By Ryan Mink and Kyle Wannen
rmink@digitalsports.com
There have been 25 three-time Montgomery County champions, starting in 1965. There’s been a three-time state champions such as Andy Lowy and even a wrestler who nearly went undefeated over his career in Eren Civan.
Sherwood’s Steven Gamble has never won a state championship. But now he has something never of them can ever claim.
Saturday evening at Blair, Gamble became the first four-time Montgomery County champion in history. In the process he also won the Richard J. Monisera Award, given to the senior who has scored the most points during his career in the Montgomery County Wrestling Tournament.
“I thought, ‘This is it, you can make history,†the 160-pound senior said, recalling his thoughts on the mat. “It’s something to get on a list that nobody’s been on yet.”
His finals win also clinched Sherwood’s team Montgomery County championship as the Warriors topped Whitman by 12 points. Sherwood had one individual compared to Whitman’s three, but did well in consolations.
Gamble, who won his first county title at 130 pounds, didn’t have a cakewalk again this year. He came up against Whitman senior Steven Fisher in the finals and earned a 7-1 decision. He earned pins in his other three bouts.
“It’s a pretty big deal,†Gamble said. “Our county, I think, is one of the best counties throughout the state of Maryland.â€
Civan would have had a very good chance of winning his fourth state title in 2007 had he not severely injured his knee. April would have had a good shot at it in 2004 had he not hurt his shoulder.
As Sherwood coach Scott Beattie said, it certainly takes some luck. But it takes more hard work and talent. Gamble has always stood out with his superb mat presence and body awareness and of course is a hard worker.
Asked what Gamble’s finest attribute may be, Beattie said, “his mat suave.â€
Gamble has always been a confident wrestler, but since placing second at states for the third consecutive year he has developed a calm confidence.
What triggered that demeanor, in which Gamble feels less nervous heading into matches and is more willing to take criticism in practice, came on the football field instead of the mat.
Led by Gamble at linebacker, Sherwood surprised many by winning the 4A Maryland football state title, which snapped Gamble’s title drought.
“He’s intense, but he’s having fun with it,†Beattie said. “It was kind of like [the plug] was pulled.â€
Gamble will likely get another crack at a state wrestling championship. But Saturday at least knocked out one long-term goal he had – a goal that Gamble set his sights on at the end of last year.
“It’s about the same as a state championship,†Gamble said. “Four times is a lot of times winning, but winning it once as a state championship would be nice.â€
WHITMAN BRINGS HOME THREE CHAMPIONS
Last season Walt Whitman finished undefeated through all their county duals matches but at the Montgomery County Championship they had no player win the county championship in their respective weight classes. This season the Vikings boasted another great duals record and the regional duals title, but on Saturday they found great success at the county championships.
Senior Eric Beverly continued his undefeated season by winning the 145-lb weight class with a 12-7 decision over Wootton’s Mike Barbaro. Beverly has been a dominant force throughout the season despite the fact that he had broken his nose and was wearing a protective mask.
“The mask *****, but it comes off,†Beverly said. “So by regions I’ll be able to breathe easier. I’ve been told it’s scary.â€
Aaron Norris won the 189-lb weight class with an 8-5 decision over Magruder’s John Rinaldi and Danny Lee won the 215-lb weight class by fall in 2 minutes and 42 seconds.
QUINCE ORCHARD LEADS WITH FOUR TITLES
For most of the season, Quince Orchard’s Dake Williams was out with a broken foot. Williams only returned to practice two weeks ago but none of that mattered as he won the heavyweight championship on Saturday.
Williams pinned Springbrook’s Gerrad Brown, the only wrestler to defeat Williams in his short season, in one minutes and 39 seconds.
â€It feels great to know that I can come back from four months off and step right back in,†Williams said.
In the semifinals Williams pulled a great move on Sherwood’s Andrew Midgette and pinned him in 10 seconds on the first move of the match.
“I felt what I wanted to feel and then I just threw him,†Williams said.
Eli Bienstock (103), Arthur Holland (140) and Reed Neubaum (152) all also won their respective weight class championships for the Cougars.
Neubaum pulled out a big win over Sherwood’s Josh Lowy and Holland pulled out an overtime win against Poolesville’s Kyle Flick when Flick was called for an illegal move.
NORTHWOOD’S STOCKY SURPRISES
On a Northwood high team that has had a tough season, sophomore Luke Stocky quietly compiled a solid 30-3 record while remaining under the radar of his opponents.
But after winning the 125-lb championship on Saturday, everyone knows who the sophomore wrestler is.
“Since we haven’t had a county champion in like 25 years, it’s pretty good,†Stocky said. “Northwood’s not really there for wrestling but I’m representing.â€
Stocky defeated Northwest’s Michael Henning with a 4-3 decision. After landing the first takedown, Stocky controlled the match and did not allow Henning to score until very late.
“First take down, he wasn’t getting up, I made sure,†Stocky said.
SMITH REACHES 100 WINS AND TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP
Last season, Blake’s Rasheim Smith (112) finished second in states and his performance at the county championships forebodes that he might have another strong finish this season.
Smith earned his 100th career win on Friday against Einstein’s Tommy Wilson. Then he defeated Magruder’s Jordan Tolbert with a 7-4 decision to win the 112-lb championship.
“Pretty much I was happy but I guess it didn’t hit me until after the fact that it happened,†Smith said about his milestone win. “Everyone pointed it out and it felt pretty good.â€
SPRINGBROOK’S BADJE REMAINS UNDEFEATED
Nadjitade Badje improved to 31-0 this season for the Blue Devils and has continually been the most dominant wrestler in the 171-lb weight class.
