VICTORY: South Carroll's 160-pound Zac Stavish (above) celebrates his 3-1 victory which dethroned Class 2A-1A state champion Tony Mack of Owings Mills, who lost for the first time this season. "It's the most amazing feeling ever," said Stavish, who was third at states last season. (Photo by Matt Eppard)
South Carroll's 171-pound Tyler Mullen (top) avenged a loss of a week earlier with his 9-6 Class 2A-1A state championship victory over Middletown's Brandon Johnson. Mullen was twice a runner-up and had placed fifth once; Johnson was a runner-up for the second straight year.
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For all three of South Carroll's senior Class 2A-1A state champions, Saturday night's victories at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House were about redemption.
For Cam Hobin (119), his 8-1, title-bout decision over Glenelg's Brendan Conway represented an opportunity to not only distance himself from an earlier, lackluster 6-5 win over the Gladiators' wrestler, but also, a chance to regain the luster previously bestowed upon him when he first won states as a 103-pound freshman.
For Zac Stavish (160), his 3-1 upset of previously unbeaten state champ, Tony Mack, of Owings Mills, represented his complete recovery from injuries that caused him to miss a critical portion of last season.
Stavish, last year, rebounded to win Carroll County's tournament and to place third in the Class 2A-1A West Region on the way to finishing third at states.
And for Tyler Mullen (171), his 9-6 decision over two-time state runner-up Brandon Johnson of Middletown not only avenged a 10-2 regional finals loss of a week earlier, but it also helped to ease the pain of having been a state runner-up during the two previous years following a fifth place finish at states when he was a freshman.
South Carroll's Rion Reiter was fourth at states at 130 pounds.
A Class 2A-1A West Region final winner over Walkersville's Jordan Walsh a year ago, Mullen fell to Walsh in last season's state final.
Mullen repeated that losing performance in last week's regional final against Johnson, when he "just came out, wasn't ready to wrestle."
"But I figured this year at states, what am I going to do? I had to win it this year," said Mullen. "I was going to die before I lost that match."
"I have a really strong faith, and I thank God for everything he's given me," said Mullen, who then pointed into a row of screaming fans behind him. "God's blessed me with my Bible study, and all of them up there, they came here to support me."
Hobin was making up for lost time as a result of eligibility issues which sidelined him throughout his sophomore and junior seasons.
"Pretty much, I knew that I had to come out strong," Hobin said. "Last time I wrestled him, I didn't have my head in the game. I pretty much put it into my head that I was going to win."
Hobin called Conway and third-place finishing semifinal opponent, Earl Eppard of Lansdowne, whom he beat in overtime, "good wrestlers."
"Freshman year was so much fun," Hobin said. "This means a lot to me, coming back after not being here for two years."
Stavish pinned his first opponent in 5:34 before facing twin brothers, Sammy and Danny Johnson of Baltmore City schools Poly and Carver, respectively.
Stavish earned a 1-0 decison over Sammy, and on overtime riding criteria victory over Danny in his quarterfinal and semifinal bouts, respectively, before shutting down Mack.
"I just used my usual style, tried to hit whatever I could hit. Whatever worked would work," said Stavish, who has 104 career victories, with his 100th win coming on a 1-0 decision over Northern Garrett's Dustin Stough in the previous weekend's Class 4A-3A East Region title bout.
"I got an escape in the second period and a takedown at the end of the second period," Stavish said of his win over Mack. "Whatever he hit, I tried to counter. It's the most amazing feeling ever."