SMAC male wrestlers contend for state titles

In the Maryland state wrestling tournament, which was recently divided by gender, a pair of male wrestlers from the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference earned state titles on Saturday afternoon at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro while another took home runner-up honors following a tough, overtime setback.

Calvert High School senior Brian Davis captured the 2A/1A state title in the 138-pound weight class on Saturday and Northern junior Drew Montgomery captured the same weight class in the 4A/3A state championship round that afternoon.

Fittingly, Montgomery had defeated Davis for the 138-pound title in the SMAC championships at La Plata two weeks earlier, but on Saturday both departed with medals.

“He seemed like more of a defensive wrestler,” Montgomery said of Northeast’s Beau Schmidt. “But I really felt like I was in control of the match the whole time. I knew it was only 2-0, but I always felt like I was in control of the match. It means a lot to win another state title at a different weight class. Last year I won at 113, but I still feel like I have the same frame and same quickness at 138.”

Davis, who had his freshman season usurped by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, placed fifth at states as a sophomore then third one year earlier as a junior. On Saturday afternoon he continued his forward progression through the odd numbers by edging Middletown’s Alex DeVriendt 3-2 for the 2A/1A 138-pound title in his final high school match.

“It definitely meant a lot to be able to win the state title my senior year,” Davis said. “That last 10 to 15 seconds felt like it took forever. I knew with a one-point lead that I could not afford to get in position to give up any more points. I had wrestled against him here last year, so I knew it was going to be a very close match.”

North Point High School senior Dominic Queen earned a berth in the 4A/3A 190-pound championship and led Einstein High’s Isaac Ogunlade 1-0 after the first two rounds. But Ogunlade drew even midway through the third round and he eventually recorded a 3-1 decision victory in overtime over Queen to garner the title.

Several other SMAC male wrestlers performed well while just missing the title match in their respective weight classes. North Point’s Dominic Cady (165), Leonardtown’s A.J. Kuntz (150) and Huntingtown’s Tyler Hayden (157) all took home third place, while the Eagles’ Gable Pauole (132) was fourth.