It is uncertain how many Anne Arundel County brother combinations have won individual county championships and been a part of a state dual-meet championship team, but you can add Chesapeake’s Chase and Victor Listorti to that list.
Saturday, they were two of five Cougars to win individual crowns and lead Chesapeake to the team title at the Anne Arundel County championships. The Cougars, who finished second to Arundel by 10 points in the last county tournament in 2020, totaled 257 points to outpace South River (219.5), Old Mill (189), Broadneck (183.5) and Southern (127).
Matt, Brian and Jeff Eveleth are household names at Chesapeake High School, but the Listorti brothers are aiming to add their names to Cougar wrestling lore.
“Before the season, my goal was to become a state champion, so I’m working really hard at that goal. I have a great practice partner in Dylan Lewis, so I think I can get it done,” said Victor, the older Listorti, who earned his 101st pin by flattening Old Mill’s Garrett Perrotta in 35 seconds at 182 pounds. “[The Eveleth brothers] are the best to ever come out of Chesapeake, by far. I don’t think anyone will ever touch them. All three brothers winning state championships. Ultimately, what they have done and looking at what they have accomplished makes me feel proud in knowing me and Chase can have the opportunity to do something similar and leave our name on the record boards.”
“To a certain extent, [the Eveleths] are Chesapeake wrestling,” Chase added. “They are the milestone, they are the moon and the stars to shoot for. They are for us as brothers to grow and use as examples.”
Chase Listorti’s 13-9 decision over Southern’s Andrew Ruel in the 145-pound championship match started a run of Chesapeake wrestlers winning four out of five crowns. Owen Schmidt scored a 17-4 major decision over Cameron Neal of Old Mill at 152, Dylan Lewis earned a 5-0 decision over Jamison Ballard of South River at 170, then Victor Listorti made quick work at 182. Before that, Dylan Ritter managed a 9-5 decision over Luke Ruel of Southern in the 120-pound final.
Chesapeake coach Randy Curtin, who guided the team to its first Class 3A state championship last weekend, has made his mark in a small window of time and has made the program a success again.
“These past few weeks have been really big for this program. It has been the culmination of a long journey and a lot of growth and heartache along the way,” said Curtin. “It has been kind of building up to this point. It has been extremely satisfying.”
South River had six wrestlers make it to the championship finals, with three walking away with titles. Sam Ditmars pinned Meade’s Noah Widmer in 2:42 in the 138-pound championship match, and Lonnell Owens-Pabon (220) grabbed a late takedown to earn a 4-3 come-from-behind decision over Severna Park’s Patrick Ellis. Heavyweight Racheil Coney completed the night with a 16-1 technical fall over North County’s Ki’Aharie Lomax.
“I’m pretty happy with where we ended up. The guys wrestled as hard as they could,” South River coach John Klessinger said. “It wasn’t about a lack of effort. We could have won some matches we didn’t win across the board. Chesapeake was just very dominant and very deep. They scored points in probably every weight class. For any kind of individual tournament, that’s big.”
Old Mill crowned three champions, with Elijah Mills (132) ending with a 7-3 decision over Broadneck’s Will Donahoe. Jackson Cohenour (160) pinned South River’s Austin Johnson in 3:33, while Drake Bunn (195) earned a bit of revenge with a 3-2 overtime win over Aidan Healey of South River. Healey won their meeting at the Class 4A East regional dual-meet final 10 days prior.
Southern had a pair of champions, as JC Wilson (106) started the championship finals off with a 3-1 decision over Broadneck’s Cam Williams. Justin Knapp (126) secured his 100th career win and his second county title with a 9-5 decision over the Bruins’ Liam DeBaugh, a finalist two years ago.
Broadneck had a single champion as Brandon Whyte-Taylor (113) pinned Glen Burnie’s Charles Easton in 5:51.
The Anne Arundel County wrestling coaches honored the late Matt Eveleth before the finals with the Allan Segree Service to Wrestling Award. Matt was a three-time state champion at Chesapeake and a well-respected high school assistant coach at Old Mill. He passed away in July after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Eveleth family were Old Mill coaches Jim Grim and Dave Kim.
Team standings
1. Chesapeake, 257; 2. South River, 219.5; 3. Old Mill, 189; 4. Broadneck, 183.5; 5. Southern, 127; 6. Severna Park, 90; 7. Glen Burnie, 84; 8. North County, 77; 9. Crofton, 73; 10. Meade, 66; 11. Arundel, 58; 12. Northeast, 45; 13. Annapolis, 39
Championship finals
106: JC Wilson (SO) dec. Cam Williams (BN), 3-1; 113: Brandon Whyte-Taylor (BN) pinned Charles Easton (GB), 5:52l 120: Dylan Ritter (CH) dec. Luke Ruel (SO), 9-5; 126: Justin Knapp (SO) dec. Liam DeBaugh (BN), 9-5; 132: Elijah Mills (OM) dec. Will Donahoe (BN), 7-3; 138: Sam Ditmars (SR) pinned Noah Widmer (ME), 2:42; 145: Chase Listorti (CH) dec. Andrew Ruel (SO), 13-9; 152: Owen Schmidt (CH) maj. dec Cameron Neal (OM), 17-4; 160: Jackson Cohenour (OM) pinned Austin Johnson (SR), 3:33; 170: Dylan Lewis (CH) dec. Jamison Ballard (SR), 5-0; 182: Victor Listorti (CH) pinned Garrett Perrotta (OM), 0:35; 195: Drake Bunn (OM) dec. Aidan Healey (SR), 3-2 (OT); 220: Lonnell Owens-Pabon (SR) dec. Patrick Ellis (SP), 4-3; 285: Racheil Coney (SR) tech. fall Ki’Aharie Lomax (NC), 16-1, 5:30
Consolation finals
106: Noah Akers (GB) pinned Braydon Ambrose (CH, 1:44; 113: Ayden Eremita (CR) pinned Jackson Worley (CH), 4:44; 120: Peter Saroch (BN) maj. dec. Davis Ruhl (AN), 10-1; 126: Dawson Hoover (CH) dec. Ayden Dyke (NE), 7-3 132: Andrew Trull (SP) dec. Sam Travis (SR), 7-4; 138: Matt Ellison (OM) dec. Kevin Ferguson (SO), 5-2; 145: Nolan Lunsford (SR) pinned Bryan Arevalo (OM), 4:18; 152: Nate Kohler (SP) pinned Rylan Woodward (BN), 4:02; 160: Collin Lewis (CH) maj. dec. Nick Eremita (CR), 9-0; 170: Logan Cookerly (OM) dec. Gregory Deavers (NC), 5-4; 182: Camden Webb (SP) dec. Maddox Brown (SR), 4-2 (TB-1); 195: Gabe Debow (GB) pinned Dax Avilla (BN), 1:50; 220: Dillon Primrose (AR) maj. dec. Hunter Beck (CH), 14-2; 285: Delmar White (CH) dec. Hector Coronado (ME), 2-0
