Prep Wrestling: Eastern Tech Beats Sparrows Point, 33-27

With a win in Wednesday’s dual meet against Eastern Tech, a team that features several Dundalk-area wrestlers, Sparrows Point would have clinched a Baltimore County division championship. Instead, a 33-27 loss gave the crown to Dulaney.

“We love to play the role of the underdog and the spoiler,” said Mavericks' head coach Kevin Cross. “We will wrestle again tomorrow in the Dual Meet regional tournament. It should be interesting.”

With the score at 29-15 after Nathaniel Gale upset Pointer Mike Iman 5-1 at 171, Sparrows Point's James Krug took the mat at 189, knowing his team needed a pin and the six points that would come with it.

Krug was leading Mitchell Burns 4-0 with 23 seconds left in the match when he used a power-half to turn the Maverick wrestler and hold him for the pin, cutting the Eastern Tech lead to 29-21.

“Coach (Mike) Whisner told me we needed six,” said Krug, “and I got six.”

With an almost-guaranteed six points to come from Sparrows Point heavyweight Drew Clark, the meet hinged at 215 pounds.

If asked before the meet, neither coach would have wanted the meet to come down to the matchup between Sparrows Point's Manny Pritt and Eastern Tech's Michael Coleman, two first-year varsity wrestlers.

The import of the match was not lost on either wrestler – the look on their faces revealed that they both knew this match could cost Sparrows Point a Baltimore County division championship. The first period ended in a tie as they both stuffed takedown attempts.

Pritt chose bottom to start the second period and quickly scored an escape, taking the lead 1-0. Again, neither wrestler could score a takedown.

Coleman forced overtime and tied the score at 1-1 when he was able to get an escape late in the the third period.

In overtime, Coleman eventually scored the first escape, forcing Pritt to at least match Coleman's escape in the ensuing overtime to push the match to another overtime period. With 12 seconds left in the period, Pritt was able to get to his feet and face his opponent, but the referee did not award him the escape, ruling the wrestlers had gone out of bounds.

Coleman held on in the final seconds for the victory, putting the team score out of reach for the Pointers.

“I just went out there and gave it my best,” said Coleman. “I'm just happy to help the team win.”

Whisner added, “It was a tough match that could have gone either way. Both of them are green wrestlers and they both showed a lot of heart.”

Clark, ranked ninth at 285 by the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA), pinned Maverick Eric Isennock in 1:02.

The Mavericks got off to a quick start in the meet at 103 when Sam Caravello pinned Chris Petrovia in 1:12.

The Pointers got on the board at 112 when Tony Collurafici beat Jordan Phillips 10-5, and kept it going when Cody Lewis scored a 2-0 victory over Kevin Isennock at 119.

Eastern Tech's Chuck Bauger, ranked 28^th  by MSWA at 125 punds, beat Chris Long 7-2 in a very tight match.

The Mavericks won the next two matches as Kolten Fodel won a 10-2 victory at 130, and Stephen Beam pinned Andrew Evans at 135.

Pointer Teddy Cadd, who wrestled for Tech last year, beat Dustin Shackleford 10-3 at 140.

Ilya Usik, ranked 20^th by the MSWA, was able to get things rolling again for the Mavericks with a 10-0 victory over Nate Borkowicz at 140.

Shane Hammer responded, however, earning six points for the Pointers with a last-second pin in the first period.

Maverick Greg Stephens and Pointer Gurvey Singh provided another exciting match of the evening. Stephens, normally a junior varsity wrestler, scored an escape in the second period, and was able to shut out Singh in the match, earning three team points.

The teams will face off Thursday in the semi-finals of the 1A/2A North Region Dual Meet tournament.