SILVER SPRING, Md. —
The North Hagerstown wrestling team proved to be much more than lucky. The Hubs also are tough as nails.
After winning a tiebreaker with a coin flip to capture the fourth and final seed at the Maryland Class 4A-3A West Region Duals, North flipped the competition Wednesday night.
“It doesn’t matter where you start,” North coach Greg Slick said. “It’s where you finish.”
The Hubs toppled third-seeded Wootton 45-21 in the final after knocking off top-seeded and previously unbeaten Springbrook 42-29 in the semifinals. Wootton handed second-seeded Damascus its first loss of the season, 31-29, in the other semifinal.
It’s the first region title since 2000 for the Hubs, who will compete in the state duals Saturday at North Point High School in Waldorf.
“These kids are a very special group,” Slick said. “They’ve accepted every challenge that’s been thrown their way and met every one head on.”
North, which has won 13 straight dual meets to improve to 19-4, dominated Wednesday’s final, taking victories in 10 of the 14 weight classes against Wootton (18-5).
Andre McCall (152 pounds), Kenneth Burrs (170), Antonio Rosario (195) and Duncan Yeisley (113) all scored pins in the final for the Hubs, while Brendon Colbert (120) won by tech fall, Gene Balcita (126) won by major decision, and Connor McHose (182), Dylan Dopson (285), Dylan Brown (132) and Diantra Landry (138) each won by decision.
The Hubs had a more difficult time against Springbrook (21-1), a team they’d lost 46-23 to in December.
In Wednesday’s semifinals, North climbed out of a 17-0 hole against Springbrook, winning nine of the last 11 bouts.
“The kids just showed a lot of heart and not an ounce of give-up,” Slick said. “It’s that never-say-die attitude. Again, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”
North got four straight decisions from Michael Leone (160), Burrs (170), McHose (182) and Rosario (195) — with Burrs and Rosario both prevailing in overtime — to cut the deficit to 17-12.
Amont Hawkins kept the Hubs’ momentum going at 220 against Tatah Ndeh. After nearly getting pinned in the first period, Hawkins pinned Ndeh in the third for an 18-17 North lead.
Dopson followed with a pin at 285 and it was 24-17 Hubs.
After Springbrook cut its deficit to 24-23 with a pin at 106, North got three straight pins from Yeisley (113), Colbert (120) and Balcita (126) to wrap up the victory.
North Hagerstown 42, Springbrook 29
138 — M. Nguyen (S) p. Landry, 5:01; 145 — Galeano (S) p. Hartsock, 1:20; 152 — Williams (S) t.f. McCall, 16-1; 160 — Leone (NH) d. Ramirez, 7-3; 170 — Burrs (NH) d. Perez, 3-1 (OT); 182 — Con. McHose (NH) d. Hernandez, 8-3; 195 — Rosario (NH) d. Holland, 5-3 (OT); 220 — Hawkins (NH) p. Ndeh, 4:34; 285 — Dopson (NH) p. Ali, 1:32; 106 — Tran (S) p. Tobery, 2:20; 113 — Yeisley (NH) p. Cristobal, 1:11; 120 — Colbert (NH) p. Harrington, 5:16; 126 — Balcita (NH) p. J. Nguyen, 3:56; 132 — Garcia (S) p. Col. McHose, 5:39.
North Hagerstown 45, Wootton 21
145 — Smolen (W) p. Hartsock, 2:43; 152 — McCall (NH) p. Hollman, 5:12; 160 — Potemken (W) d. Leone, 6-2; 170 — Burrs (NH) p. Restrepo, 2:51; 182 — Con. McHose (NH) d. Han, 5-2; 195 — Rosario (NH) p. Carroll, 3:42; 220 — Bernardo (W) p. Hawkins, 4:14; 285 — Dopson (NH) d. Strauss, 2-0; 106 — L. Tritto (W) p. Tobery, 4:31; 113 — Yeisley (NH) p. A. Tritto, 2:28; 120 — Colbert (NH) t.f. Weaver, 20-5; 126 — Balcita (NH) m.d. Tzamaras, 12-3; 132 — Brown (NH) d. Chen, 4-2; 138 — Landry (NH) d. Ruderman, 9-5.
