Northwest Wrestling Gears Up for Dual Meet Playoff Tournament

After a dramatic come-from-behind win on Saturday against Wootton, Northwest wrestling is headed to the Class 4A/3A West Region Dual Meet tournament as the No. 2 seed in a four-team tournament at Blake High School Wednesday night.

At 13-1, the Jagaurs are one of four county teams to advance to the post-season in the 4A/3A Class along with the regional tournament host Blake (No. 1 seed), Springbrook (No. 3 seed), and Clarksburg (No. 4 seed).

"This is quite an honor given that only four teams qualify," Northwest coach Joe Vukovich said.  "We are in elite company."

The winner of the regional tournament will be crowned the Region Dual Meet Champion and will represent the region at the Maryland State Dual Meet finals on Saturday at Linganore High School in Frederick where one team will be named state champion.

Northwest is headed into the post-season after a thriling win over Wootton in which they defeated the Patriots, 32-31, in the meet's final match. If they had lost, it would've put the Jaguars at 12-2 and forced a potential four-way for the final three seeds, resulting in various tie-breaker scenarios. But Northwest was able to secure the win and the No. 2 seed outright.

Meanwhile, Blake enters the tournament undefeated at a perfect 14-0. Springbrook and Clarksburg each finished 12-2, as did Whitman, which actually won this tournament last year. However, the tie-breaker scenario used (greater point differential among common opponents) determined Springbrook and Clarksburg would move on while Whitman's season came to a close.

Connor Kaminski (135), Tom Berch (145), DeAndre Lefeged (152), Victor Calderon (160), Tyrell Davis (189), Luis Beteta (215) and Mac McBride (heavyweight), are among the stand-outs on a stacked squad for Northwest.

Northwest, along with every team in the county, is also preparing for the Montgomery County Tournament, which is an open-format and individual-based. The tournament will be held Feb. 18 and 19 at Blair High School. For those who qualify, the Regional Tournament will be held Feb. 25 and 26 at Sherwood High School and then finally the Maryland State Tournament will take place March 4 and 5 at the University of Maryland. 

In this style tournament, each county wrestler competes in their respective weight class and must qualify each week until one state champion in every weight class is crowned. According to Vukovich, the individual seedings for the County tournament will be revealed next Tuesday.