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COMEBACK KID: After being slowed by a rib injury near the end of last season, Howard High 119-pounder Kris Dutt (top) worked hard over the summer and returned "a much improved wrestler," coach Sean Alkire said. Dutt rose to 19-2 with Tuesday night's overtime, 6-4 upset of Glenelg's third-place state finisher, Brendon Conway.
By the time last year's Howard County and Class 2A-1A South Region tournaments were on the horizon, Howard High's Kris Dutt had turned in what can be considered a solid sophomore season.
But then things got tough for Dutt, who suffered a rib injury, yet elected to perservere and by participating in both events.
The 119-pounder did not place in the county tournament.
And after fiinishing fifth at regions -- only the top four qualify for the state tournament -- Dutt did make states when a higher placing wrestler for some reason could not go.
"Kris is a tough kid, and he worked really hard to get better during the summer," said Lions' coach Sean Alkire. "There wasn't a summer event that he did not go to. He came back a much improved wrestler."
Tuesday night's 63-9 loss to Glenelg offered proof of that, as Dutt pulled one of the bigger upsets of the season with his 6-4 overtime victory over the Gladiators' third-place state finisher, Brendon Conway.
The win raised Dutt's record to 19-2 on the year, perhaps establishing him as the front-runner for the No. 1 seed in his weight class in the county tournament.
"It was a certainly a big win for Kris," Alkire said. "It shows that he's in the upper tier of the wrestlers in the county."
Dutt was coming off of a runner-up finish at the DelMarva Classic, where teammate Tyler Bulger (125) placed third.
Dutt also won seven of eight bouts at last month's Howard High Duals Invitational.
This weekend, Dutt and Bulger will led the Lions into the 16-team Arundel Dualst at Arundel High in Gambrills.
