GIRL POWER: Magruder's 112- pound Helen Maroulis (above, right), shown with former Arundel High state runner-up wrestler Nicole Woody, became the first female to qualify for the Montgomery County Wrestling Tournament with Saturday night's come-from-behind, 14-8 victory over Damascus' Chance Sellman. Maroulis improved to 31-2, earning a rematch with defending champ Danny Lethbridge of Paint Branch.
PINNING IT DOWN: Magruder's 112-pound Helen Maroulis (top) has a chance to become the first female wrestler to win a Montgomery County title on Monday at Montgomery Blair High School.
As a freshman two years ago, Magruder's Helen Maroulis made history by becoming Maryland's first female state placewinner in high school wrestling when she placed sixth at 112 pounds at the Class 4A-3A state tournament.
On Saturday night at Montgomery Blair High, the junior 112-pounder added another milestone to her resume, when she earned a berth into Monday's championship bout of her weight class opposite defending champion Danny Lethbridge of Paint Branch.
Down, 4-0, early against Chance Sellman of Damascus -- who was a county and regional champion last year at 103 pounds -- Maroulis scored 14 of the next 18 points on the way to a come-from-behind, 14-8 victory.
Maroulis' decision over Sellman improved her record to 31-2, earning a
rematch with Lethbridge, whom she defeated, 5-2, earlier this year in
the finals of the North Hagerstown Tournament.
"I got ankle-picked into a cradle in the first period, but I ended up getting a throw on him and I was able to rack up some points after that," said Maroulis, a junior who finished a disappointing sixth at last year's county tournament.
Although Maroulis rebounded from her "bad county tournament" of a year ago for a state qualifying finish in last year's regionals -- her second straight berth into the state tournament -- she said she was motivated by that memory.
Maroulis won her first match of the day by a fall in 5:24 over Churchill's Saam Tashayyod, but said that she was "feeling sick after my second match," a 13-3 major decision over Walt Whitman's Andrew Follman.
"I went and relaxed for about an hour, and while I did, I sort of thought about what all of this means to me," Maroulis said. "I thought about how badly I felt after finishing sixth last year, and that was my motivation."
Lethbridge, who had beaten Maroulis three times previously, won his semifinal, 7-3, over Sherwood's Alex Hakspiel, who was last year's 112-pound runner-up to Lethbridge.
"It felt great, because I heard a lot of cheers and I felt like I had a lot of support," said Maroulis, whose weight class is considered the tournament's toughest, as well as the state's. "But this is going to be another tough match."
In 2004, the year before Maroulis placed sixth at states, Woody and Western's Jade Hendricks became Maryland's first female state qualifiers, going 0-2, respectively, in the Class 4A-3A and Class 2A-1A state tournaments.
Last year, Woody became the first female to make the state finals when she finished as a Class 4A-3A state runner-up to River Hill's Scott Mantua at 103 pounds.
Montgomery County Wrestling Tournament (To be completed on Monday, 6:30, at Montgomery Blair High)
1 Damascus 143
2 Magruder 127
3 Springbroook 111.5
4 Walt Whitman 104
5 Sherwood 92.5
6 Northwest 90.5
7 Quince Orchard 88
8 Paint Branch 85
9 Montgomery 66
10 Bethesda-Chevy Chase 55
11 Poolesville 44
12 Winston Churchill and
Gaithersburg 40
14 Blake 39.5
15 Watkins Mill 39
16 Clarksburg 30
17 Kennedy 26
18 Walter Johnson 22
19 Wootton 18
20 Wheaton 17
21 Richard Montgomery 15
22 Seneca Valley 12
23 Rockville 8
24 Albert Einstein 4
25 Northwood 0