One-point margins made the difference for Prince George’s County’s contingent at the state wrestling championships last weekend. And one point won the county its first state title in five years.
Oxon Hill junior Nigel Cross was a 2-1 winner against previously unbeaten Quince Orchard junior Terrence Stephens to capture the state 4A⁄3A title in the heavyweight division. The deciding point came with a minute remaining in the bout when Stephens was penalized for stalling. Cross held on to win the county’s first state championship in wrestling since 2003 and only the third this decade. Northwestern High’s Chad Nkang was the 215-pound champ in 2003 and Oxon Hill’s Adrian Belcarris won the 171 title in 2000.
Two of the county’s other championship hopefuls saw their title chances end in one-point defeats. Laurel senior Martin Mitchell dropped a 10-9 decision to Howard High’s Tyler Bulger in the 4A⁄3A 125-pound quarterfinals. Mitchell later beat Bulger in a rematch for third place. Surrattsville senior Andre Johnson lost, 3-2, to Hammond High’s Mitch Cowger in the 2A⁄1A 215-pound semifinals, but was a 2-1 winner against Allegany High’s Jake Twigg in the third-place match.
Bowie senior Ronnie Sinclair also notched a third-place finish in the 4A⁄3A 140 bracket.
Cross displayed little emotion after getting his hand raised. He saved it for when he walked off the mat. His coaches in his corner had difficulty holding back their emotions. Coach John Carpenter threw his arms in the air and pumped his fists and assistant coaches Sean Edelin and Steve Howard had trouble holding back the tears. Carpenter then broke down moments later. Cross was all smiles shortly thereafter.
‘‘I was just focused [on the mat], staying focused throughout the whole match,” said Cross, 37-1, who also credited assistant coach and Oxon Hill grad Angelico Obedoza and his main practice partner, 215-pounder Ralph Parson. ‘‘I want to come back next year and win it again because I want it. No matter what I accomplish, I always want to do more and more. My coaches stay on me about that the whole time. They never let me lose focus.”
‘‘Nigel really made himself a champion.” said Carpenter. ‘‘He’s a smaller heavyweight and now dropping that weight, he has been giving up 30-plus pounds every time he wrestles. Last year, he was 40 pounds heavier than he is now. What he decided to do was change his style of wrestling. He went from the traditional heavyweight game of push and pull and wait for the first guy to budge and fall, to really becoming a wrestler. It really was just a matter of putting it together.”
Cross scored a pinfall and two low-scoring decisions in his earlier matches before taking out Stephens. The two had met in last season’s state tournament, also won by Cross on a decision.
‘‘He’s a lot bigger and stronger than he was last year and I’m a lot smaller,” Cross, who weighed 232 Saturday to Stephens’ 272. ‘‘The weight did make a little bit of a difference.”
Johnson brought a 7-0 record into the tournament and won his first two matches on a first-period pinfall and a decision before losing to Cowger. Johnson had missed all of last season recovering from a ruptured right anterior cruciate ligament suffered during a football practice in the fall of 2006.
Mitchell finished with a 26-2 season. The last wrestler from Laurel to place in the top six at the state tournament was in 2000, when Mike Reynolds placed fourth at 130. Laurel’s last state wrestling champion was in 1995, when Sidney Billups won the second of his two state titles.
‘‘I was a little nervous the first match [against Bulger], just on experience in the states,” said Mitchell. ‘‘I didn’t come out until the third period.”
Trailing, 6-1, Mitchell mounted a comeback that gave him a 9-8 advantage with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. That is when Bulger scored the winning two points to seal the win. A similar scenario developed in the rematch with Mitchell falling behind, 3-0, in the second period. But this time, he responded decisively.
‘‘I was confident in the rematch,” said Mitchell, who will wrestle for Division II American International College in Massachusetts next season. ‘‘I was down, but I felt confident. I was calm.”
Billups, now an assistant coach with Atholton High, was on hand to see Mitchell compete.
‘‘I remember seeing him last year,” said Billups. ‘‘I didn’t get to see him this year until [Saturday], but I was keeping an eye on him. He’s definitely a tough kid.”
‘‘I was so underrated,” said Mitchell. ‘‘I’m happy with third. Last year and the year before, I didn’t even qualify. I was working offseason everywhere. Even though I lost, I’m still a state champion in my eyes.”
Bowie senior Tyler Smith (119) took fifth and Charles H. Flowers junior Zane McBride made history at the Springdale school by becoming its first state placer with a 4A⁄3A fifth-place performance at 171. Both lost their first-round matches and battled back through the consolation bracket.
‘‘I’m the first to place in Flowers history, I’m happy about that,” said McBride, 35-7, who lives in Mitchellville. ‘‘That’s the upside. The downside, there’s always first place. But I’ll be back next year.”
McBride pinned Damascus High senior Brian Wittenberger, a No. 1 seed, in 2 minutes, 30 seconds to take fifth place.
E-mail Adam Rubenstein atarubenstein@gazette.net.
