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State champ
Allen becomes Leonardtown's first-ever
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by CHRIS ROSSI
Leonardtown's Martez Allen reacts after defeating Reservoir's Mike Mullens in the 152-pound state championship bout.
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The Leonardtown senior had just become his program's first-ever state champion, in control throughout his close 152-pound final for a 3-1 win over Reservoir's Mike Mullens to claim the most unpredictable bracket of the tournament, including the 2A-1A ranks that occurred simultaneously with the 4A-3A competition.
Thus, Allen's coronation atop the state was rich in darling status. Only one other state champion among the 28 crowned between both classifications was ranked lower than Allen's No. 5 spot entering the tournament.
"It just feels good to make history at Leonardtown, because we've had so many good wrestlers," the SMAC's unlikely state champion said. "For me to be the one to finally break the barrier and win that state title is an indescribable feeling. And it feels really good to kind of be the underdog and still get it. I really can't explain in words how I feel right now. I never doubted myself [coming in], because I worked so hard this year."
Allen was not a serious state contender. And he was hardly considered the biggest threat in the bracket from the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference. That lofty hype was saved for Chopticon senior standout Stephen Cannon.
But after Cannon, ranked second at 152, and fellow favorite in top-ranked Sherwood's Josh Lowy –– both undefeated going in –– bowed out of championship contention Friday, Allen took supreme advantage.
In the process, he became the SMAC's only individual state champion and extended the league's streak to 10 straight years of boasting such an accomplishment.
The bigger household names within the SMAC, expected to continue the league-best run, fell short of their state-title expectations.
"It's pretty crazy," Cannon said about the 152 bracket that was turned upside down before Saturday's action began. He fell by a 7-5 sudden victory decision in overtime to Mullens in the quarterfinals and then lost by the same outcome to Lowy in the consolation quarters to come away without placing. "I'm happy for [Allen], but at the same time, it's like, ‘Man, I could've been there.' But it didn't happen. He ended up winning it, and I didn't.
"[Not placing] is really disappointing. Being here four years in a row, and my junior year I was a round away from placing and this year I was winning the match and then it went into sudden victory and I lost. That was just terrible."
Leonardtown head coach Dave Cummins was not so surprised by Allen's seemingly-out-of-nowhere rise to state glory.
"It's a pretty darn happy moment," Cummins said. "I had a lot of confidence in [Allen]. Watching the way he wrestled in this tournament, he was on top of his game and I know he can beat anybody. If he's working as well as he can on his feet, I don't know that there's too many people that can keep up with him.
"If [Allen] is underrated, it's not by me."
"I thought I had a shot, but I didn't know," said Allen, who finished third at the SMAC tournament and was the regional runner-up –– losing to North Point's Tyler Schirf and Cannon, respectively, in each competition. "Just knowing that if I gave it my all, I could become a state champion. It feels good to represent for SMAC. We have a lot of talented wrestlers and for me to be the one [to win its only state title], I'm really honored."
Better than last year
It was still a quality showing by the league –– and much improved over last year –– as the SMAC advanced five wrestlers to the finals with the La Plata Warriors finishing as the 4A-3A state runner-up with 80 points, 26 behind frontrunner Reservoir.
Three of the SMAC's state runner-ups were on the 4A-3A side in Northern's Brant Leadbeter (103) and La Plata's Nick Romero (140) and Connar Zimmerman (145).
Patuxent's Zack Pilkington (103) was the SMAC's other state runner-up from the 2A-1A mix.
Sophomore Pilkington and freshman Leadbeter – the SMAC champion and runner-up, respectively – proved the league was loaded in the sport's lightest weight class, as this year appears to be the start of an intriguing rivalry between a pair of talents that could have multiple state titles in their futures.
Both jumped out to strong starts in their finals but were unable to sustain their edge. Pilkington fell, 14-6, after having a 4-0 lead early in the second period. Leadbeter was tied at 4 before giving up a reversal before the first-period buzzer en route to an 11-6 shortcoming.
"I got taken down to my back [midway through the second], and that changed the momentum," Pilkington said of his final against Southern Garrett's Davey Stewart. "I thought I got a reversal and even a few back points [in the second], because he got a reversal and like the first second he held me there, he got two or three back points. [The officiating] was a little one-sided, but nothing you can do."
Pilkington's head coach, Mike Bartley, was also unhappy with the officiating in the final: "I think they caught a few breaks there, and we didn't catch any. [Stewart] gets a reversal and automatically he gets a few back points from it. We did the same thing and didn't get that break. It's all on the referee, and the referee shouldn't determine the match. He should let them wrestle.
"[Pilkington] has got two more years to go, and I'm positive he will get a state championship here. I think SMAC [with Pilkington and Leadbeter] can go toe-to-toe with the big boys, and the little guys may be little but, pound for pound, they're just as tough as anybody else."
Leadbeter added, "It's the first of four tries, so I still have three more tries at [the state title]. The SMAC's getting stronger [at 103]."
Leadbeter's senior brother, Quentin, was among the SMAC state hopefuls that fell shy of the ultimate goal. Quentin Leadbeter settled for third place in a difficult bracket. Like Cannon, he was unable to match his older brother's state title.
Collin Leadbeter won state crowns in 2006 and 2007, while Michael Cannon attained the feat in 2005.
"It would've been nice to warm up down here [preparing for the finals] with him," the freshman Leadbeter said of his senior brother. "He did good, but he had a tough bracket."
"I'm not so much disappointed," Quentin Leadbeter added. "Even placing was really tough in my weight class. I'm happy with third place, coming back and beating the guy that beat me in my second match [of the tournament]."
Northern 140-pound All-American freshman Eric Hoffman also settled for third after he was knocked out of title contention by repeat state champion Ron Vaughters of Old Mill in a 7-3 semifinals showdown.
Hoffman had been so dominant during the regular season that he was expected to at least make the final, but he fell victim of a tough-to-swallow random draw that had him and Vaughters on the same side of the bracket. A favorable draw on the other side of the bracket was capitalized by Romero all the way to the final. Romero had fallen handily to Hoffman in the SMAC and regional finals.
"That 103-pound weight class was wide open," Northern head coach Matt Smith said, not heavily surprised that Brant Leadbeter finished the highest of the state-contending talent he brought to states. "For Quentin to end up in third place, we're tremendously pleased – an excellent way to finish his career. Eric had his opportunities in the Vaughters match and couldn't capitalize against a very good wrestler."
Results
Team
1. Reservoir 106
2. La Plata 80
7. Leonardtown 63
8. Northern 61
22. Chopticon 26
26. Huntingtown 21
35. North Point 16
36. Westlake 15
T-49. Lackey 3
T-60. Stone 0
Individual SMAC state-placers
County wrestlers listed
119: Corey (Lt) 5, 34-6
152: Allen (Lt) 1, 36-5
171: Pence (Ch) 6, 35-8
HWT: Bohanan (Lt) 3, 35-5
