St. Mary’s-Ryken ran away with the team title this weekend as the 2022-23 high school wrestling season got underway with the 49th Annual Ray Oliver Tournament at the McDonogh School. So, there was no team race drama on the mind of Loyola’s Judah Aybar’s when he stepped on the mat to face the state’s top ranked 144lber, Clayton Gabrielson (St. Mary’s-Ryken).
It allowed Aybar (No. 3 in the MSWA’s preseason rankings) to wrestle freely and that approach comes in handy when facing an opponent as sly and unpredictable as Gabrielson. Aybar was the one who hit pay dirt on a big move in the first half of the match. Gabrielson battled back, but in the end fell to the Don, 5-3.
“(I) wanted to stay safe and wrestle smart,” Aybar said. “I was easy on my scrambles trying to keep my back out of danger, stay in good position and it paid off. I got to catch him in a bad position. I was a little bit tired (going into the third period) so I had to wrestle smart.
“I knew he was going to get up to his feet, so I was ready to work neutral. I started shooting, kept him on defense. He was pretty tired too; he could barely even stand. But I tried to keep pushing and ended up coming out on top.”
Aybar was joined in the finals by teammates Cayden Farver (No. 9 at 113) and No. 3 Luke Randazzo (285). Both came up short in their title quests. No. 3 Chance Miller was fourth at 215lbs. No. 7 Brandyn Fish (120) rounded out Loyola’s place winners with his sixth place showing. Loyola ended the affair in seventh place with 121.5 points.
When a top five team in the state only places five competitors in a tournament, that tells you the nature of the beast that this gauntlet was.
Gilman, another top team in Maryland, was the fifth-place squad, posting 130.5 points. Like the Dons, the Greyhounds pushed three grapplers to the finals, and walked away with a lone champion, No. 2 Tyson Sherlock (132).
Sherlock had a showdown with the nationally renowned Luke Poore of the Caravel Academy in Delaware. It was a rematch of last year’s 126lb final where Poore blanked Sherlock, 2-0.
Things would go differently this time in a battle that saw two leg riders control their opponents from the top position, ending regulation tied with goose eggs on the board. After the initial round of overtime, the scoreless tie still stood. Sherlock won the coin toss and rode Poore out to capture the crown.
“I lost to him last year in the finals here,” said Sherlock. “Obviously, I knew it was going to be a tough match. My conditioning is really good. I’ve been working this offseason into the season. I won the (overtime) toss. I picked top. We’re both leg riders, both good on top, and I was able to ride him out for the win.”
Tyson’s brother, Emmitt (No. 4) was second at 138 as was Gabriel Smith (No. 5 at 165) at 175. Three unranked wrestlers reached the podium for Gilman, Nick Haughey (5th at 165), Allan Gushue (6th at 57), and Wesley Selba (6th at 215). At 126, Zac Glory (No. 4 at 120) placed eighth.
Calvert Hall’s tenth place showing was paced by four placers. No. 11 Sisto Averno III was 4th at 175, No. 9 Duncan Kammar (190) and Maxwell Garland (285) were both fifth place finishers, Griffin Stewart (7th at 132, ranked No. 5 at 120) were the Cardinals’ awardees.
St. Mary’s Ryken crowned five champions, No. 2 Tyler Wood (120), No. 2 Evan Boblits (126), No. 1 Mekhi Neal (150), Will Buckler (157, No. 6 at 165), and No. 1 Gerard Johnson (190). Johnson captured a state championship last year while wrestling at McDonogh.
Bullis’ Ellis Kirsch (113, No. 3 at 120) was the only other Maryland wrestler to capture a crown.
Second place St. Christopher’s from Virginia (194.5) had two champs, Cale Roggie (138) and Riley Finck (175).
Sussex Central from Delaware was third with 152 points and one champion, Malachi Stratton (106).
The other three event title winners were Tyler Haley (Cox, VA – 165), Tyler August (Delaware Military Academy, 215), and Brody Colbert (Paul VI, VA – 285).
