. 9, and Finnerty, No. 28.

“Drew has experience, but Finnerty is very strong," said Steve Jacovsky, founder and head coach of the Pikesville-based Mad Cats wrestling club before the matchup. "He is a big boy who looks strong, but he is stronger than he looks and he has a lot of heart. He really comes after you. Drew is smooth and quick, a heavyweight that wrestles like a lightweight.”

Clark delivered for his coaches and teammates early in the third period when he turned Finnerty with a brute strength arm bar and held the Towson grappler flat on his back for the pin.

“Going into the season my goals were to get my 100th win, win a county title, a regional title and a state title,” said Clark. “I can check the first two off my list but I still have a long way to go.”

The two will probably face off against each other this week in practice as the teams will hold a combined practice at Towson's facility, but a rematch on the mat is impossible as Sparrows Point is the  1A/2A region and state bracket and Towson is a 3A/4A school.

Traditional state wrestling power Owings Mills won the team title with 234.5, followed by Hereford and Perry Hall, with 157.5 and 150.5 points, respectively. Eastern Tech finished 12th, lower than expected, after two seeded wrestlers failed to make weight.

Four other wrestlers placed for the Pointers. Cody Lewis (119), Teddy Cadd (130) and Shane Hammer (140) lost in the consolation finals and placed fourth, while James Krug (189) managed to win all his consolation matches en route to a third place finish.

Patapsco scored one point in the tournament and Dundalk failed to win a match.

Cody Lewis joined classmate Clark and coach Free in the Sparrows Point 100-win club with a win over Brett Evans from Towson.

Perry Hall got the partisan crowd rocking early in the finals Saturday night, when Gator Zeke Salvo (103), ranked 18th by the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA), earned a 9-1 major decision over Hereford's Anthony Genco.

In a show of sportsmanship commonplace in wrestling, but unusual in other sports, Salvo and Genco—after facing off against each other in the ring—sat next to each other laughing and joking as they watched the rest of the tournament.

“I was kind of intimidated going into it,” said Genco as he and Salvo gave a combined interview. "We've wrestled each other in junior league and he has kicked my but every time. Second isn't bad.”

Salvo added:  “Genco here is a young, physical wrestler who really works hard. We will see each other a lot over the next couple of years. Winning a county championship was one of my goals going into the season. Now I want to win a regional and state title.”

Fellow Owings Mills wrestler Andrew Huber (215), joined Salvo as the only other Perry Hall champion when he caught Overlea's Steve Barner, ranked 13th by the MSWA, in a headlock. Huber threw Barner to his back, holding him there for the pin in just under one minute.

“It couldn't have happened to a nicer kid,” said Perry Hall coach Jake Roche. "No one works harder in the room than Andrew. I am very happy for him.”

Possibly the most exciting match of the night came when Perry Hall's Shaun Murphy, ranked 9th by the MSWA at 125, faced off against Hereford's unranked Matt Swiger. In the first period, a flurry of action saw Swiger put Murphy to his back early.

“I've never seen Shaun on his back,” commented Roche during the match.

Murphy fought off of his back, scored a reverse and two back points, but then Swiger reversed the hold, putting the Gator wrestler on his back again. Swiger held on to his lead by riding out Murphy in the final two periods and winning an 11-4 upset.

“That match was awesome,” said Hereford coach Ron Causcy. "He [Swiger] has been a great wrestler for us, and we can hope he makes some hay in the regions and the states.”

Other Perry Hall place winners included Jordan Rhudy, 6th at 112; Robin Paguia, 3rd at 145; and Patrick Clemons 4th at 171.

Place winners:

103

1st- Zeke Salvo (Perry Hall)  d. Anthony Genco (Hereford), 9-1
3rd- Devin Cherry (Dulaney) d. Holden Taylor (Franklin), 24-8
5th- Zach Shackelford (Pikesville) d. Sam Caravello (Eastern Tech), 6-4

112
1st- Warren Mack (Owings Mills) d. Sam Pellerito(Carver A&T), fall 4:24
3rd- Nick Montayne (Franklin) d. Nathan Gregory (Hereford), 7-6 overtime
5th- Jumul Noble (Pikesville) d. Jordan Rhudy (Perry Hall), 3-2

