Mount Hebron junior Aaron Maybin weighs 220 pounds, making him one of the area's lightest heavyweight wrestlers. So, competing in a class in which competitors can weigh as much as 277 pounds, the first-year wrestler has relied on his football skills to achieve success this winter.
"I try to tackle my opponent just like I did during football season," said Maybin, an all-Howard County defensive end who had 32 tackles and six sacks last fall. "I may not be as big as the guys I'm going against, but they don't have my strength or my speed."
Aaron Maybin last week became Mount Hebron's first heavyweight to win the county title since 1979.
(Katherine Frey - The Washington Post)
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_____Maryland Regional Meets_____
4A/3A South
Where: La Plata.
Finals: 7 p.m. Saturday.
Counties competing: Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, St. Mary's.
Keep an eye on: Chopticon's Lucas Black (119), McDonough's Matt Myers (130), Northern's Andrew Athens (171), Huntingtown's Phil Riley (Hvy.).
Storyline: Can three-time defending SMAC champion La Plata -- led by senior heavyweight Eric Jobe and Dane Orzechowski (112) -- maintain its dominance by winning in a very competitive region for a third consecutive year?
4A/3A North
Where: River Hill.
Finals: 2:30 p.m., Saturday.
Counties competing: Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard.
Keep an eye on: River Hill's David Heckmann (119) and Taylor Green (125), Wilde Lake's David Miles (215), Mount Hebron's Aaron Maybin (Hvy.).
Storyline: Three-time defending champion River Hill, which had 10 wrestlers qualify for the tournament, will face a stiff challenge from Milford Mill and North Carroll, which each send 11 to the meet.
4A/3A East
Where: South River.
Finals: 5 p.m., Saturday.
Counties competing: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford.
Keep an eye on: Old Mill's Greg Saumenig (103), South River's Andrew Mulry (119), Broadneck's Mike Vakas (130), Arundel's Brad Pendock (189).
Storyline: Old Mill surges into regionals after winning its third consecutive Anne Arundel County title, but will again face a challenge from Chesapeake and South River, which finished behind the Patriots at last week's county championships.
4A/3A West
Where: Sherwood.
Finals: 6 p.m., Saturday.
Counties competing: Montgomery.
Keep an eye on: Sherwood's Andy Lowy (103), Magruder's Cam Watkins (135), Whitman's Eren Civan (140), Quince Orchard's Eddie Baughan (171).
Storyline: This region produced nine individual state champions (out of 28) in the past two years, and several wrestlers who win this weekend will be favorites to win the state title.
2A/1A South
Where: Glenelg.
Finals: 5 p.m., Saturday.
Counties competing: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's.
Keep an eye on: Hammond's Ethan Cohen (119), Calvert's Ryan Buff (125), Glenelg's Matt Bichner (160), Southern's Josh Hickcox (Hvy.).
Storyline: Hammond, which is coming off its first Howard County title since 1999, is the favorite to win its sixth region title in eight years. The Golden Bears had 10 wrestlers qualify for the event, eight of whom reached the finals of the county tournament.
2A/1A West
Where: Fort Hill.
Finals: 5 p.m., Saturday.
Counties competing: Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Washington.
Keep an eye on: Century's Alex Grassi (112), Walkersville's Chad Cotterman (135), Walkersville's Mike Smith (152), Middletown's Andrew Presnell (Hvy.).
Storyline: Two of the state's best heavyweights -- Presnell and F.S. Key's Ralph Stambaugh -- who are both undefeated -- could meet in the final, which could serve as a preview of next week's state tournament.
Note: The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament, March 4-5 at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.
-- Jon Gallo
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That was evident at last weekend's Howard County championships, as the third-seeded Maybin defeated three opponents to become his school's first heavyweight to win the county title since John Burns in 1979.
After pinning Hammond's Jamil Spears in 1 minute 46 seconds, Maybin (23-5) posted an 8-2 victory over second-seeded Mike Krason of Atholton in the semifinals. He then rallied from a 5-0 deficit to pin top-seeded Matt Barnes midway through the second period.
Barnes "had me on my back for 30 seconds in the first period, and he couldn't pin me," Maybin said. "So that's when I knew I could beat him."
Now Maybin has a tougher task: advancing to the Maryland 4A/3A tournament by placing in the top four at the North Region tournament this weekend at River Hill. Maybin will be one of eight heavyweights -- led by top-seeded Clint Feeley of Dulaney -- vying for four berths in next weekend's state tournament at Cole Field House.
"I joined the wrestling team to stay in shape for football season," said Maybin, who is seeded fourth. "But now I believe making it to states is a very realistic goal for me."
Maloni Seeks Perfection
When Maret's Cam Maloni isn't on the wrestling mat, the senior 171-pounder spends his free time playing video games and reading books, one of his most recent being "King of the World," a biography about boxing great Muhammad Ali.
"Reading that book really inspired me about what it takes to be a champion and how hard you have to work," Maloni said. "Now, I want to run that extra mile or practice that much harder."
Maloni has spent more time perfecting his wrestling this week after winning his weight class at the D.C. Classic last week at Model School. For Maloni, that meet served as a tune-up for a prestigious event this weekend: the 70th Annual National Prep Tournament at Lehigh University.
Maloni will be one of several area private school wrestlers who will be among the approximately 1,000 entrants representing around 115 teams that will compete in one of the nation's biggest tournaments. Maloni has established himself as one of the area's best in his weight class by going 26-4, but now he'll face some of the country's top wrestlers who are also trying to leave Stabler Arena as national champions.
"This is pretty much the Super Bowl," Maloni said. "Every wrestler there is going to be very good and I want to see how I stack up against them."
Maloni, who also won the Mid-Atlantic Conference title this winter, has spent time participating in practices held at Sidwell Friends because Maret's team does not have anyone who can drill with its captain.
"We don't have a 215-pounder or a heavyweight, so I have to be his partner in practice," Maret Coach Brian Silva said. "I weigh close to 215 pounds, so that's not fair to him. He's our only senior and he's been a great leader for our young guys."
Woody Trying for a First
Arundel 103-pound freshman Nicole Woody will try to make history at the Maryland 4A/3A East Region meet this weekend at South River by trying to become the first girl to qualify for Maryland's state tournament. She became the first female to place in the top three at the Anne Arundel County Championships last weekend.
Woody, who is 6-1 on the varsity level after going 19-1 wrestling on the junior varsity for most of the season, will be one of eight wrestlers vying for four berths in the state tournament. Woody is seeded seventh and will face Mervo freshman Lamone Wilson, the second seed, in the first round.
"I want to show other girls that they can compete against boys so more girls will come out for wrestling," Woody said. "I don't think about it as making history. I just want to show girls that it can be done."
