Broadneck gets the upper hand

Broadneck responded in the role of favorite at the 47th Anne Arundel County Wrestling Tournament, taking the lead after the first day of action. However, perennial contender Old Mill is breathing down the Bruins' back. Top seeds Mike Vakas (135), Xavier Rathlev (152) and Mike Vandeven (160) all made it through to the finals for the Bruins, who left Annapolis High last night with 141 1/2 points. Third-seeded Abe Hunter scored a mild upset of Severna Park's second-seeded Joe Greco at 145 to give the Bruins' four finalists. Coach Marc Procaccini's club has seven other wrestlers alive in the tourney. Old Mill is only 11 1/2 points behind in second and goes into today in great shape. The Patriots have six finalists and 12 total grapplers still capable of scoring points. All four of Old Mill's top seeds - Greg Saumenig (112), Justin Sobleskie (140), Jon Sillaman (215) and Justin Faithful (275) won their semifinal matches last night. Dallas Evans (125) also advanced as expected while fifth-seeded Timmy Lubuglio (130) pulled an upset. "I was real proud of the effort tonight. To get six guys into the finals is great, although not unexpected," Old Mill coach Jim Grim said. Lubuglio pinned top-seeded Derek Furman of North County with 23 seconds left in their semifinal bout. "We didn't think it was an upset. Timmy's a good wrestler who got a low seed because he's been injured," Grim said. There were few surprises as the top two seeds in nine of 14 weight classes are scheduled to meet in the finals. Severna Park's Zach Shreve (130), Meade's Ben Harvey (140) and Greco (145) were the only second seeds to go down, falling to the No. 3 man in the bracket, which is never a surprise. Arundel 103-pounder Nicole Woody, the first female in state history to be seeded No. 1 in a county tourney, advanced with a 15-9 decision over Jamie Claytor of Northeast. She will have to avenge a regular season loss to Severna Park's Marcus Monroe to become the first girl to win a postseason tournament of any sort in Maryland. Teammate Justin Bowser won both his matches yesterday to tie the Anne Arundel County career record for wins. Bowser, who is seeking to become a rare four-time county champ, can break the mark of 138 set by Old Mill's Doug West in 2002. "It would be a big accomplishment to have that record," said Bowser, who knows West well. "Hopefully, that win will be a steppingstone to my fourth county championship, which I think is an even bigger deal."