Maryland regional duals breakdown, schedule updates

With most area school districts canceling class for the remainder of the week, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association has postponed all regional duals to Tuesday Feb. 16. Semifinals and finals will take place at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

In order to still allow all schools to participate in their county and league tournaments -- most are scheduled for Feb. 19-20 -- and comply with the state's rule that permits a maximum of two competitions per week, the state dual finals will be Tuesday Feb. 23. Location is to be determined.

Here’s a breakdown of the regions that include Washington-area teams:

3A/4A East
Where: South River

Semifinal matchups:
No. 1 South River (13-0) vs No. 4 Old Mill (11-2)
No. 2 Reservoir (11-1) vs No. 3 Stephen Decatur (10-1)

The skinny: This region may be the most unpredictable. Defending state champion Old Mill rallied to capture the fourth and final seed by virtue of a tiebreaker over River Hill. The Patriots have been waiting for a rematch with host South River, which hopes to have 140-pounder Kenneth Green return to the lineup after missing significant time with a shoulder injury. With Old Mill's talented middle-weight wrestlers, points from Green could significantly aid the Seahawks in knocking off the Patriots again.

Reservoir lost to only Glenelg and Westfield this season and has formidable wrestlers throughout the lineup but especially in the lower weights with Brian Clinton (103) Josh Knox (112) and Danny Poore (119) along with Mark Colabucci (145) and Josh Hamilton (285).

3A/4A South
Where: La Plata

Semifinal matchups:
No. 1 La Plata (13-0) vs No. 4 DuVal (10-2)
No. 2 Flowers (13-0) vs No. 3 Leonardtown (12-1)

The skinny: All bets are on La Plata to continue its stranglehold on the South with what would be its fifth consecutive regional title. Driven by a desire to recapture the state dual crown after falling short the past two seasons, the Warriors may be tough to stop. None of their wrestlers are undefeated, but they’ll rarely give up the bonus points often necessary to win duals. They defeated Leonardtown, 45-24, back on Dec. 8, and recently handled Chopticon (58-18) and Northern (54-15), reaffirming their place as the top program in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference.

3A/4A West
Where: Clarksburg (Whitman is unable to host after a water pipe burst in their gym.)

Semifinal matchups:
No. 1 Whitman (12-0) vs No. 4 Magruder (11-2)
No. 2 Clarksburg (11-1) vs No. 3 Quince Orchard (12-2)

The skinny: Top-seeded Whitman has its sights set on a third-straight state duals berth and after handling all in-county opponents once this season, the Vikings are a strong favorite and led by Mount Mat Madness champion Danny Lee and Taylor Leighton at 215 and 189 respectively. Of the teams that have qualified the Vikings have only faced Magruder, which they defeated 47-27 on Jan. 6, but remain the top of the class in Montgomery County until someone can knock them off. Quince Orchard may have the best shot at challenging the Vikings, and is anchored by Eli Bienstock (112), Reed Neubaum (160) and Austin Williams (171).

3A/4A North
Where: Patterson

Semifinal matchups:
No. 1 Patterson (11-0) vs No. 4 Parkville (12-2)
No. 2 Urbana (10-1) vs No. 3 Hereford (12-2)

The skinny: It’s no secret that sixth-ranked Urbana would like to erase the bad memories from the 2009 regional duals when it was upset by Hereford 31-30. The Hawks have never qualified for the state dual tournament but should make a strong push with two-time state champion Adam Krop (125) leading the way along with 2009 state runner-up Peter Tatanish (135) and Mike Dailey (215).

1A/2A South
Where: Glenelg

Semifinal matchups:
No. 1 Glenelg (12-1) vs No. 4 Poolesville (7-7)
No. 2 Oakland Mills (9-5) vs No. 3 Hammond (7-6)

The skinny: Glenelg, which won the 1A/2A dual title in 2008, could get back to the state duals after a one-year hiatus with a solid lineup featuring Zach Lewis (112), Nick Caffrey (125), Brendan Conway (135), Mike O’Leary (152) and David Pruett (189). The Gladiators already earned convincing dual meet victories over Hammond (48-12) and Oakland Mills, which would likely pose the stiffest test with defending state champion Tony Farace (112) in the lineup, 50-10 this season.