Team Scores (Top 10)
1-St. Mary’s- Ryken 251.5
2-St. Christopher’s (VA) 194.5
3-Sussex Central (DE) 152
4-Delaware Military Academy (DE) 137
5-Gilman 130.5
6-Cox (VA) 126
7-Loyola 121.5
8-Caesar Rodney (DE) 118
9-Benedictine (VA) 97.5
10-Calvert Hall (87)
13-Archbishop Spalding 74.5
19-McDonogh (47)
106
1st Place Match
Malachi Stratton (Sussex Central) 53-4, So. over Austin Wood (St. Mary`s Ryken) 35-7, So. (Dec 4-1)
3rd Place Match
Caleb Haney (St. Christophers) 35-10, So. over Clif Bakhsh IV (Saint Marks) 25-14, Fr. (MD 9-0)
5th Place Match
Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding) 4-2, Fr. over Alex McEvoy (Caesar Rodney) 31-10, Sr. (Dec 9-4)
7th Place Match
Tyler Delcollo (Delaware Military Academy) 3-2, Fr. over Roc Zang (Archbishop Spalding) 2-3, So. (Fall 0:34)
113
1st Place Match
Ellis Kirsch (Bullis) 36-5, So. over Cayden Farver (Loyola-Blakefield) 27-17, So. (Fall 5:03)
3rd Place Match
Drew Roggie (St. Christophers) 4-1, Fr. over Henry Gessford (Archbishop Spalding) 3-2, So. (Fall 1:48)
5th Place Match
Sam Parsons (Benedictine) 23-7, So. over Cole Moffett (Caesar Rodney) 22-21, So. (Fall 3:22)
7th Place Match
Theo Shockey (Landon) 16-12, So. over Aiden Dougherty (Frank W. Cox) 4-4, So. (Fall 2:40)
120
1st Place Match
Tyler Wood (St. Mary`s Ryken) 39-9, Jr. over Eddie Radecki (Caravel Academy) 32-7, So. (Fall 0:41)
3rd Place Match
Jack Parker (St. Christophers) 35-12, Sr. over Chase Murray (Sussex Central) 31-15, Jr. (Fall 4:35)
5th Place Match
James Hanley (Landon) 30-12, Jr. over Bradyn Fish (Loyola-Blakefield) 25-11, Jr. (Fall 3:51)
7th Place Match
Nick Moore (Caesar Rodney) 4-2, Fr. over Wyatt Miller (Smyrna) 19-13, Sr. (Fall 2:17)
126
1st Place Match
Evan Boblits (St. Mary`s Ryken) 39-5, So. over Calvin Wiedemer (Alexandria City) 26-7, Sr. (Dec 5-1)
3rd Place Match
Vincent Paolucci (Archbishop Spalding) 22-2, Jr. over Trevor Copes (Caesar Rodney) 28-7, So. (Dec 3-0)
5th Place Match
Qwantez Watkins (Smyrna) 25-12, Sr. over Evan Cordrey (Sussex Central) 43-17, So. (Dec 8-3)
7th Place Match
Aaron Menickella (Saint Marks) 24-14, So. over Zach Glory (Gilman) 15-10, So. (Dec 3-2)
132
1st Place Match
Tyson Sherlock (Gilman) 27-4, Jr. over Luke Poore (Caravel Academy) 3-1, Sr. (UTB 1-0)
3rd Place Match
Brycen Arbogast (Benedictine) 35-8, Jr. over Rohan (RJ) Bucknor (Bullis) 25-6, So. (TF-1.5 1:32 (19-0))
5th Place Match
Keegan McMahon (Paul VI) 39-7, Sr. over Talan Savage (Sussex Central) 5-3, Jr. (Fall 1:22)
7th Place Match
Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall College) 37-11, So. over Nathan Moore (Caesar Rodney) 2-3, Fr. (Fall 2:11)
138
1st Place Match
Cale Roggie (St. Christophers) 43-4, Sr. over Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman) 25-7, So. (Dec 9-5)
3rd Place Match
Lane Foard (Benedictine) 32-6, So. over Josh Strong (St. Mary`s Ryken) 4-2, Jr. (Dec 4-1)
5th Place Match
Daniel WIlliams (Delaware Military Academy) 40-9, Sr. over Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding) 3-3, Fr. (Dec 9-3)
7th Place Match
Dylan Bennett (Caesar Rodney) 23-15, Jr. over Tyree Heath (Smyrna) 12-10, Sr. (Fall 4:35)
144
1st Place Match
Judah Aybar (Loyola-Blakefield) 38-5, Jr. over Clayton Gabrielson (St. Mary`s Ryken) 4-1, Sr. (Dec 5-3)
3rd Place Match
Tyler Hood (St. Christophers) 35-9, So. over Jamar Wells (Caravel Academy) 24-8, Sr. (MD 12-2)
5th Place Match
Brady Bollander (Benedictine) 38-16, Sr. over Connor Bollinger (McDonogh School) 26-15, Sr. (MD 11-3)
7th Place Match
Charlie Gessford (Archbishop Spalding) 19-15, Jr. over Carter Shupert (Frank W. Cox) 29-12, Sr. (Dec 4-2)
150
1st Place Match
Mekhi Neal (St. Mary`s Ryken) 45-8, Jr. over Isaac Hegg (Oakton) 3-1, Sr. (Fall 1:39)
3rd Place Match
Mitchell Faglioni (St. Christophers) 4-1, Jr. over Ronin Foldes (Benedictine) 15-7, So. (For.)
