Broadneck’s Ben Small pinned his Severna Park opponent on January 27. Photos by Colin A.J. Murphy

By Colin A.J. Murphy

The Severna Park and Broadneck wrestling teams squared off on January 27 at Broadneck High School, each team looking to build momentum as they head towards the county, region, and state tournament season beginning in mid-February. With a good crowd on hand to see Broadneck celebrate senior night, the Bruins outlasted a gritty Severna Park effort to gain a 49-25 victory, their fifth county win of the season.

In a meet befitting of the storied sports rivalry between Severna Park and Broadneck, both teams wrestled well and several matches were very closely decided. Severna Park gave up early points by forfeiting in the 106- and 113-pound classes, and Broadneck padded their lead in the first live matches of the night. After freshman Cameron Harrell and junior Ben Small notched pins for the Bruins in the 120- and 126-pound classes, respectively, senior Grant Cole registered two takedowns to get past Severna Park’s Willy Cramer by a score of 6-4 in the 132-pound class in one of the closest and most entertaining matchups of the night.

Grant Cole ponders his next move against Severna Park’s Willy Cramer. Cole scored the 6-4 decision, and Broadneck won, 49-25.

Broadneck’s Colin Harrell extended the Bruins’ lead with a 54-second pin of his Severna Park opponent in the 138-pound weight class before Ian Valliant managed to put points on the board for Severna Park in the 145-pound weight class. Valliant sealed a technical fall in the third period of his match with Broadneck’s John Schneider, and Severna Park trailed 33-5. Jack Knappen swung the momentum back to the Bruins with a 10-0 major decision over Scott Meyers at 152lbs, but Severna Park’s Sam Ziff answered with a 16-1, hard-fought technical fall victory in just under six minutes over Broadneck’s Shaine Middleton at 160lbs. At 170lbs, Jeff Zander’s third-period takedown of Broadneck’s Matt Jacobsen gave him the two points he needed to edge Jacobsen for the 6-5 win, and Severna Park crept closer at 37-13.

Not letting up, Broadneck answered right back, as Ian Marinacci and Joe Mintz notched pins for the Bruins in the 182- and 195-pound classes, respectively. Severna Park senior Pat Love took almost the whole six minutes to pin Broadneck sophomore Landon Reecher, as the Falcons closed out the night’s scoring in the 49-25 loss.

In this year’s extremely competitive county wrestling landscape, any county victory is a strong one, and for Broadneck the win comes as they look to make a splash in the playoffs, says Head Coach Scott Harrell. “We’re just looking forward to getting the rest of our kids back [from injury], and we think that we still have a good shot at competing for the county tournament title,” said Harrell. “Then, we’d love to bring as many kids as possible to the state tournament, and at that point, the way we see it, anything can happen. So we’re just excited for that chance.”

For Severna Park, somewhat of a transition year continued with the meet against Broadneck, though Head Coach Paul Joyce sees the deep talent within the county as the best preparation his wrestlers can have for this year’s playoffs and for years to come. “It’s kind of a transition year, but what I don’t believe in is buttering your schedule down just because your team isn’t as strong,” said Joyce, whose Falcons’ county schedule has been further strengthened by district wins over Atholton, Carver, Patapsco, and Long Reach, to name a few. “We’re still throwing our kids into the toughest schedule that we can. Our goal because of our schedule is to have multiple state place-winners, to get kids into the state tournament.”

Collin Harrel takes down Severna Park’s Andrew Giganti to put Broadneck ahead 33-0.

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