Two takedowns and an escape were all Hereford?s Josh Asper needed to secure his place among Maryland?s wrestling immortals on Saturday.
With those three moves, Asper defeated Thomas Stone?s Justin Bowersox, 5-1, in the 171-pound 4A/3A state final at the University of Maryland?s Cole Field House. The victory enabled Asper to join Matt Slutzky, a 1992 graduate of Aberdeen, and Steve Kessler, a 1997 graduate of Owings Mills, as the only four-time public school state wrestling champions in the event?s 38-year history.
Asper (37-0) will wrestle for Maryland next year after finishing his high school career with a record of 157-7, which included winning his final 87 matches.
“As I got into the third period, all I could think of was not letting it slip away,” Asper said. “This is what I?ve dreamed about since my freshman year. It?s going to take a while for this to sink in and for me to realize what I accomplished.”
Asper was one of four Baltimore-area wrestlers to finish the season undefeated, as Woodlawn 125-pounder Deonte Carter (34-0) and Annapolis 160-pounder Bubby Graham (36-0), each won their titles in 4A/3A, with Owings Mills? Avi Friedman (37-0) winning the 103-pound title in the 2A/1A.
Graham?s pin of North Harford?s Tom Stewart in two minutes, 33 seconds in the final made him the state?s 30th wrestler to win three state titles.
“This is the perfect way to end my high school career and I look forward to the challenges that I?ll face in college,” said Graham, who will wrestle for American University.
In the team competition, Glenelg advanced five wrestlers to the 2A/1A finals, and Danny Bichner (135), Chris Stinnett (140) and Tim Chase (152) each claimed titles to help the Howard County school capture its first state championship. Glenelg finished with 134.5 points, followed by Southern-Garrett (105) and Owings Mills (96.5).
In 4A/3A side, defending champion Old Mill finished third with 66 points, as the Patriots did not advance any of their eight qualifiers past the semifinals. Charles County?s La Plata won its second title in the past three years with 107.5 points, followed by Frederick County?s Urbana with 78.
For Glenelg, its victory was the culmination of a year of work, which began following a disappointing third-place finish at last year?s state meet. The Gladiators became the first Howard County school to win a state tournament title since Hammond won the 2A/1A crown in 1998.
“Even going into [Saturday] we talked about last season and how we didn?t want to feel like that again when we had three finalists and no champions,” Glenelg coach Scott Delpo said. “To win this title was great, but it would not havebeen complete without a few individual winners as well.”
