In the 4A/3A state tournament, the Cougars watched the Old Mill High School Patriots grab the state title in Westminster. The Cougars were led by senior Frankie Baughan (112 pound) and junior Ignacio Diaz (145). Baughan, the defending state champion (although he has moved up a weight class since last year), reached the state final, but was unable to defend his crown. But he did not go down easy. Baughan and Perry Hall's Jim Van Daniker went into overtime before Baughan was defeated, ending his unbeaten streak of 67 matches. Diaz also fell in the state final, losing to Fallson High School's Nathan Bachman, the defending state champion. Referring to Baughan, wrestling coach Fred Kim says, " it wasn't his night."

As a team the Cougars finished with a score of 52.5, placing ninth out of ten teams and 20.5 points behind Old Mill. The Cougars were hardly satisfied with their performance, and according to Kim, it was one of the team's worst performances all season.

Senior Will Brumby (154) also contributed, as he finished sixth. A four-year wrestler, Brumby quietly developed into of the County's top wrestlers. "It feels good," Brumby says. "They said that senior year was our year to shine, and it was true."

Senior Jeff McDonald (130) reached states, but did not qualify. Also, juniors Raffi Mnatzakanian (275) and Aaron Gorman (160) lost their first round matches, which was single elimination.

"Losing wasn't a big upset," Mnatzakaninan admits. "There were many dominant teams and we had some of the toughest matches. I am pretty proud to be a part of the team and we are going to be much better next year.

QO marched six wrestlers onto the state meet as they dominated the 3A/4A West Regional Meet on March 1. As a team, the Cougars totaled 145.5 points, compared to second-place Sherwood's 116, and had over 60 more points than defending champion Paint Branch. Northwest placed third with 100 points, followed by Churchill, with 93 points.

Along with the team victory, the Cougars left the competition with four individual region champions. Baughan, McDonald, Mnatzikanian and Diaz all captured individual titles, as QO had the largest amount of individual champions in the event.

The Cougars also had other contributors. Brumby finished second in his weight class, and Gorman placed fourth. All six of these wrestlers qualified for the state competition because they finished in the top four at regions.

"I didn't really set any personal goals, I just wanted to do what was best for the team," senior Will Brumby says, "I just came out wanting to have fun."

The victory may have also had an additional sweetness, as the Cougars were able to avenge their dual meet loss to Sherwood earlier in the season on Sherwood's home floor.

County Playoffs

March 4, the Cougars crowned three wrestlers as County champions. Baughan, Diaz, and Mnatzakanian all captured individual titles. Brumby and Gorman also gave solid performances, finishing second and third respectively.

Dual Meet Playoffs

As a whole, the varsity wrestling team felt dissatisfied as it left the dual-meet playoffs on February 12. At 13-0, the team had been undefeated up until the devastating loss, and went in the tournament with high hopes, expecting to win. Unlike the other playoff tournaments, the winners advanced as teams, not as individuals. In the first round, the Cougars, the top-ranked team, faced off with Sherwood. The winner would face the winner of Northwest and Paint Branch for the team regional championship.

Heading into the final two matches, the Cougars were surprised to find themselves down by 11 points. In order to win, QO would have to pin its final two opponents. First up was junior Jason Makstein (171), who kept the Cougars alive with a pin. "I was r eally happy," Makstein says. "But I was real nervous because now it came down to the last match."

Now down by five, senior Terrance McGee (189) could provide QO with a victory if he pinned his opponent. McGee was clearly the better wrestler, but the Sherwood wrestler stalled to avoid a pin. McGee won by a major, which is worth 4 points. QO ended the match with a one point defeat. Some members of QO wanted the Sherwood wrestler to receive a technical foul, giving the Cougars an additional point, because he was stalling, but the refere only gave the Sherwood wrestler a warning.

"It was a huge disappointment," Baughan, who will be wrestling for West Point next year, says. "We went in with high hopes and when we lost, the whole team was disappointed." Northwest went on to beat Sherwood in the next round.

Regardless of the team's disappointing performances at the dual meet and at states, the season was still dominated by successes. The Cougars won the HUB, county, and regional tournaments, as well as the division title.

"We had many returning from last year, and we felt confident about winning the state title," Kim says. "But coming this far still meant a lot to us."