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Wrestler of The Year: Darrell Gray, City; Lance McCoy, Mervo.
Darrell Gray, City – The 189-pound junior won the Baltimore City
and Class 2A-1A North Regional crowns, and capped his extraordinary
sesason by finishing sixth at the Class 2A-1A state tournament.
Gray pinned his way through the city tournament, said his coach, John Sarantinos, and he posted a remarkable 21-1 record through the Class 2A-1A North
Regional tournament.
At the regions, Gray blanked his first opponent by the
score of 15-0, and then edged Carver Vo-Tech’s Malcolm Coswell, 11-9,
in their semifinal.
In the regional final, Gray scored a 7-4 victory over Loch Raven’s
fourth-place state finisher, Ben Rutkowski, a rugged wrestler who
entered their bout with 27 victories to his credit.
At the 2A-1A state tournament, won two straight bouts to reach the
semifinal round. In his first match, Gray won a 16-7 major decision
over eventual team state runner-up Southern Garrett’s Ryan Bennett.
Gray then defeated Wicomico’s Class 2A-1A East Region runner-up, Andrew
Johnson, 11-7, to reach the semifinal where he lost to eventual repeat
state champ Jordan Walsh of Walkersville.
Lance McCoy, Mervo – McCoy reached the Baltimore City title bout for the third straight year, this time, improving on last season’s runner-up effort by winning the crown for the second time.
McCoy scored a title-bout pin in only 73 seconds, earning his 28th win without a loss to improve on last year’s mark of 16-7.
The fall was the 19th for McCoy in as many matches opposite rivals from the city, none of whom lasted into the second period, according to his coach, Dwight Warren.
McCoy was named Outstanding Lowerweight wrestler for the City Tournament.
McCoy’s first route-going effort, to that point, had been in a 9-7 victory over Catonsville of Baltimore County’s Durond Thompson, a fourth-place regional finisher.
Among McCoy’s other big wins was an
8-7 decision over Howard County runner-up Thomas Consiglio of Oakland
Mills, and a 15-7 major decision over Owings Mills’ regional runner-up
Brad Mutchnik.
Next, McCoy, who went 16-7 as a sophomore, wanted to improve on the previous year’s third-place regional finish — which he did in the Class 4A-3A North Regional tournament.
In what was the most exciting championship bout of the state’s most difficult region, McCoy lost a dramatic, 10-8, overtime match to Urbana’s Lucas Pangburn in their
140-pound Class 4A-3A North Regional Tournament final.
Prior to that bout, which McCoy led by as much as 6-2, the junior had gone 28-0 with 25 pins, having “not spent a total of two minutes on the mat for any match,” Warren said.
At the Class 4A-3A state tournament, McCoy went 1-2 for the second straight year. This time, however, he scored a first-round pin in 5:34 over Bowie’s eventual third place state finisher, Ronnie Sinclair.
Coach of The Year: John Sarantinos, City
John Sarantinos, City — Following 10 years away from the sport, Sarantinos returned when the previous season’s coach was unable to.
As it turned out, Sarantino said, “it was a great year to come back.”
The Knights posted a 12-1 dual meet record, losing only to Gilman of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association’s A Conference.
The Knights also qualified for the Class 2A-1A North Region Dual meet semifinals.
Despite only having seven wrestlers in the Baltimore City tournament, the Knights were able to pull off the win as every one of its participants finished third or higher in the event.
Greg Jones (135) and Darrell Gray (189) earned individual city titles, with Leland Shelton (140), Justin Mack (145) and Dayon Noland (215) finishing second, and third-place efforts from Mikal Townsend (125) and James Robinson (152).
The Knights only graduate three wrestlers, meaning they could be tough against next year.
The first-team
Name, School, year, weight
Joseph Hawkins, Patterson, Soph., 103
Stephen Hill, Lake Clifton, Fr., 112
Teno Boone, Poly, Jr., 119
Chance McCree, Edmondson, Jr., 125
Adekola Olagunju, Digital Harbor, Soph., 130
Greg Jones, City, Sr., 135
Lance McCoy, Mervo, Jr., 140
Antwan Reed, Carver, Sr., 145
Miles Lewis, Digital Harbor, Sr., 152
Samuel Johnson, Poly, Sr., 160
Jeryl Cole, Patterson, Jr., 171
Darrell Gray, City, Jr., 189
Mike Jones, Lake Clifton, Sr., 215
Glenn Kelly, Douglass, Sr., 285
The second-team
Name, School, year, weight
103- Delonte Gamble, Fr., Northwestern
112- Matthew Jones, Soph., Mervo
119- Davon Travers, Sr., Digital Harbor
125- Braandon Neal, Jr. Carver,
130- Robert Young, Soph., Edmondson
135- Eric Hill, Sr., Northwestern
140- Leland Shelton, Jr., City
145- Justin Mack, Sr., City
152- Lamont Butler, Jr., Patterson
160- Daniel Johnson, Jr., Carver
171- Kenneth Moore, Sr., Digital Harbor
189- Derrick Chester, Sr., Walbrook
215- Dayon Noland, Jr., City
285- Forrest Dotson, Sr., Patterson
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