Saturday Badje pinned Blair’s Alhaji Janneh in four minutes and 24 seconds to win the 171-lb championship.
TEAM RESULTS
1 178.50 Sherwood
2 166.50 Walt Whitman
3 159.00 Springbrook
4 145.50 Quince Orchard
5 133.50 Magruder
6 110.50 Northwest
7 88.50 Thomas Wootton
88.50 Clarksburg
9 77.00 Poolesville
10 71.00 Hubie Blake
11 67.00 Bethesda-CC
12 62.50 Montgomery Blair
13 54.00 Winston Churchill
14 47.00 Walter Johnson
15 40.00 Paint Branch
16 37.50 Damascus
17 37.00 Albert Einstein
18 36.00 Northwood
19 33.00 Watkins Mill
20 28.00 Seneca Valley
21 27.00 Gaithersburg
22 25.00 Wheaton
23 17.00 John F. Kennedy
24 14.00 Rockville
25 4.00 Richard Montgomery
PLACE-WINNERS
Championship
103 Eli Bienstock, Quince Orchard Dec Mac Raum, Clarksburg, 6-3
112 Rasheim Smith, Hubie Blake Dec Jordan Tolbert, Magruder, 7-4
119 Max Schneiderman, Magruder Dec Mike Chen, Winston Churchill, 10-4
125 Luke Stocky, Northwood Dec Michael Henning, Northwest, 4-3
130 Kekura Musa, Montgomery Blair Dec Joe Galeano, Springbrook, 9-6
135 Logan Wilson, Poolesville Dec Chris Williamson, Clarksburg, 7-4
140 Arthur Holland, Quince Orchard Dec Kyle Flick, Poolesville, 9-8; SV
145 Eric Beverly, Walt Whitman Dec Mike Barbaro, Thomas Wootton, 12-7
152 Reed Neubaum, Quince Orchard Dec Josh Lowy, Sherwood, 9-3
160 Steven Gamble, Sherwood Dec Steven Fisher, Walt Whitman, 7-1
171 Nadjitade Badje, Springbrook Fall Alhaji Janneh, Montgomery Blair, 4:24
189 Aaron Norris, Walt Whitman Dec John Rinaldi, Magruder, 8-5
215 Danny Lee, Walt Whitman Fall Bernard Wolley, Seneca Valley, 2:42
285 Dake Williams, Quince Orchard Fall Gerrad Brown, Springbrook, 1:15
Consolation
103 Ravi Choxi, Magruder Dec Nitesh Donti, Northwest, 6-2
112 Tommy Wilson, Albert Einstein Fall Ben Asadi, Clarksburg, 4:27
119 Eddie Madden, Hubie Blake Dec Jeff Tallia, Poolesville, 2-0
125 Andrew Follmann, Walt Whitman Dec Shane Bramble, Thomas Wootton, 5-4
130 Roja Stephenson, Clarksburg Dec Ray Mencia, Sherwood, 5-4
135 Joey McKenna, Hubie Blake Dec Tyler Tockman, Sherwood, 6-1
140 Tyler Luckett, Northwest Dec James Roach, Bethesda-CC, 8-2
145 Miche Ulysse, Springbrook Dec Chris Costantino, Sherwood, 2-0
152 George Murphy, Watkins Mill Fall Jacob White, Northwest, 1:51
160 Noah Joseph, Bethesda-CC Dec Chris Ralli, Magruder, 4-0
171 Taylor Leighton, Walt Whitman Dec Collins Nitcheu, Bethesda-CC, 5-3
189 Josh Hertz, Sherwood Dec Paul Okeyo, Walter Johnson, 14-10; OT
215 Ian Banson, Paint Branch Fall Sam Hollman, Thomas Wootton, 5:03
285 Andrew Midgette, Sherwood Fall Aaron Butler, John F. Kennedy, 3:50
5th Place
103 Thomas Parsley, Gaithersburg M-Dec Jake Sutton, Winston Churchill, 10-0
112 Oleg Loughner, Sherwood Dec Sawyer Symington, Walt Whitman, 6-4
119 James Kerrick, Sherwood Fall Abdul Wahla, Gaithersburg, 2:20
125 Andy Tran, Springbrook Dec Anthony Steffes, Hubie Blake, 11-9
130 Tony Sarnecchia, Walter Johnson Dec Jeremy Rosenthal, Thomas Wootton, 3-0
135 Sarantos Tripoulas, Wheaton Dec Tyler Warren, Gaithersburg, 7-4
140 Alex Abramson, Springbrook Dec Eric Mears, Thomas Wootton, 5-1
145 John Ramsey, Walter Johnson Dec Johni Meeks, Montgomery Blair, 7-0
152 Cammeron Mayberry, Magruder M-Dec Michah Cacopardo, Damascus, 14-6
160 Austin Williams, Quince Orchard Dec Sasha Barrow, Springbrook, 7-4
171 Greg Hamilton, Northwest Dec Desean Martinez, Clarksburg, 7-3
189 Fred Stephenson, Damascus Dec Casey Wolt, Quince Orchard, 9-6
215 Anton Mursin, Northwest Dec Abel Dasilva, Springbrook, 6-4; OT
285 Winterford Mensah, Paint Branch Dec Kevin Mrohs, Thomas Wootton, 3-2
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