5th Place Match
Cody Waski (Caesar Rodney) 31-14, Sr. over Kevin Scafe (Frank W. Cox) 12-7, Jr. (Fall 1:37)
7th Place Match
Mathew Van Sice (Gonzaga) 13-5, So. over Wyatt Croog (Gonzaga) 8-5, Sr. (For.)
157
1st Place Match
Will Buckler (St. Mary`s Ryken) 37-12, So. over Parker Tillery (Frank W. Cox) 30-7, Sr. (Fall 4:00)
3rd Place Match
Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (Bullis) 34-8, So. over Cameron Cataldi (Caesar Rodney) 29-12, Sr. (Fall 2:37)
5th Place Match
Cody Layfield (Sussex Central) 5-2, Sr. over Allan Gushue (Gilman) 3-3, Sr. (Fall 2:58)
7th Place Match
Erick Malmgren (Delaware Military Academy) 6-5, Sr. over Nathan Legg (Caesar Rodney) 3-3, Sr. (Dec 7-6)
165
1st Place Match
Tyler Haley (Frank W. Cox) 30-6, Sr. over Luke Spoor (Saint Marks) 40-12, So. (Dec 10-3)
3rd Place Match
Gabe Moltumyr (St. Mary`s Ryken) 33-11, Sr. over Nate Furgeson (Landon) 18-10, Jr. (Dec 5-2)
5th Place Match
Nick Haughey (Gilman) 5-2, Jr. over JJ DiMonte (McDonogh School) 4-3, Fr. (Fall 1:45)
7th Place Match
Vincent Hurst (Saint Marks) 15-17, Jr. over Jadyn Craig (Sussex Central) 8-6, Sr. (Dec 7-4)
175
1st Place Match
Riley Finck (St. Christophers) 34-10, Sr. over Gabriel Smith (Gilman) 12-6, So. (Dec 3-1)
3rd Place Match
Gabe Cannon (Sussex Central) 32-8, Jr. over Sisto Averno III (Calvert Hall College) 5-2, Jr. (Fall 1:09)
5th Place Match
Drew Simpson (Delaware Military Academy) 35-13, Sr. over Ethan Merullo (Frank W. Cox) 19-21, So. (Dec 5-0)
7th Place Match
Rudy Wagner (Frank W. Cox) 3-2, Fr. over Owen Dixon (Caesar Rodney) 16-21, Jr. (Dec 7-4)
190
1st Place Match
Gerard Johnson (St. Mary`s Ryken) 4-0, Sr. over Ruben Karapetyan (St. Johns College) 30-5, Sr. (Dec 7-2)
3rd Place Match
Cash Colbert (Paul VI) 5-1, Fr. over Noah Onkst (McDonogh School) 32-10, Jr. (Dec 1-0)
5th Place Match
Duncan Kammar (Calvert Hall College) 20-11, Sr. over Ivan Neal (Sussex Central) 36-22, Sr. (Dec 6-1)
7th Place Match
David LaPrade (Landon) 21-8, Sr. over William Applegarth (Good Counsel) 21-13, Sr. (Dec 4-0)
215
1st Place Match
Tyler August (Delaware Military Academy) 45-2, Sr. over Isaac Sanderson (Oakton) 3-1, Sr. (MD 10-2)
3rd Place Match
Max Buono (St. Christophers) 8-8, Sr. over Chance Miller (Loyola-Blakefield) 14-5, Sr. (Inj. 0:00)
5th Place Match
Tiller Smith (Landon) 21-14, So. over Wesley Seba (Gilman) 2-3, Sr. (Dec 5-0)
7th Place Match
Ryder Robinson (Sussex Central) 18-22, Sr. over Mason Schulenburg (Smyrna) 2-3, So. (Fall 0:58)
285
1st Place Match
Brady Colbert (Paul VI) 4-0, Sr. over Luke Randazzo (Loyola-Blakefield) 30-9, So. (Fall 3:04)
3rd Place Match
Cael DeNigris (Delaware Military Academy) 35-8, So. over Graydon Howard (Frank W. Cox) 32-8, Jr. (Dec 5-4)
5th Place Match
Maxwell Garland (Calvert Hall College) 4-2, So. over Sean Jewett (St. Mary`s Ryken) 6-3, So. (Fall 1:46)
7th Place Match
Steven Ramirez (Dematha Catholic) 3-2, Jr. over Jordan Williams (Dematha Catholic) 2-3, Jr. (Dec 4-0)