119
1st- Greg McCoy (Lansdowne) d. Evan Layrea (Milford Mill), fall 1:49
3rd- Patrick Hoffman (Dulaney) d. Cody Lewis (Sparrows Point), 8-2
5th- Tim Gunn (Hereford) d. Zach Shapiro (Owings Mills), default

125
1st- Matt Swiger (Hereford) d. Shaun Murphy (Perry Hall), 11-4
3rd- Mike Persinger (Dulaney) d. Adrienne Hazel (Owings Mills), 7-5
5th- Christian Vasquez (Lansdowne) d. Matt Yankosky (Franklin), 6-3

130
1st- Demetrius Johnson (Owings Mills) d. Nick Payne (Lansdowne), 6-3
3rd- Joe Ramsel (Hereford) d. Gurmail Singh (Dulaney), fall, 2:15
5th- Kolten Fodel (Eastern Tech) d. Nathan Kahla (Towson), 3-2

135
1st- Ryan McTeer (Dulaney) d. Travon Wright (Pikesville), 8-3
3rd- Hassan James (Towson) d. Teddy Cadd (Sparrows Point), fall 4:50
5th- Terrance Nickerson (Catonsville) d. Brandon Hoffman (Owings Mills), 3-2

140
1st- Jesse Garrett (Towson) d. Zaza Taruashvili (Owings Mills), 9-1
3rd- Robin Paguia (Perry Hall) d. Shane Hammer (Sparrows Point), 13-5
5th- Dustin Shackleford (Eastern Tech) d. Kyle Beard, defauly (Lansdowne)

145
1st- Taran Carr (Owings Mills) d. Ilya Usik (Eastern Tech), 12-1
3rd- Shane Blake (Franklin) d. Ramonte Wright (Towson), 2-1
5th- Ted Dennis (Hereford) d. Theo DiPace (Catonsville), default

152
1st- Kion Wright (Pikesville) d. Malik Jones (New Town), fall 1:45
3rd- Andrew Watson (Woodlawn) d. Lavon Pratt (Parkville), 7-1
5th- Tucker Lutz (Franklin) d. Josh Hylton (Catonsville), fall 2:36

160
1st- Zeke Elliott (Parkville) d. Larry Johnson (Owings Mills), 13-9
3rd- Charles Smith (Woodlawn) d. Richard Lee (Hereford), 6-3
5th- Mohamed Abdelmegid (Catonsville) d. Gary Clark (New Town), default

171
1st- Mohammed Ali (Owings Mills) d. Ignacio Munoz (Franklin), fall :47
3rd- Zach Myrick (Parkville) d. Patrick Clemons (Perry Hall), 7-2
5th- Wole Olugbemi (Western STES) d.Nathaniel Gale (Eastern Tech), default

189
1st- Tyler Weedon (Catonsville) d. Coleman Eldridge (Milford Mill), fall 1:07
3rd- James Krug (Sparrows Point) d. Joe Lusco (Parkville), fall :37
5th- Siraj Benu (Kenwood) d. Kenny Nunez (Owings Mills), 6-3 overtime

215
1st- Andrew Huber (Perry Hall) d. Steve Barner (Overlea), fall :59
3rd- Russelle Barnes (Owings Mills) d. Melvin Henry (Chesapeake-BC), fall 1:43
5th- Ryne Schanberger (Loch Raven) d. Steve Walters (Parkville), default

285
1st- Andrew Clark (Sparrows Point) d. Jonathan Finnerty (Towson), fall 4:18
3rd- Tim Ball (Hereford) d. Nick Newcomb (Overlea), 3-2
5th- Darius Carroll (Owings Mills) d. Josh Strother (Parkville), 2-0

FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Owings Mills 234.5; 2. Hereford 157.5; 3. Perry Hall 150.5; 4. Sparrows Point 105; 5. Franklin 103; 6. Dulaney 99.5; 7. Parkville 99; 8. Towson 98; 9. Catonsville 89; 10. Lansdowne 86; 11. Pikesville 82.5; 12. Eastern Tech 64; 13. Milford Mill 55; 14. Woodlawn 45; 15. Overlea 39; 16. New Town 34; 17. Loch Raven 25; 18. Chesapeake-BC 21; 19. Carver A&T 20; 20. Kenwood 17; 21. Western STES 15; 22. Randallstown 9.5; 23. Patapsco 1; 24. Dundalk 0