Spotlighting Successful MCPS Wrestlers, Athletes at the Next Level, and Changes Coming to MoCo Athletics

WRESTLING 🤼

During the winter 2025-26 season, eight Montgomery County athletes were crowned state champions! Those eight came from five MoCo schools and included six boys and two girls. Click this link or scroll down to learn more about the eight MCPS wrestlers crowned state champions from this past winter season!

Girls 105: Elana Pelaez (Clarksburg)

Pelaez earned the seventh seed in the Girls 105 bracket, setting her up for a 7-0 round of 16 win and a 3-0 quarterfinals win. Facing the third ranked Allegra Unger from Blair, a three point takedown with 1:15 left in the first period were the only points scored in the match, giving Pelaez the upset win and sending her to the finals against Brunswick’s Catherine Orndorff. The Coyote earned four points in the second period and two more with 24 seconds left in the match, allowing Pelaez to win the state title as a freshman in a 6-0 victory, giving her a 36-5 record this season.

Boys 106-4A/3A: Amanuel Fisahaye (Clarksburg)

Fisahaye also represented the Coyotes in the lightweight bracket, competing in the 106 bracket as the top seed. The junior cruised in his first three matches, defeating Dulaney’s Bennett Hess, Severna Park’s Jack Queen, and Glen Burnie’s Daniel Canas by a combined 53-9. The monumental amount of points was mostly the result of 13 takedowns and four nearfalls across the three rounds. In the state championship match, Fisahaye faced South Hagerstown sophomore Logan Ardinger, the 11th ranked wrestler in the class. Fisahaye jumped out to an early lead, scoring three on a first period takedown, but those would be his only points of the match. Three points would be all he needed to win the 106 title.

Boys 120-4A/3A: Jabasie Trice (Whitman)

Trice was the first athlete to represent the Vikings as he fought in the 120 bracket as the two seed. The junior breezed through the first three rounds, shutting out Cobi Samuel 15-0 and Nyle Borges 14-0, then beating third ranked Trent Shipley 13-3 in the semifinals. The win over the South River senior was made possible by eight points in 62 seconds in the second period. The championship round saw Trice face Urbana senior Gabriel Helmen, who was the 12th seed in the bracket. Trice got off to a strong start, having 10 points just 30 seconds into the second period. Helmen tried to come back, scoring seven points in the back half of the match, but Trice won the state title in a 14-8 win, giving the junior a final season record of 40-9.

Boys 126-4A/3A: Solomon Randall (Whitman)

Randall wrestled in the boys 126 bracket, earning the three seed. In the round of 16 against Edgewood’s Cody Galbreath and in the quarterfinals against Blake’s Brody Matson, Randall won his two matches by a combined 38-5, earning seven takedowns and four nearfalls that made up the majority of his points. The Viking scored 18 again in an upset win over the two seed, Catonsville sophomore Drew Eveleth, sending him to the finals against fellow MoCo wrestler David Dansou. The title match resulted in a 1-0 victory for Randall, with the only score coming on an escape six seconds into the second period. The win in Randall’s final career match cemented a 33-3 season record and a career win-loss percentage of 81.7%.

Boys 144-4A/3A: Isisah Womack (Richard Montgomery)

Womack was the top seed in the 144 bracket, aiding him to three blowout wins in the first three rounds. The Richard Montgomery senior secured a 12-2 win over Edgewood’s Romelo Hughes in the round of 16, a 9-1 win over Churchill junior Mason Hu, and a 17-2 blowout victory in the semifinals against the four seed, BPI senior Derrel Davis. Womack’s opponents’ seeds continued to climb, as he faced two seed Rhys Ferguson, a senior from Gov. Thomas Johnson in the championship match. After being down 3-0 after the first period, Womack took a one point lead after two before outscoring Ferguson 7-2 in the third, cementing an 11-5 state championship victory.

Girls 145: Amirah Abegesah (Quince Orchard)

Abegesah is the second athlete on this list to win a state title in a girls bracket, as she competed as the seven seed in the 145 competition. The senior earned a 9-2 win in the first round before upsetting Grace Paesch, the two-seed from Sparrows Point, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Abegesah faced the 19th seed Addie Grubb in the semifinals, a match that resulted in a 13-2 win, sending her to the state championship against fourth ranked Emily Wockenfuss from Harford Tech. Abegesah earned three points on a takedown 16 seconds into the match, and that would prove to be the lone score as Abegesah won the state title in a 3-0 win. After the win, the QO senior cemented a 20-3 record for the season and a 62-16 record throughout her career.

Boys 165-4A/3A: Logan Brown (Northwest)

Brown was the second best seed in the 165 bracket and the lone Northwest Jaguar to win a wrestling state title. His quest started a pair of wins where he allowed just three points, scoring 15 in the first round against Ethan Marshall and 19 in the quarterfinals against Aziel Batoua. Brown scored 19 again in the semifinals against Owen Collins, the 11 seed, sending him to the finals against the top ranked senior from Oakland Mills in Raul Rodriguez. In the title match, Brown had an explosive second period, scoring 14 points on two nearfalls, two takedowns, and a reversal. He did get two stalling penalties called against him in the third, but it would not be enough as the Jaguar won the state title 17-8.

Boys 285-4A/3A: Andy Boshnick (Whitman)

Boshnick was the final Montgomery County athlete to win a state title match and the third to do so from Whitman. As the four seed in the tournament, Boshnick needed four periods of overtime to overcome his opponent, 13th ranked Malaki Mason from Stephen Decatur, to earn a 5-4 decision by ultimate tiebreaker. After advancing due to a forfeit, the Viking faced top ranked Pierce Read from Arundel. Boshnick put up four points in the third period to complete the upset, sending him to the state championship against seventh ranked Payton Green. Boshnick scored all four of his points in a 45 second window in the second period, and those four were enough to secure a two point win and the state title. In his first and only season as a high school wrestler per FloWrestling, Boshnick will end his career with an overall 23-1 record.

Montgomery County will lose three wrestlers committed to play at the next level including Walter Johnson’s Daniel Gershon (Washington and Lee), Magruder’s Sava Marakov (Belmont Abbey), and Richard Montgomery’s Isaiah Womack (Eastern University)

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SPOTLIGHTING MOCO’S NEXT LEVEL ATHLETES

For the first time in 53 years and third time in franchise history, the New York Knicks were crowned NBA champions in 2026. At the other end of the spectrum, the Wheaton Knights finished the 2025-26 season with a 9-12 overall record. Compared to the Knicks’ 53-29 regular season record, it might surprise you to know that Wheaton was represented in the sports’ biggest series.

New York’s small forward, Josh Hart, is a product of Silver Spring. The 31-year-old began his high school career at Wheaton, where he played his freshman and sophomore seasons. After transferring to Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., the wing averaged 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in his last two high school seasons, earning a place on the Washington Post’s All-Met team and a spot on the Villanova roster.

As a Wildcat, Hart played in 146 games across four seasons while averaging 13.2 points per game, just shy of 2,000 in his career. Villanova won the national championship in the 2015-16 season, but Hart’s best was in 2016-17, when the senior was chosen as a consensus All-American and the Big East Player of the Year. The honors prompted the Utah Jazz to select him with the 30th pick in the 2017 draft.

After time with the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers, Hart was traded to the Knicks in a four-player swap with Portland. In three full seasons in New York, Hart has averaged 75 games per season, averaging 11.7 points per game. Despite needing surgery on his shooting hand in July 2025, the three returned in October. In game two of the Eastern Conference Finals, Hart scored a playoff career high 26 points to aid the Knicks to win.

Sticking with basketball, Blake small forward Baba Oladotun, the highest ranked athlete in the state in the class of 2026, will be heading to College Park this fall. The 6-foot-10-inch senior earned a five star prospect rating from 24/7 sports along with a 0.9964 composite rating, ranking him eleventh in the nation. Despite playing in just two games his senior season, the 4A semifinal against Meade and the state championship against Whitman, Oladotun received 53 total offers per 24/7. After narrowing down to Georgetown, Arkansas, Maryland, and Kentucky, Oladotun chose to stay in state and will play under head coach Buzz Williams this coming season as a true freshman.

One of Montgomery County’s top baseball stars will also be moving to the next level. Chris Hacopian, Churchill class of 2021, heard his name called by Rob Manfred in the first round of the MLB draft on Saturday evening. The infielder reached the state semifinals in 2022 with the Bulldogs and committed to play in College Park for the 2024 season. In two seasons at Maryland, Hacopian hit .349 with 144 hits and 29 homers. After transferring to Texas A&M for his junior season, he slashed .319/.405/.578, prompting the Washington Nationals to select the 21-year-old with the 11th overall pick.

IMPORTANT UPDATES AHEAD OF THE START OF THE FALL SEASON 💭

Montgomery County Public Schools will offer free sports physicals to all county residents prior to the upcoming fall sports season.

These first-come first-served physicals are provided to students who plan on participating in a sport this coming school year. Physicals are required for all MCPS athletes on a roster and are good for two years from the date of the appointment.

The first of these opportunities was this past Saturday, but the county’s Mobile Health Clinic will be at the Gaithersburg Library on July 29 and the Clarksburg Neighborhood Park on August 8. To obtain a physical, a student must come with a parent or guardian and bring a valid ID, proof of residency, and the pre-participation physical evaluation form.

Questions should be directed to the Mobile Health Clinic by phone (240-777-1017) or by email ([email protected]).

Registration for fall sports for high schoolers opens today (July 13) at noon. To register, families must sign up on ParentVue prior to the first day of tryouts which is August 12.

Montgomery County is also set to add middle school sports offerings this fall. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders will be eligible to register for slow pitch softball and cross country for the fall season beginning August 10.

At the high school level, the school system finalized several changes to their athletic programs for this school year. Athletes and fans have seen the end of Co-Ed volleyball in Montgomery County, as MCPS will begin offering JV Boys’ Volleyball in its place in the Spring 2027 season, along with JV Girls’ Flag Football this fall.

Additionally, the county decided to discontinue its gymnastics program after the pilot program began for various STUNT teams. MCPS piloted the new sport in 13 schools in 2026, using funding from the gymnastics program to begin the sport. Systemwide athletics director Jeffrey Sullivan cited that Montgomery County is the final school district in Maryland to offer the sport in which just 100 athletes across seven schools participate.

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